COURSE SYLLABUS

School of Management
The University of Texas at Dallas

Course: MIS 6316.0G1 Telecommunications

Instructor: Syam Menon
Semester: Fall 2005

| Course Information | Technical Requirements | Course Access | Communications |

| Student Assessment | Scholastic Dishonesty | Course Evaluation | Course Outline |

Course Information
Course Description

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The aim of this course is to familiarize the students with the rapidly changing technologies in the
telecommunications arena and to identify and formalize their impact on business processes,
management of organizations and consumers. Not too long ago, telecommunications and
computing systems were considered as separate islands of technology. However, with
phenomenal advances in fields like Local Area Networks (LAN’s), client/server architecture and
high-speed technologies such as Frame Relay and ATM, the network has become inseparable
from the computers it links together. It is now feasible to connect the best of desktops, minis and
mainframes, and to bring them in a common orbit with the objective of enhancing the
organizational productivity. The dramatic improvement in microprocessor power per dollar and
the pressure towards globalization are also accelerating the trend towards distributed
computing. The ongoing construction of the digital ‘Information Superhighway’, the escalating
importance of the Internet, the rush to build secure and reliable Intranet applications for
electronic commerce and the intense pressure to migrate to “open”, interoperable and
integrated systems have created a new vista of opportunities and challenges for Information
Systems (IS) managers. As new data communication technologies keep coming, managers
must make prudent investment decisions to maximize the bottom line value. Organizations,
which successfully recognize, plan and manage this new world of changes, are likely to add
significantly to their efficiency, productivity and profitability.

IS managers need to have an in depth understanding of a gamut of issues relating to data

communications and distributed processing, including technical, economic and managerial
details. Along with pure technical details we will examine relevant managerial insights. For
example, an IS manager needs to know some technical details of high speed data
communication options like FDDI, Frame Relay and ATM’s; however, it is more important that
the manager be aware of the cost benefit and adoption implications of the technologies, and be
able to make sound decisions based on a variety of organizational factors. Similarly in
conjunction with computer communication standards like OSI and TCP/IP, we will examine the
economic factors that lead to the emergence (or absence) or common networking standards.
The course will focus on currently observed industry trends, including the digital convergence of
voice, video and data, enterprise wide connectivity, distributed computing environments and the
massive demand for Internet based open systems.
 We will follow the textbook in order to cover basic concepts. It is assumed that you access to
the Internet and know how to use the vast resources available on it. If this is not the case, you
are expected to become familiar with the internet and use it to find materials to respond to some
of the class assignments. Later, during the course, some of this information will be used to
introduce and discuss the theory that explains the enormous economic power of
telecommunication systems.

During this semester we will identify and analyze the different components of various kinds of
telecommunication systems and their impact on business. Further, we will gain some insight into
emerging trends in the telecommunication systems due to the development of new technologies
and systems. The systems studied will include Voice networks, Data networks, integrated
Voice/data networks, Broadcast, Cellular, PCS communications, LAN/WAN technologies and
satellite communications. This is not designed to be a course that will make you an expert in
any of these areas, rather the attempt will be to expose you to each of these technologies so
that you can make informed decisions regarding them.

Instructor Information

Instructor: Dr. Syam Menon

Email: syam@utdallas.edu
Web: http://www.utdallas.edu/~syam
TA: Deniz Demir
Email: ddemir@utdallas.edu

Course Materials

Required:
− "Business Data Communications", W. Stallings, Fifth Edition 2005, Prentice Hall,
ISBN: 0-13-144257-0

Textbooks and some other bookstore materials can be ordered online through MBS Direct
Virtual Bookstore. They are also available in UTD Bookstore and Off-Campus Books.

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Technical Requirements
In addition to a confident level of computer and Internet literacy, certain minimum technical
requirement must be met to enable a successful learning experience. Technical requirements
include but are not limited to:

Hardware
• A Pentium processor or equivalent Mac system; Windows 98/Me/2000/XP or Mac OS
9.x or OS X 10.x.
• Internet access with 56.6 kbps modem (minimum). A high-bandwidth connection is
recommended.
• 128 MB system Ram; 500 MB free disk space or sufficient storage
• Sound card
 • CD-ROM capabilities
Software
• Web browser: Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, AOL or Mozilla or Safari. For
WebCT supported browsers and versions, please see validated browser list. Also see
browser configuration information below.
• MS Office 2000 is the minimum standard. (Microsoft software is available at a nominal
cost from the UTD/Microsoft Program. For more information, visit the Global MBA Online
Student Service web page at:
http://som.utdallas.edu/globalmba/gmba_online_services.htm).
• Virus detection/protection software (such as McAfee)
• “Plug-ins” including (free version available for downloading):
− RealPlayer (http://www.real.com)
− Adobe Acrobat Reader (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html)
− Java – Sun Microsystems (http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp)
− Macromedia Flash Player (http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/)
• A zip file expansion tool such as WinZip or Stuffit Expander (available at:
http://www.download.com).

