ALTITUDE ONLINE: TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKS The vision for Altitude Online is to have a seamless network that connects all 12 corporate locations so that Altitude Online employees across the country can function as a unified team. The network will support all forms of communication (text, voice, and video) and information distribution and sharing. All Altitude Online employees will use the network to access information from one centralized corporate database through an enterprise resource planning system. Each Altitude Online office runs a local area network connecting the PCs, servers, and printers at the location. Ethernet routers and hubs provided extremely high-speed data transfer rates for those who connect to the network with a cable. Wireless access points are distributed around the property to provide slightly slower Wi-Fi access from just about every location on the premises. Altitude Online will need to lease private data lines from a telecommunications company such as AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon to connect its LANs together to create a WAN. Routers will need to be installed at each location to ship data packets across the WAN. By leasing a high-bandwidth connection between its offices that could handle multiple Gbps, Altitude Online could support a unified communications system that includes video conferencing capabilities. Perhaps it could even support a telepresence system as well. Such a system would reduce the need for travel by providing high-definition video and audio communications that are as good as being there. The company would need to shut down any traditional PBX networks and move to an all IP network for voice, video, and data. Altitude Online plans to equip its sales reps with BlackBerry smartphones from RIM. The smartphones would allow sales reps to access all communication and information systems while traveling. The company has also set up a VPN, which allows any employee to access the private corporate network securely over the Internet from home or on the road. Altitude Online knows that the more you allow information to flow to employees, the more productive they become. Altitude Online will need to beef up its network administration staff and computer security personnel to insure that the network will be reliable and safe. The more pervasive a network, the more chance for failure or infiltration. Network software could be used to assist administrators in monitoring the network and catching problems before they became serious. Some networks include self-healing technologies that automate the monitoring process and implement fixes as needed. Jon and his team understand that a network supports the lifeblood of an organization. An insufficient network causes work delays, miscommunication, and frustration. Jon intends to beef up the network at Altitude Online to provide more bandwidth than was currently needed to support growth of the company over time.

Read about the Altitude Online case in attached document and answer the following questions.

Discussion questions

1. What telecommunications equipment is needed to fulfill Altitude Onlines vision? 2. Why is it necessary to lease a line from a telecommunications company?

Critical Thinking Questions

3. What types of services will be provided over Altitude Onlines network? 4. What considerations should Jon and his team take into account as they select telecommunication equipment?