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{{Short description|Network for communications over distance}}
{{Network science}}

A '''telecommunications network''' is a group of [[Node (networking)|nodes]] interconnected by [[telecommunications link]]s that are used to exchange messages between the nodes. The links may use a variety of technologies based on the methodologies of [[circuit switching]], [[message switching]], or [[packet switching]], to pass messages and signals. 

Multiple nodes may cooperate to pass the message from an originating node to the destination node, via multiple network hops. For this routing function, each node in the network is assigned a [[network address]] for identification and locating it on the network. The collection of addresses in the network is called the [[address space]] of the network.

Examples of telecommunications networks include [[computer network]]s, the [[Internet]], the [[public switched telephone network]]  (PSTN), the global [[Telex]] network, the aeronautical [[ACARS]] network,<ref>{{cite web|title=Telecommunication Network - Types of Telecommunication Networks|url=http://www.wifinotes.com/computer-networks/telecommunication-network.html|access-date=2014-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715071739/http://www.wifinotes.com/computer-networks/telecommunication-network.html|archive-date=2014-07-15|url-status=usurped}}{{sps|date=March 2021}}</ref> and the wireless radio networks of cell phone telecommunication providers.

==Network structure==
This is the structure of network general, every telecommunications network conceptually consists of three parts, or planes (so-called because they can be thought of as being and often are, separate [[overlay network]]s):
* The [[data plane]] (also user plane, bearer plane, or forwarding plane) carries the network's users' traffic, the actual payload.
* The [[control plane]] carries control information (also known as [[Signaling (telecommunications)|signaling]]).
* The [[management plane]] carries the [[operations, administration and management]] traffic required for network management. The management plane is sometimes considered a part of the control plane.

== {{anchor|data network}}Data networks==
{{Area networks}}
Data networks are used extensively throughout the world for communication between individuals and [[organization]]s. Data networks can be connected to allow users seamless access to resources that are hosted outside of the particular provider they are connected to. The [[Internet]] is the best example of the [[internetworking]] of many data networks from different organizations.

Terminals attached to [[IP network]]s like the Internet are addressed using [[IP address]]es. Protocols of the [[Internet protocol suite]] (TCP/IP) provide the control and routing of messages across the and IP data network. There are many different network structures that IP can be used across to efficiently route messages, for example:
* [[Wide area network]]s (WAN)
* [[Metropolitan area network]]s (MAN)
* [[Local area network]]s (LAN)

There are three features that differentiate MANs from LANs or WANs:
# The area of the network size is between LANs and WANs. The MAN will have a physical area between 5 and 50&nbsp;km in diameter.<ref name=gorry_MAN/>
# MANs do not generally belong to a single organization. The equipment that interconnects the network, the links, and the MAN itself are often owned by an association or a network provider that provides or leases the service to others.<ref name=gorry_MAN/>
# A MAN is a means for sharing resources at high speeds within the network. It often provides connections to WAN networks for access to resources outside the scope of the MAN.<ref name=gorry_MAN>{{cite web |url=http://www.erg.abdn.ac.uk/users/gorry/course/intro-pages/man.html |title=Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) |publisher=Erg.abdn.ac.uk |access-date=2013-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010082944/http://www.erg.abdn.ac.uk/users/gorry/course/intro-pages/man.html |archive-date=2015-10-10 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Data center network]]s also rely highly on TCP/IP for communication across machines. They connect thousands of servers, are designed to be highly robust, provide low latency and high bandwidth. Data center network topology plays a significant role in determining the level of failure resiliency, ease of incremental expansion, communication bandwidth and latency.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Noormohammadpour|first1=Mohammad|last2=Raghavendra|first2=Cauligi|title=Datacenter Traffic Control: Understanding Techniques and Tradeoffs|journal=IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials|date=28 July 2018|volume=20|issue=2|pages=1492–1525|doi=10.1109/COMST.2017.2782753|arxiv=1712.03530|s2cid=28143006}}</ref>

==Capacity and speed==
In analogy to the improvements in the speed and capacity of digital computers, provided by advances in semiconductor technology and expressed in the bi-yearly doubling of transistor density, which is described empirically by [[Moore's law]], the capacity and speed of telecommunications networks have followed similar advances, for similar reasons. In telecommunication, this is expressed in [[Edholm's law]], proposed by and named after Phil Edholm in 2004.<ref name="Cherry">{{cite journal |last1=Cherry |first1=Steven |title=Edholm's law of bandwidth |journal=IEEE Spectrum |date=2004 |volume=41 |issue=7 |pages=58–60 |doi=10.1109/MSPEC.2004.1309810|s2cid=27580722 }}</ref> This empirical law holds that the [[bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]] of telecommunication networks doubles every 18 months, which has proven to be true since the 1970s.<ref name="Cherry"/><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Time Multiplexed Beam-Forming with Space-Frequency Transformation|last1=Deng|first1=Wei|last2=Mahmoudi|first2=Reza|last3=van Roermund|first3=Arthur|publisher=Springer|year=2012|isbn=9781461450450|location=New York|pages=1}}</ref> The trend is evident in the [[Internet]],<ref name="Cherry"/> [[cellular network|cellular]] (mobile), [[Wireless LAN|wireless]] and [[local area network|wired local area networks]] (LANs), and [[personal area network]]s.<ref name=":1" /> This development is the consequence of rapid advances in the development of [[MOSFET|metal-oxide-semiconductor technology]].<ref name="Jindal">{{cite book |last1=Jindal |first1=Renuka P. |title=2009 2nd International Workshop on Electron Devices and Semiconductor Technology |chapter=From millibits to terabits per second and beyond – over 60 years of innovation |date=2009 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1109/EDST.2009.5166093 |chapter-url=https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/195547 |isbn=978-1-4244-3831-0 |s2cid=25112828 |access-date=2019-10-14 |archive-date=2019-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823230141/https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/195547 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Transcoder free operation]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Telecommunications}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Telecommunications engineering]]
[[Category:Network architecture]]
[[Category:Telecommunications infrastructure]]