A practical, accessible survey of telecommunications and data communications services and technologies Finally, there is a commonsense guide to telecommunications and data communications that non-engineers can understand. Popular author Ray Horak provides comprehensive, up-to-date information in plain English, instead of confusing technotalk. Recent developments covered include: * 802.16 and WiMAX * Passive Optical Network (PON) * 802.11g/n * Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) * Broadband over Power Line (BPL) * Instant Messaging * ZigBee In addition, Telecommunications and Data Communications Handbook expands on topics of increasing interest, including: * Fiber Optics * Storage Area Networks (SANs) * Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) * CATV Networks * Wireless, including Bluetooth * Cellular, including 2.5G and 3G, photos, video, and ring tones and ring-back tones * Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), including IP PBX and IP Centrex * Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) vs. H.323 Complete with a discussion of the current regulatory and business environments, including divestiture and revestiture as well as mergers and acquisitions, this is the ideal reference for non-engineering professionals in the end-user, carrier, content or service provider, manufacturing, regulatory, or financial communities.