Data Communication

As we talk of globalization, the economy boom, etc, we often ignore an

important element that's contributing to its success--Communication. Today,

thanks to the number of communications technologies that are available, nothing

seems too far or unreachable. Data Communication via various means be it

broadband, wireless, optical fiber, etc have added a new dimension to the way we

communicate.

Why is it HOT?



When it comes to data communication, there's only one constant--- change. On

a day to day basis millions of data bytes are exchanged globally. So there is a

constant exploration for newer, faster and better technologies. Over the years

many technological landmarks have been achieved enabling faster and reliable

communication. The development in the field of broadband, Wi-Fi, WiMax and

Wideband CDMA are a few such examples. Broadband has a huge market both in

corporate and commercial sectors. It has almost completely wiped out dial up

Internet. With the government extending its full support to service providers,

even remote villages will be connected via broadband in the coming future. The

demand for high speed connectivity has prompted the government and service

providers to think beyond the current 2 Mbps or 4 Mbps speed, as speed is one

factor that has slowed the growth in this segment.

There are major developments taking place in wireless and mobile

communications as well. The popularity of Internet contributed toward the demand

for faster and better communication media. Several applications have been

developed for the Internet that requires high speed connectivity, hence

increasing the demand for broadband. Laptops have completely transformed mobile

computing and given people the option to carry their work anywhere and

everywhere, which has invariably given Wi-Fi a completely new market. CDMA shook

the mobile market, EDGE/GPRS brought Internet on the cell phones making mobile

Internet a common phenomenon. All these and more together fueled the tremendous

growth in data communications.

The arrival of WiMAX will make wireless broadband a reality and enable people to access Net anywhere at high speeds

So far so good



In the last few years a lot of new technologies were developed that
revolutionized the current IT scenario. IP telephony created a huge roar and

changed entirely the way organizations communicate and have transformed the

business landscape. Unified Communications have started to gain foothold in

large enterprises while VOIP has become an integral part of BPOs. The success of

all these technologies are somewhere correlated to the advancement of broadband.

The standardization of Wi-Fi in all notebooks was a huge revolution in itself

and this year we saw notebooks with built-in support for 802.11n draft standard.

This will enable them to access Internet via WiFi at a much enhanced speed.

WiMAX also saw its early days this year, indicative of its earlier than expected

arrival. Most companies are keeping a close eye on WiMAX for last mile

connectivity at a high data rate. Its arrival might lower the price of making

broadband available in remote areas.

One of the technologies that was talked about a lot but didn't quite find its

way in 2007 is 10 Gigabit Ethernet; which provides 10 times faster connectivity

than Gigabit Ethernet. Well it's still early days, but chances of this

technology becoming more prevalent in the next two years are very much there.

IPv6 also saw light of the day and it impacted by bringing about a large

address space that allows greater flexibility in assigning addresses that

eliminates the need of a Network address translator (NAT).

In mobile communications, even though the tussle for 3G continues, policies

are far from decided yet. But chances of seeing it sooner than later are very

bright. CDMA and EDGE gained importance as the demand for mobile Internet gained

amongst corporate executives. This year we have seen Wi-Fi being integrated with

almost all PDAs and smart phones, adding a new dimension to the way Internet is

accessed from mobile. Bluetooth also found new life through mobile devices and

has become one of the most important connectivity options for mobile devices.

The Road ahead



The future looks bright as many technological developments are still taking

place. Broadband will be very hot in the next few years and the hunger for more

and more bandwidth has already prompted a huge demand to increase the speed from

2Mbps or 4Mbps to about 20Mbps like in Japan and Korea. There is already talk

about 100 Gigabit Ethernet being researched upon and it might soon make an

appearance in global markets. The demand for more and more bandwidth has

prompted to think beyond 10 Gigabit, but 10 Gigabit Ethernet is a very strong

contender in the near future and is bound to gain momentum. With many vendors

planning to include 10G port in their switches and routers, we might see 10

Gigabit coming soon.

WiMAX will be a real boon in the field of data communications, making

broadband readily available even in remote places. There are already talks about

developing in-built chipsets for notebooks that will support WiMAX. Mobile WiMAX

is also on cards as the demand for high speed Internet access via mobile devices

gains popularity with each passing day. Ultra Mobile Broadband is a project that

can improve the CDMA 2000 mobile phone standard for next generation applications

and requirements. This is being developed to deliver IP based voice, multimedia,

broadband, information technology, entertainment and others at an economical

cost.

3G too might find its way into the Indian spectrum, though 4G has already

been debated on. So we might just bypass 3G and enjoy the benefits of 4G

directly. In the near future, mobile devices, be it a notebook or a cell phone

will have all the connectivity options available for effective data

communication. Wireless connectivity will be the norm and we will see much more

development in this field than in the wired field.