Understanding Telecommunications and Lightwave Systems presents a nontechnical treatment of how voice, video, and multimedia can simultaneously travel over today's evolving telecommunications systems. This updated Third Edition provides a comprehensive overview of the telecommunications field as well as a detailed introduction to the latest lightwave technology.

The author's examination of recent techniques and developing technologies in telecommunications includes:

• Third-generation cell phones with microbrowser capabilities
• Changes in the global PCS network
• Optical switching and transmission parameters
• Lightwave systems and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
• A new chapter (Chapter 17: The Internet) that examines this multimedia structure and the network economy it has created
• Satellite communications, new transcontinental carriers, lightwave undersea systems, and other advances toward improving global communication

Understanding Telecommunications and Lightwave Systems is the perfect introduction for anyone whose work requires a fundamental understanding of current developments in telecommunications, as well as for students or inquiring readers who want an overview of telecommunications and the exciting technology of lightwave communications.