This resource provides the answers to help you make all needed decisions: financial, management, marketing, equipment, applications, and protocols. Written by best-selling author R.J. "Bud" Bates - whose earlier books are telecom classics, you'll find answers to these essential questions about optical switching and networking:1) What is it?2) What do I need to know about it?3) What's it going to do for me?4) How much is it going to cost?

This handbook covers late 1990s developments in telecommunications, DSL technology, voice over IP, Wave Division Multiplexing, XSDL products, VPNs, Advanced Intelligent Networks, SONET, SS&, PCS, and WDM. It is designed to be as user-friendly as possible.