Connections for the Digital Age (PDF)

Explores and analyzes past and current technologies and trends
in multimedia communication

Digital natives--those persons born in the digital
age--have an ever-widening range of wireless-enabled devices
at their disposal. They are the drivers of multimedia
communications, continually seeking out the technologies and
distribution channels that best match their needs. This book
outlines the changes in telecommunications that are occurring to
meet these needs. It addresses the continually increasing
requirement to provide connections that make the electronic
encounter as natural and convenient as possible, exploring the vast
assortment of devices that exist as part of everyday living for
digital natives.

Featuring precise diagrams and tables to illustrate the evolving
environment, the book begins by describing the competitive
interactions of telephone, cable TV, and cellular mobile companies
in providing services and content. It outlines the creation of
digital multimedia streams and how they are transported, explains
what multimedia connections are available, and summarizes the
activities of competitors while providing an overview of their
markets and customer statistics.

This book uniquely covers wireline, optical fiber, cable, and
wireless access methods, explaining the coding required to create
digital streams. It combines ethernet with provider bridging and
multi-protocol label switching and highlights the necessity to
serve legacy streams. In addition, the book addresses controversial
issue: will incumbent communications providers ever overtake
Internet as the chief source of digital feeds and popular
contents?

Featuring extensive references and a glossary of multimedia
terms, Connections for the Digital Age is written for
digital natives and other persons with an interest in multimedia
communications; industrial, commercial, and financial managers;
engineers; software professionals and Internet specialists; and
students at technical schools and universities.