Introduction to Telecommunications Network Structures

There have been many major developments to the telecommunications industry throughout its history. The developments have differed from technological advancement to the United States Government intervening into the business strategy of the companies. Telecommunications starts with a wire for a series of dots and dashes, and develops into a wireless signal that can send and receive several types of media within seconds. There are thousands of technical advancements that have happened since the creation of the first telecommunication device was created a few of the most important will be mentioned.

The greatest advancement of the telecommunications would be the invention of the Telegraph. The telegraph was used with the invention of the train. As train tracks were expanded there became a need for quick communication between train stops. This is the greatest development because it started the hunger for development of creating a way for people to speak to each other from different locations using their voices.

In 1876 Alexander Gram Bell created the Telephone, this brought telecommunication into the house hold. Bell created the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1885, this entity held a virtual monopoly on United States Telephonic until 1982 (King, W. E. (2003). This began the government to get involved with private companies. In 1913, the justice department forced the separation of Western Union from AT&T. In 1968, the Federal Communications Commission forced AT&T to allow other devices that were not developed by AT&T to connect to their network.

The United States government created the government agencies like, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). These two agencies were created to protect the citizens of the United States. In 1969, MCI filed a petition for a right to compete on a limited basis and was granted to do so. In, 1974 they filed an antitrust lawsuit, and AT&T agreed to sign the Modified Final Judgment that split the company into long distance and seven regional Bell operating companies they were known as (RBOC's) this process was a Divestiture.

The Telecommunications Act in 1996 opened the industry to local providers. The provisions permitted each incumbent local exchange (ILEC). This created more competition for the companies, which created lower prices for the consumer. The flaw of this was that the local companies were buying and reselling the long-distance all from AT&T so the prices did not discount the way it was intended.

Wireless communication has a significant role in telecommunications. In present day, consumers are not tied down to a landline to do business or speak to family. With wireless phones becoming like little computers business are able to transfer files from the phone to the computer threw email, and the personal consumer is able to take pictures with their phone and email, or text