Web Browser Configuration

For WebCT courses to work properly, you will need one of the WebCT supported
browsers listed above with Java enabled and cookies enabled. It is also important that
you set the cache settings of your browser to verify web documents “Every Time”.
You should also disable any pop-up blocker. The methods for configuring these
settings vary among browsers. Please follow this web link provided by WebCT to tune-up
your browser:http://www.webct.com/tuneup/.

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Course Access and Navigation

This course is developed using a web course tool called WebCT. It is to be delivered entirely
online. You will be notified by email about the course access information at the start of the
course. You’ll need to have a UTD NetID and password (your UTD Unix/Email ID and
password) to access the course. If you have not used a UTD NetID account yet, you can go to
https://netid.utdallas.edu/ to initiate your account shortly before or at the start of the
semester. Your UTD NetID is your WebCT ID to be used to log on to the UTD WebCT courses.
For more information, please check out this NetID FAQs page. The URL for the course login
page is: http://webct.utdallas.edu. You can login to the course whenever you want. You are
required to meet any deadlines for the assignments and exams and also any schedules for
class activities or tasks the course requires. You should login to the course site regularly to
check course updates, discussion board messages and so on.

You’ll access “My WebCT” page after you login. The page listed all the courses you’ve
registered. You can click the course title to access the course Home page which displays
several icon links. Clicking each icon link will take you to different subsidiary pages containing
the course content elements or built-in course tools. Some navigation components such as the
Navigation Bar with Course Menu on the left side, the Menu Bar and the path link on the top and
the Action Menu on the content page can help you navigate within the course site.
To get started with a WebCT course, please see Getting started: Student WebCT Orientation.
For more information about WebCT tool usage, please see the WebCT’s Student Help Index.
Within the course site, you can always click HELP on the WebCT Menu Bar to find information
and answers. You can also check out the Orientation Center to Online Learning and WebCT
provided on WebCT’s web site. For more WebCT information and its learning resources, visit
http://www.webct.com.

If you have any problem with your UTD account or connection to the UTD WebCT server, you
may email to: assist@utdallas.edu or call UTD computer help call center at: 972-883-2911. If
you encounter any technical difficulties with the course, you can send an email to
gmbasupport@utdallas.edu.

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Communications
WebCT built-in communication tools: There are four built-in communication tools to facilitate
learning, communication and collaboration. A course conferencing system, the Discussion,
allows the communications among all course participants. Discussion topics or groups can be
set up for topic discussions and homework assignments. You can use course Mail tool to
communicate privately with instructor and classmates. The Chat tool can be used for real time
communication among course participates. Please see specific information for accessing Chat
tool: http://som.utdallas.edu/training/chat.htm. Finally there is a Whiteboard tool also allows
real-time interaction among course participants using a graphical interface. Instructor may
schedule times to use the Chat and/or Whiteboard tools for office hours and/or class discussion
sessions. Small groups may also use Chat for group discussions.

Interaction with Instructor: Instructor will communicate with students mainly using course
Discussion board. Students may send personal concerns or questions to the instructor using
course Email tool. Instructor will reply to student emails or Discussion board messages within 3
working days under normal circumstances.

MeetingPlace Conference System: UTD maintains a telephone conferencing system from

Latitude Communications. Online instructors can use the system for class teleconference
sessions during the semester. Participants can access a meeting by dialing a “972” area code
number using any touch tone phone and entering a meeting code. If any teleconference is
scheduled for the course, students will be posted for times and access instructions. A class
teleconference is usually recorded and can be reviewed over the phone after the conference.
Please see TeleConference Guide for general conference participation and review instructions.

While different online programs in the School of Management make regular use of the system
for class discussions, conferencing is also available for smaller groups of students for group
discussions or group assignment preparations. If a group wants to reserve a time slot during the
workweek of Monday through Friday, please send an email one week in advance to
gmbasupport@utdallas.edu with course name, student names and email addresses, choice of
date, and start and end times. Once a reservation has been made, students will receive a
confirmation and participation instructions.

