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Telecommunications equipment refers to hardware used mainly for telecommunications such as transmission lines, multiplexers and base transceiver stations. It encompasses different types of communication technologies including telephones, radios and even computers. Since the early 1990s, the line between telecommunications equipment and IT equipment has started to blur as the growth of the Internet has resulted in the increasing importance of telecommunications infrastructure for data transfer.
Techopedia Explains Telecommunications Equipment
The modern definition of telecommunications equipment is considered to be synonymous with networking equipment, since both function in very similar ways and their purposes are intertwined. They both often rely on software in order to function properly, and therefore depend on technicians who both understand hardware and software.
Telecommunication equipment originally referred to the equipment used in a telephone network, but now it includes more modern IT equipment. This includes mobile devices and base stations, PBX equipment for contact centers and even IP telephony, as well as traditional and enterprise networking equipment for LAN and WAN. Modern enterprise networking equipment connects systems and technology in the consumer and business sectors, and also connects private data, voice networks and public switched telephone networks (PSTNs).
The different kinds of telecommunications equipment are as follows:
- Public switching equipment – analog and digital equipment
- Transmission equipment – transmission lines, base transceiver stations, multiplexers, satellites, etc.
- Customer premises equipment – private switches, modems, routers, etc.
