Rating: 
Summary: Why this book is so useful
Review: A lot of people have commented to me on the usefulenss of this book! I am certainly delighted to have to opportunity to write and share my ideas with others. I especially wanted to keep the concepts as simple as possible for the novice and the "pro"alike. The industry is rampant with three letter acronyms (TLA) and I wanted to be sure that everyone had a chance to know just what we are talking about. After all, this is about communications, isn't it? Both Don and I have put a lot of time into writing this revised book which has jumped to over 900 pages. Sorry for the volume, but this is one of the most fascinating and fast paced industries today. So, we tried to keep it as simple as before and add some new ideas about the hot buttons that you face every day.
Please feel free to let us know what you think about it, and anything that is not as clear as we intended.
Best wishes and happy holidays!
Rating: 
Summary: Everything about Telecom and voice and data in one place!
Review: As a product manager for a major telecom company, I need a book that I can reference quickly for a complete overview on topics such as SONET, Frame Relay and ADSL. This book fits the bill for me. Not only do the authors'offer lucid explanations, but the book is interesting to read. When was the last time you could say that about a technical book? I would rate this book a must have for anyone in the telecom field at over 900 pages it packs the info in!
Rating: 
Summary: Keep looking for "the" one-stop, comprehensive telecom book
Review: I am a senior engineer for network security operations. I bought "Voice and Data Communications Handbook, Fourth Edition" (VADCH:4E) to gain a general understanding of communications technologies beyond the LAN. Although the book mentions all of the systems which interested me, I was not satisfied with the manner in which they were covered. VADCH:4E is better than Ross' "Telecommunications Technologies" but inferior to Green's "Irwin Handbook of Telecommunications." Nevertheless, I'm still looking for an author who delivers the goods on voice and data communications essentials.
VADCH:4E's table of contents is sure to impress; it mentions T carriers, VPNs, X.25, Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, SMDS, Frame Relay, ISDN, ATM, DSL, SS7, LNP, Cellular/PCS, WAP, 3G Wireless, SONET/SDH, and other key telecom systems and concepts. Unfortunately, I rarely finished a chapter with a good grasp of the material. I desperately searched for clues to questions I felt were key to understanding each technology. Rather than launching into an extended discussion of each system, I would have preferred hearing exactly how each technology works, with comparison to other technologies. More is not better if the "more" isn't helpful!
VADCH:4E is advertised as being "straightforward and jargon-free." This approach supposedly appeals to management types. In reality, the book swings wildly from mind-numbing grade-school-level analogies to material only understood with outside references. A 1074 page book needs to pick a writing style and stay the course. Otherwise, it alienates both nontechnical and technical readers. (Incidentally, technical readers may wonder why the authors believe Windows screen savers contribute to LAN traffic; see page 674 to read this odd claim.) On a positive note, VADCH:4E consistently offered useful information on the history and business rationale for many telecom systems. Many of the connectivity diagrams were excellent. (These were usually offset by cheesy "clip-art" type graphics elsewhere, unfortunately.) VADCH:4E also includes descriptions of the framing formats for most telecom transmission systems.
Overall, I don't recommend reading a book this large if it doesn't answer the key questions I expect readers to ask. While I'm more familiar with telecom basics after reading VADCH:4E, I still hope another book makes more sense of the telecommunications environment.
Rating:
Summary: Keep looking for "the" one-stop, comprehensive telecom book
Review: I am a senior engineer for network security operations. I bought "Voice and Data Communications Handbook, Fourth Edition" (VADCH:4E) to gain a general understanding of communications technologies beyond the LAN. Although the book mentions all of the systems which interested me, I was not satisfied with the manner in which they were covered. VADCH:4E is better than Ross' "Telecommunications Technologies" but inferior to Green's "Irwin Handbook of Telecommunications." Nevertheless, I'm still looking for an author who delivers the goods on voice and data communications essentials.
