Rating: 
Summary: Excellent reference for telecomm information
Review: This is one of the best references I have ever seen for background information on a wide range of network technologies. Every term you could hope for is found somewhere in the book, along with a consise and informative description. There is no fluff in this book--every page is compacted with valuable information. I recommend it for anybody who has had at least some small amount of experience with networking and would like a general reference book for nearly every network technology you will ever need to research.
Rating: 
Summary: Average intro. Lots of typos and errors.
Review: This text is not all bad, but the numerous typos and factual errors earn it a low mark. For example the author states that IPv4 does not support multicast (it does), that the format's 32 bits "will serve addressing needs into the next century" (p. 379). The Internet chapter is very bad. The writing style itself is often unclear, and one gets the strong impression that several chapters were rushed without adequate proofreading. A typical sentence: "In the highly-competitive Frame Relay market, mesh networking that can be accomplished at costs which can be as little as 50% of the cost of a comparable FT-1 network." (p. 292). I could go on and on, but you should get the idea. If a future edition fixes the numerous problems, then this book may become a decent intro. In the mean time, look elsewhere, possibly to one of the standard texts like Stalling's "Data & Computer Communications" or Bates' "Voice and Data Communications Handbook".
Rating:
Summary: The Idiot's Guide to Telecommunications it isn't
Review: What do electonic commerce, tele-medecine, PCS phones, and the Internet have in common? Aside from being words and phrases that don't appear in most older dictionaries, they are all part of the exploding information technology industry. The Department of Commerce recently announced that this industry alone is responsible for a doubling of the growth rate of the U.S. economy. In fact information technology accounts for more than 8% of the economy, and employs more than 7 million workers. The next generation Internet recently announced by Vice President Gore, and the ongoing struggle by major long distance providers to break into the local telephone market, are just two examples of the huge economic and societal impacts this industry has on everyday life. Complex and fascinating, the technology behind the on-going information revolution can be overwhelming at first glance (and at second and third glances as well). Standard reference guides are of little use to the novice in this field, as by necessity these guides presuppose a broad knowledge base encompassing electrical engineering, network engineering, and computer science. What is needed is a single source which walks the engineering generalist through the basic science, and then applies that science to specific technological applications. Fortunately (from the point of view of this particular novice) this need was recognized and addressed by Ray Horak and Mark Miller in "Communications Systems and Networks: Voice, Data, & Broadcast Technologies" Horak and Miller do a superb job of defining the applicable scientific principles - starting with a discussion of analog vs digital - and then integrating those principles into a straightforward, highly readable description of both current and emerging technologies. Taking the reader from an overview of the voice communications system all the way to a discussion of emerging broadband technologies and applications, the authors seemlessly build on material previously presented. The final chapters, focusing on the convergence of technologies and applications, provide both a summation of earlier material and a road map of where we go from here given virtually unlimited bandwidth, universal access, and significant deregulation. This book is not just for the student or other newcomer to the field. It is a valuable resource for even the experienced engineer, and provides a great review of the basic technologies we deal with daily. The Department of Commerce estimates that an additional 1.3 million information technology positions will be created in the next few years. All 1.3 million of the folks who fill these positions need to get a copy of this book. They (and the authors and their publisher) will be glad they did.
Rating:
Summary: Wow, An Instant Classic
Review: When Ray sent me a copy of the new Second edition of "Communications Systems & Networks" I was expecting a good update of the 1996 first edition. Instead Ray has produced an almost entirely new text, and he's done a simply OUTSTANDING job. Ray is the editor of Newton's Telecom Dictionary, and this book makes an excellent companion text to that great classic. Those of you who read my reviews know that I give free copies of that text to every student who attends my TrainingCity.com classes. If you bought Newton's Telecom Dictionary, buy this book, you won't ever regret it. Ray uses his experience editing "Newton's" throughout "Communications Systems and Networks." Every term is explained clearly and concisely. Reading through this book I was continually amazed at how well Ray can explain complex concepts, and get ALL the relevant information into so few paragraphs. In conclusion, I believe this is an instant classic, and a must have for any Voice & Data library.
Rating:
Summary: Wow, An Instant Classic
Review: When Ray sent me a copy of the new Second edition of "Communications Systems & Networks" I was expecting a good update of the 1996 first edition. Instead Ray has produced an almost entirely new text, and he's done a simply OUTSTANDING job. Ray is the editor of Newton's Telecom Dictionary, and this book makes an excellent companion text to that great classic. Those of you who read my reviews know that I give free copies of that text to every student who attends my TrainingCity.com classes. If you bought Newton's Telecom Dictionary, buy this book, you won't ever regret it. Ray uses his experience editing "Newton's" throughout "Communications Systems and Networks." Every term is explained clearly and concisely. Reading through this book I was continually amazed at how well Ray can explain complex concepts, and get ALL the relevant information into so few paragraphs. In conclusion, I believe this is an instant classic, and a must have for any Voice & Data library.
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