science

Telecommunications equipment

Telecommunications equipment is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Telecommunications equipment rather than just read about it. In short: Telecommunications equipment (also telecoms equipment or communications equipment) is a type of hardware which is used for the purposes of telecommunications. Since the 1990s the boundary between telecoms equipment and IT hardware has become blurred as a result of the growth of the internet and its increasing role in the transfer of telecoms data.

Key takeaways

Telecommunications equipment belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Telecommunications equipment to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Telecommunications equipment from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Telecommunications equipment (also telecoms equipment or communications equipment) is a type of hardware which is used for the purposes of telecommunications. Since the 1990s the boundary between telecoms equipment and IT hardware has become blurred as a result of the growth of the internet and its increasing role in the transfer of telecoms data.

Types Telecommunications equipment can be broadly broken down into the following categories:

Public switching equipment Analogue switches Digital switches Voice over IP switches Virtual reality (VR) Transmission equipment Transmission lines Optical fiber Local loops Base transceiver stations Free-space optical communication Laser communication in space Multiplexers Communications satellites Customer premises equipment (CPE) Customer office terminal Private switches Local area networks (LANs) Modems Mobile phones Landline telephones Answering machines Teleprinters Fax machines Pagers Routers Wireless devices

Semiconductors Most of the essential elements of modern telecommunication are built from MOSFETs (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors), including mobile devices, transceivers, base station modules, routers, RF power amplifiers, microprocessors, memory chips, and telecommunication circuits. As of 2005, telecommunications equipment account for 16.5% of the annual microprocessor market.

Vendors The world's largest telecommunications equipment vendors by revenues in 2017 are:

In addition to the global suppliers, Indian companies such as HFCL provide telecom equipment and fibre-optic connectivity solutions for service providers, enterprises, and public-sector networks.

See also Networking hardware List of networking hardware vendors List of telephone switches Network equipment provider

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Telecommunications equipment

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Telecommunications equipment claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Telecommunications equipment before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Telecommunications equipment ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Telecommunications equipment

In research: Telecommunications equipment appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Telecommunications equipment in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Telecommunications equipment is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Telecommunications equipment, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Telecommunications equipment outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Telecommunications equipment in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Telecommunications equipment means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Telecommunications equipment out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Telecommunications equipment in simple terms?

Why does Telecommunications equipment matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Telecommunications equipment?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Telecommunications equipment.