Lesson1: Introduction to the Telecommunication Industry

  • What is telecommunications?

    • It comes from the combination of Greek and Latin

    • Tele is the Greek word for far

    • Communication comes from the Latin word communicare

      • Means to share or make common

    • Telecommunications means to communicate over long distances

      • Came into common usage with development of electronic media in the late 1800s and 1900s.the

      • Today, we use the word to refer to all forms of communications

        • Radio, television, telephony, and the internet

    • Characteristics of telecommunications

      • Fast

        • Radio waves travel at the speed of light: 186,000 miles per second

        • The same is true for a laser light traveling through a fiber optic glass cable

        • Elections traveling over telephone wire on coaxial cable face more resistance and travel at about two-thirds of the speed of light

          • About 123,000 miles per second ( still thousands of times faster than any other communication)

      • Cheap

        • A comparatively cheap way to communicate

        • Building wired and wireless networks can cost millions or even billions

          • Once the network is in place, a message can be sent to trillions of individuals around the world for a fraction of the cost

            • Manufacture and distribute physical goods

              • Newspapers, books, CDs, and DVDs

              • Millions of people can see a web page, and it can be maintained for a few dollars per month.

      • Mass

        • Wired and wireless networks allow communications with tensof millions of people

          • 2020 UEFA European football championship was viewed by more than 5 million individuals around the world

          • For comparison, more than 77 million copies of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling have been sold worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books of all time

            • Still, less than the US audience of the 2015 Super Bowl (114 million viewers)

  • Telecommunications and Related Industries

    • The electronic transmission and distribution of content

      • Distribution industries: wired and wireless infrastructures used to distribute information and transmit content

        • Telephone, cable, satellite, internet, and broadcasting companies

          • Examples: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Comcast, DirecTV, and local radio and television

      • Content industries: companies create content such as journalism, advertising, movies, and user-generated content. transmitted over telecommunications networks

        • Examples: NBC, ESPN, YouTube, Facebook, Google, movie studios, record companies, television networks, newspapers, and video game companies

      • Ancillary industries: companies that create software, such as operating systems, smartphones, gaming consoles, and so on, used by content creators and distributors

        • Examples: Microsoft, Apple, Nokia, Samsung, and so on.

    • Many companies are involved with 2 or all 3 components

      • Apple makes hardware and software, and also supplies content through iTunes

      • Comcast/NBCUniversal produces content and owns local cable systems and local broadcasting television distribution outlets

      • Google provides content through its search engine results and YouTube, and also includes software through Android

  • Theoretical communication

    • Many scholars study mass communication to determine its impact on our lives

    • A wide diversity of perspectives, most fit into one of three general approaches to the topic.

      • Information Processing Perspective

        • Perspective: Communication as a way to transmit information

        • The focus is usually on the message itself

          • studying how propaganda can persuade voters

          • examining how a multinational corporation uses GPS to coordinate and track the movement of supplies and products

        • The information processing perspective tends to view communication as facilitating progress

        • Research regarding the effect of media begins from an information-processing perspective

          • whether TV violence makes viewers more violent

      • Ritual Perspective

        • This perspective focuses on the communal or ritualCommunicationommunication

        • Studies examine how mass media socialize individuals to understand social norms and share a common perspective.

          • Most in the US believe society's purpose is to let individuals flourish, and capitalism is the best system for that.

            • Most Americans believe and share those ideas, mainly because of the numerous media messages that reinforce them.

          • Research into ideology and hegemony (how mass media support existing power structures in society) is included in this perspective, as well as scholarship that examines

          • This perspective focuses more on communication, which sustains culture over time rather than on how particular media messages might promote scientific or knowledge progress.

      • Technological Perspective

        • Focuses on how each new communication technology changes the way we think and perceive the world

          • invention of writing emphasized linear thinking and abstract thought, while video games promote problem-solving and decision-making.

          • The idea that television and newer forms of media have reduced attention spans would also fit into this perspective.

          • The average adult in the United States spends four and a half hours per day connected to the internet on smartphones or tablets