Communications networks are everywhere in today’s world, connecting computers, telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and carrying personal and business messages around the neighborhood and around the world. Networks are so ubiquitous that they are taken for granted by most users. Few think about the technology involved when clicking on Google to search the Internet, or pressing “Send†to initiate a cellular telephone call.
Networks transmit two-way information from one entity to another. It is this bi-directional information flow that gives network communications their power, allowing parties or devices to communicate over vast distances, and in the case of cellular technology, even when one or both parties are in motion.