Telecommunications Convergence: How to Profit from the Convergence of Technologies, Services and Companies (Telecom Portable Consultant) Book

A trend is underway in which voice and data communications are merging. The irresistible logic is that digitised voice is just another kind of data, after all, so why not carry it on the same data links that handle all our other ones and zeroes? The economies of convergence can be considerable: There is no need to build and support separate voice and data infrastructures when you can have just one. That combination of infrastructures presents the problem that Telecommunications Convergence aims to solve: data people, who haven't worried about voice in the past, have to worry about it now. Similarly, people who used to specialise exclusively in switched voice circuits need to adapt to the new environment.In this book, Steven Shepard points out that there is more to telecommunications convergence than just moving everything across IP (or ATM, or Frame Relay) networks. He sees convergence of voice and data transport technologies accelerating, yes, but he also points to a blurring of traditional business roles (witness AOL, formerly just an ISP, buying Time-Warner, a content and distribution company). He also sees the convergence of services--meaning that the consumer doesn't care which network delivers his on-demand movies or her faxes--playing a big role in the future of telecoms. Shepard bases well-reasoned arguments on a year's worth of research, including many interviews with experts in a variety of relevant fields. Read this book for pleasure (it's written that well), and profit from the lessons it contains. --David WallRead More