TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS

BEE408/ELEC4405
SEM MARCH 2017
ASSIGNMENT 1

Due : 19/4/2017

Answer ALL questions.

1. The introduction of new communications services usually impacts other services through
substitution. Describe how substitution takes place in the following cases.
a. E-mail, facsimile, and postal mail.
b. E-mail, local and long-distance phone service.
c. Cell phone, local and long-distance phone service.
d. Peer-to-peer file exchange and commercial CD recording.

2. Use your web browser to access news website and play a news video clip. Speculate about
how the information is being transported over the Internet. How does the quality of the
audio and video compare to that of broadcast or cable television?

3. Can a connection-oriented, reliable message transfer service be provided across a

connectionless packet network? Explain.

4. An internet path between two hosts involves a hop across network A, a packet-switching
network, to a router and then another hop across packet-switching network B. Suppose that
packet switching network A carries the packet between the first host and the router over a
two-hop path involving one intermediate packet switch. Suppose also that the second
network is an Ethernet LAN. Sketch the sequence of IP and non-IP packets and frames that
are generated as an IP packet goes from host 1 to host 2.

5. Suppose a network provides wavelength services to users by establishing end-to-end

wavelengths across a network. A wavelength converter is a device that converts an optical
signal from one wavelength to another wavelength. Explain the role of wavelength
converters in such a network.