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Student Assessment
Grading Information:

There will be three quizzes, four homework assignments and one examination. The weights on
these material are as shown.
• Homework: 40%
• Quizzes: 30%
• Exam (online): 30%

Make-up tests will not be allowed without prior permission.

You can check your grades by accessing “My Grade” icon on Student Tools page after the
grade for each assessment task is released.

Participation
Class participation is encouraged via the various tools described earlier.

Homework
There will be four homework assignments in this course. In addition to reading assignments,
homework assignments will involve mastering basic desktop applications (such as web page
creation and file transfer).

Assignment submission instructions: You will submit your assignments (in the required file
format with a simple file name and a file extension, no space or special characters) by using the
Assignment Dropbox tool on the course site. Please see the Assignments icon on the
designated page. You can click each assignment name link and follow the on-screen
instructions to upload your file(s) and submit it. Please refer to the Help menu or the WebCT
Student Guide for more information on using this tool. Please note : each assignment link can
only be used for submission for one time and will be deactivated after the assignment due time.
After your submission is graded, you may click each assignment’s “Graded” link to check the
results and feedback.

Online Tests/Quizzes
Quizzes will consist of a number of questions (in true/false and/or multiple choice formats)
designed to test your knowledge of the course work covered so far. Quizzes will not be
cumulative.

You can access quizzes by clicking the Online Quizzes icon and then clicking the available quiz
title links. Each quiz is timed and can only be accessed once within the scheduled time window.
Please read the on-screen instructions carefully before you click the Begin Quiz button. After
each quiz is graded and released for reviewing, you may go back to the quizzes page and click
the “Completed” link under status column of the quiz to review your quiz results and any
feedbacks from the instructor.

Examination
There will be one online examination. It will be available from 12:01 am on November 15th, and
should be completed before 11:55 pm on November 17th, 2005. It will consist primarily of short
answer type questions, and will be comprehensive. Make sure that you explain your work
clearly in every question. You will have two hours to type in the answers. Some questions will
require analysis/problem solving. If you believe that part of your analysis cannot be explained
on-line, you may fax me this portion of the analysis. If you need to fax me any material, clearly
specify the material I need to consider BY NOTING THE APPROPRIATE INFORMATION ON
THE ONLINE EXAM. I will review it if necessary, BUT ONLY AS A SUPPLEMENT TO
CLARIFY THE MATERIAL ON-LINE – MATERIAL NOT CLEARLY SPECIFIED ON THE
ONLINE EXAM WILL NOT BE REVIEWED.

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Scholastic Dishonesty
The University has policies and discipline procedures regarding scholastic dishonesty. Detailed
information is available on Scholastic Dishonesty web page. All students are expected to
maintain a high level of responsibility with respect to academic honesty. Students who violate
University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the
possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty
harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic
dishonesty will be strictly enforced.

Course Evaluation
As required by UTD academic regulations, every student needs to do an evaluation for each
enrolled course at the end of the semester. An online instructional assessment form will be
made available for your confidential use. Please look for the course evaluation link on the
course Homepage towards the finishing of the course. Your feedback and comments are greatly
appreciated.

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Course Outline/Schedule

WEEK DATES TOPIC/LECTURE READING ASSIGNMENT /

ACTIVITY

1 08/18/2005 Course Access; HW 1 assigned

Self-Orientation
2 08/25/2005 Fundamentals of Data Primarily Ch 15;
Communications & Networking notes

3 09/01/ Primarily from Ch HW 1 due

Hardware
9, 14, 16; notes

4 9/8 Ch 12; notes HW 2 assigned

Voice Communications
5 9/15 Data Link and Network Layers Ch. 5, 6; notes

6 9/22 Ch 5; notes HW 2 due;

TCP/IP and other protocols
QUIZ 1 last date

7 9/29 Parts of Ch 9, 15; HW 3 assigned

LANS
notes

8 10/6 LANS Parts of Ch 9, 15;

notes

9 10/13 Primarily Ch 12, HW 3 due

MAN/WAN’s
13; notes

10 10/20 Primarily Ch 12, HW 4 assigned;

MAN/WAN’s
13; notes QUIZ 2 last date

11 10/27 Wireless Networks Ch 14; notes

12 11/3 Ch 14; notes HW 4 due

Wireless Networks

13 11/10 Parts of Ch 19; QUIZ 3 last date

Network Security
Primarily Ch 20;
notes
14 11/17 Online Final Exam Last Date

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