A complete overview of telephony, wireless, and data communications, this is the ideal introduction for the novice and a plain-language refresher for the expert. It explains in clear terms all of today's major networking protocols and where they are headed in the next millennium-including LANs and WANs, TCP/IP and the Internet, ISDN and BISDN, SS7, the cellular network, the fiber backbone, and ATM. It will keep professionals up to date on competing technologies, enabling them to understand and meet clients' needs-whether they design networks, sell equipment, or maintain services.