Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

telecommuting 473nents that were being manufactured for the increasinglyautomated phone system (see Aiken, Howard). The phoneindustry contributed ideas as well as hardware. Scientists atthe Bell Laboratories carried out fundamental research intoinformation theory that would soon be applied to data communications(see Shannon, Claude).As computers became more capable in the 1950s and1960s, they began to return the favor, making possibleincreasing automation for the phone system. Meanwhile,computers were starting to be hooked up to telephone lines(see modem) so they could exchange data and allow theirusers to communicate (see network).The development of a global network (see Internet)and its growth through the 1980s provided a universal platformfor data communications. At first, the Internet wasused mostly by academics and engineers, but the adventof the World Wide Web and in particular, graphical Webbrowsers made Internet access ubiquitous among smallbusinesses and home users by the late 1990s.Institutional Internet users often had fast access throughdedicated phone lines (designated T-1, and so on), whilehomes, small businesses, and schools were limited to muchslower dial-up access. This began to change in the late 1990sas alternatives to POTS (“plain old telephone service”)emerged in the form of DSL (a much faster service runningover regular phone lines) and cable modems that used theinfrastructure that already brought TV to millions of homes.Impact of DeregulationPrior to the court-ordered breakup of AT&T in 1984, thephone industry functioned in a monolithic way and wasnot very responsive to the needs of the growing computernetworking industry.The breakup of AT&T led to growing competition, providinga wider variety of telecommunications equipmentand lower phone rates just as PC users were starting tobuy modems and sign up with online services and bulletinboards. The growing deregulation movement in the1990s (culminating in the Telecommunications Act of1996) furthered this process by opening cable and broadcasttelevision, radio, and other wireless communication tocompetition.With more than half of American Internet users onhigh-speed connections (see broadband), the delivery ofcommunications and media over the Net can only grow.Wireless and mobile services (satellite, cell network,and 802.11—see wireless computing) have also beengrowing vigorously. The result is that the “informationhighway” now has many lanes, with some being expresslanes.Convergence and the FutureThe ability of the Internet to transmit any sort of data virtuallyanywhere at relatively low cost has created new alternativesto traditional communications technologies. Forexample, sending digitized voice telephone calls as packetsover the Internet can provide a lower-cost alternativeto conventional long distance calling (see VoIP). At thesame time, previously separate functions are converginginto “smarter” devices. Thus, the handheld computer andthe cell phone seem to be converging into a single devicethat can provide data management (see smartphone). Webbrowsing, and communications in a single package.Computers and communications technology will continueto grow more intertwined. Today it is increasingly hard to distinguishinformation technology, media content, and communicationstechnology as being distinctive sectors. After all, aconsumer can watch a movie in the theater or later on broadcast,cable, or satellite TV, rent it on commercial videotapeor DVD disk (playable on PCs as well as portable players),or even view it as a streaming file direct from the Internet.Although these technologies have differing technical constraints,their end products are the same for the consumer.This multiplicity of function means that the competitiveenvironment is increasingly hard to predict, since there areso many possible players. The companies offering contentthrough this variety of technologies are also increasinglyintertwined.For analysts, studying any technology requires awarenessof the many possible alternatives, while studying anyapplication means considering the many possible technologicalimplementations. For policy makers and regulators,the challenge is to provide for such public goods as equalaccess, privacy, and protection of intellectual property in acommunications infrastructure that is truly global in scopeand evolving at a pace that frequently outdistances thepolitical process.Further ReadingBenjamin, Stuart Minor, et al. Telecommunications Law and Policy.2nd ed. Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2006.———. Telecommunications Law and Policy, 2007 Supplement. Durham,N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2007.Goleniewski, Lillian. Telecommunications Essentials: The CompleteGlobal Source. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Addison-Wesley, 2007.Hill Associates. Telecommunications: A Beginner’s Guide. Berkeley,Calif.: McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2002.“Media and Telecommunications Policy and Legislation.” MoffittLibrary, UC Berkeley. Available online, URL: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/MediaPolicy.html. Accessed August 22,2007.Olejniczak, Stephen P. Telecom for Dummies. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley,2006.telecommutingTelecommuting (also called telework) is the ability to workfrom home or from some location other than the mainoffice. According to a report by the nonprofit organizationWorldatWork, 28.7 million people worked from home atleast one day a month in 2006. (Self-employed persons, ofcourse, have a much higher rate of working from home.)Telecommuting was made possible by the growing capabilitiesof home computers and the availability of networkconnections that allow the worker at home to have accessto most of the people and facilities that would be availableif the worker were on site. Workers and companies that promotetelecommuting often cite the following advantages: