The telecommunications industry encompasses hundreds of different technologies, which in turn have spawned many trade names, jargon terms, and legal definitions. Those looking for a comprehensive introduction to the technologies, laws, and marketing programs that govern telecommunications need to read The Essential Guide to Telecommunications.

Author Annabel Z. Dodd begins by pointing out that telecommunications technologies have everything to do with signals moving over media. She then goes on to catalog some of the various kinds of signals and media, covering traditional switched telephone service, dedicated lines, public branch exchanges (PBXs), and automatic call distributors (ACDs) along the way. After that foray into technology, she gets into the U.S. telecommunications business environment, focusing heavily on the federal breakup of AT&T in 1984 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. She then explains additional technologies; data communications and the Internet-ISDN, Frame Relay, and analog modems all get attention. The author also pays plenty of attention to wireless solutions, including satellite communications.