VADCH:4E's table of contents is sure to impress; it mentions T carriers, VPNs, X.25, Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, SMDS, Frame Relay, ISDN, ATM, DSL, SS7, LNP, Cellular/PCS, WAP, 3G Wireless, SONET/SDH, and other key telecom systems and concepts. Unfortunately, I rarely finished a chapter with a good grasp of the material. I desperately searched for clues to questions I felt were key to understanding each technology. Rather than launching into an extended discussion of each system, I would have preferred hearing exactly how each technology works, with comparison to other technologies. More is not better if the "more" isn't helpful!
VADCH:4E is advertised as being "straightforward and jargon-free." This approach supposedly appeals to management types. In reality, the book swings wildly from mind-numbing grade-school-level analogies to material only understood with outside references. A 1074 page book needs to pick a writing style and stay the course. Otherwise, it alienates both nontechnical and technical readers. (Incidentally, technical readers may wonder why the authors believe Windows screen savers contribute to LAN traffic; see page 674 to read this odd claim.) On a positive note, VADCH:4E consistently offered useful information on the history and business rationale for many telecom systems. Many of the connectivity diagrams were excellent. (These were usually offset by cheesy "clip-art" type graphics elsewhere, unfortunately.) VADCH:4E also includes descriptions of the framing formats for most telecom transmission systems.
Overall, I don't recommend reading a book this large if it doesn't answer the key questions I expect readers to ask. While I'm more familiar with telecom basics after reading VADCH:4E, I still hope another book makes more sense of the telecommunications environment.
Rating:
Summary: EVEN BETTER THAN THE THIRD EDITION! WONDERFUL BOOK
Review: I have all editions (I, II, III) and now the fourth and it gets better all the time! Particularly the new added sections on WAP, remote access, 3G, optical and more. I like having the objectives for each chapters added and also the numerous quiz questions at the end of each chapter. Definitely another book from Bates!
Rating: 
Summary: Confusing and Incorrect
Review: I puchased this book, in addition to many other telecom books and found this to be one of the worst ones. Not only is the information useless it is written in a diffucult to understand fashion. I recommend that you do not waste corporate money of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Confusing and Incorrect
Review: I puchased this book, in addition to many other telecom books and found this to be one of the worst ones. Not only is the information useless it is written in a diffucult to understand fashion. I recommend that you do not waste corporate money of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Backgrounder for Anyone new to Voice or Data Comm!
Review: I purchase and review a large number of technical books from the fields of voice and data communications every year, and I can easily state that this book is one of the best introductory texts I've encountered. The authors have chosen a wide range of topics to discuss, but they never lose sight of the importance of providing a reasonable depth of coverage for each topic. Similiar texts I can recommend include "Systems and Networks" by Ray Horvak and Mark Miller, Newton's Telecom Dictionary, by Harry Newton, and for a more sophisticated review of communications: "Emerging Communications Technologies" by Uyless Black and "Enterprise Networking: Data Link Subnetworks" by James Martin
Rating:
Summary: Excellent source of information for all people.
Review: I recommend this book to everyone from clerical staff to technical people who want to learn all there is to know about telecommunications. In an industry that seems to be growing exponentially, this book may be your 'bible' in terms of keeping in tune with the ongoing advancements in information technologies. I am in sales and this book has given me a new perspective on things that I talked about daily-- but was not aware of what went on behind the scenes. From simple things like how a telephone actually works to modern day workings of a cellullar phone. In order to sell a product it is important to know your product, and this book will supply you with a blueprint to succeed in whatever telecommunications field that you are in. Buy it...Read it...and see for yourself. Ali Shah Toronto, Ontario
Rating:
Summary: There's nothing perfect in this world
Review: I think so far, this is the most complete book ever. This book covers a thorough explaination for (almost) every telecommunication issue. Althogh maybe the book does not explain every updated issue or every topic in deep, I think this book is still the best (hey, there's nothing perfect in this world!). I think the author more concerned on a complete basic understanding rather than a thorough explaination in "every-every" topic. This book is, I think, perfect for every beginner and comfortable for every experiences.
Also, I think the author likes jokes and fun. This makes the book more interesting to read. From the book dimension, the price, and also the contents; this book is a "real deal" for everybody in telecommunication industry.
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