Rating: 
Summary: Good scope but miserable organization
Review: I bought this book because it appeared to be one of the few books aimed at non-technical readers that covered major telecoms concepts. While the scope is not disappointing, this book is so poorly organized that I simply stopped reading it. The book's disorganization and repetitiveness exist at several levels: across chapters, within chapters, and even within paragraphs. On numerous occassions, the author uses a term or concept in a way that assumes a thorough understanding (prompting the reader to ask himself "has this already been introduced?"), then drops it, then explains it later on. In addition, some concepts are explained multiple times, with no real difference in the various explanations. Finally, often the sentences are so clumsily put together that the style simply prevents the reader from concentrating on the content. A big disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: outstanding reference materials
Review: i am in the army at ft bragg nc. my job title is 31f electronic/network switch operator maintainer i wish i would have had a guidebook like this instead of the tech manuals that gte provided us in ait at ft gordon
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly organized
Review: This book has a lot of good information, but it is so poorly written and edited, I can't believe it was published by a major publisher. The chapters are incredibly repetitive, and contain many outright errors---calling into doubt the credibility of the author in some instances (e.g., Unix is a "computer language" Huh?). Reading this thing was truly painful.
Rating:
Summary: Good reference for non techs
Review: If you already know what a switch, router and hub does and you are familiar with terms such as SONET, MUX and T1 this book will only frustrate you. Good for sales people who don't have tech. background (no offence intended). Essential guide......I can do without this one.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is intended for non-technical people.
Review: In the 22 months between writing the first and second editions of this book, enormous changes occurred in telecommunications. The growing importance of the Internet and the rise of convergence are the most notable of these. Technology in the form of higher capacity fiber optic networks and faster processors hastened these developments and lowered the cost of building new networks. The Essential Guide to Telecommunications, Second Edition, presents profiles of industry segments and vendor types to provide readers with an understanding of the industry. The increase in the number of network providers, the growing role of resellers and the fast pace of mergers has created new layers of complexity. The roles of Internet Service Providers, backbone Internet providers, competitive local exchange carriers and cable TV companies are explained. In addition, regulatory rulings and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 are examined in light of their impact on consumers, commercial organizations and carriers. The Essential Guide to Telecommunications, Second Edition starts out with interpretations of fundamental concepts so that readers will have a basis for understanding more complex, telecommunications services. Technologies important in competition for local calling, high-capacity communications and Internet access are clarified. Intertwined with high-level technical explanations are examples of how the various vendors interconnect their networks. The book explores the structure of the industry, local competition, regulatory proceedings, the Internet, convergence and wireless services. Along with explanations of technology are examples of applications and historical highlights. How the industry evolved and how the technology changed is also explored. The stories and descriptions that accompany the technical details are key to the book.
Rating:
Summary: Simple descriptions to complex technologies.
Review: This book is very informative for anyone who is interested in Telecommunications.
Rating: 
Summary: Good start on telecom topics
Review: This book had a fairly wide range of telecom topics and yet managed to explain them all in terms that a beginner could understand. It is fairly current in its topics as well. I enjoyed reading it, however, will be turning to other books for an more in depth treatment.
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: A very current book that does a great job at explaining the concepts of telecom technologies. I strongly disagree with the previous comment: It is VERY current. I've used to complement material in an business school undergraduate class and they loved it.
Rating:
Summary: disorganized and dated
Review: Although the writing style is clear and certain concepts are well explained, the book is extraordinarily disorganized. The same things pop up in different places where they should not even be found.
Rating:
Summary: The Bible for the telecommunications sales
Review: If you work for a Telecommunications company and want to understand all the technology out there get this book. I am a GTE employee and learned more from a week of reading this book than all the required training on the same technology that is portrayed on this book that I have received in the past several years. The author's key to success rests in the fact that she explains the technology in simple terms which is a rarety around all telecommunication experts. I do wish that some more time was dedicated to explaining certain technologies in more detail, like DSL but i think it is highly unfair to say that the book is a failure because somebody did not write a testament about a technology that has not been popular at all and has limited uses. If you want to relate and understand much more about the intricate world of telecommunications, even if it is the Internet that has you curious. Buy the book NOW!
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