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This article provides a broad overview of telecommunications and network‐related technologies. Topics covered include identification and review of network elements, analog and digital signals, synchronous and asynchronous transmission formats, transmission media and equipment, transmission techniques and characteristics, multiplexing, network types, access technologies, network architectures and topologies, local‐area network technologies and attributes, protocols and protocol issues, gateways, internetworking, local networking alternatives, equipment certification, and various aspects of network management. It is intended to provide the practicing professional in the field of library and information science with a broad, up‐to‐date technical review that might serve to support and facilitate further investigation of current developments in networks and networking. Although the broad range of topics is not treated in depth, numerous references are provided for further investigation.

The purpose of this paper is to build possible future scenarios for indoor connectivity in a venue such as a university campus and build alternative value network configurations (VNCs) defining different local network deployment options, focused on the Finnish telecom market.

In this paper, Schoemaker’s scenario planning method (Schoemaker, 1995) is used to construct future scenarios and the VNC method of Casey et al. (2010) is used to build alternative VNCs. The paper studies the Aalto University campus network for current end-user data usage demand and the existing technology used in meeting the end-user needs and forecasts the demand for the next five years to understand the need for 5G.

This research concludes that with the provision of local spectrum licenses, there is an opportunity for venue owners to take the role of 5G local operator on the venue premises. Furthermore, it enables venue owners to collaborate with the incumbent mobile network operators (MNOs) in a neutral host model and provide venue-specific connectivity services.

A detailed economic assessment for the network deployment in the campus is considered for future study.

Considering the provision for local spectrum licenses, this paper has taken a unique attempt in identifying the future scenarios for local 5G network operations. It provides a strategic direction for the venue owners in adopting 5G technology and whether to make 5G or buy 5G from MNOs.

Leicester Polytechnic Library uses two types of local area network (LAN). The library is connected to the polytechnic campus Cambridge Ring network which allows data communications within the library, throughout the polytechnic sites and with the wide area network. The library provides various services including an OPAC on this polytechnic network. A second LAN, a 3COM Ethernet, is used for a research project investigating the development of a decision support system on networked microcomputers. This article gives the background to these developments, provides a brief summary of local area networking and describes the network configurations implemented.

The development of a local area supply chain network (LASCaN) is only as good as the skills and technological capabilities of the companies within that network. Recent studies have pointed to the lack of capability amongst local suppliers and hence many OEMs have now moved towards global supplier networks to meet demand. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the drivers which push companies to develop global supplier networks.

Through the development of a case study approach, the paper chronicles the design, development and implementation of a supplier development programme (SDP). The programme is subsequently evaluated for its effectiveness in the subject company.

The LASCaN is evaluated rigorously and describes accurately the effectiveness of the system and how the integration of the LASCaN into the global network allows the company to meet the demands of a fluctuating, mass customised market.

The proposed SDP framework for the successful development of a LASCaN contributes to the existing knowledge base on supply chain systems and subsequently disseminates this information in order to provide impetus, guidance and support towards increasing the development of local suppliers in an attempt to move the UK SME sector towards world class manufacturing performance.

Notes how rapid urbanization is transforming the developing world – creating cities, which on the one hand offer opportunities for global economic activity, but on the other hand are beset with serious local civic, economic and social problems. New networks based on information and communication technologies are increasingly being woven into the fabric of these cities supporting the connectedness of powerful groups both within the city and between cities around the world. These flows of global information and communication between powerful groups in the city involved in global economic activity coexist with intense face‐to‐face interactions at the local level. Bangalore in South India presents a major case study of this global/local interaction, being a focal point for software development in the Asian region and globally, but also beset with local problems of civic deficiencies, growing poverty and income inequality. Explores some of the issues which arise as Bangalore serves as a nexus that links global and local networks of exchange. Examines two Bangalore networks which typify global and local duality: the network of software firms located in high technology enclaves in and around the city, and the ostracised network of the slum dwellers of Bangalore, gradually being brought into mainstream discussions of governance in the city. Finds considerable similarities between global networks and local networks and outlines some of these dynamics.

Information systems auditors continue to encounter a proliferation of technologies demanding their attention and expanding the scope of their audit activities. The auditor faces the problem of management expecting adequate audit coverage even though it is impossible to be an expert in all technologies, and even though audit resources are not increasing at the same rate as audit areas. The local area network (LAN) is an example of just such a technology that manifests this three‐pronged problem. Few auditors are technically equipped to audit this area comprehensively yet these networks do pose risks and should be subject to audit. At the same time, new and specialized audit resources, in many cases, are not forthcoming. Discusses some basic aspects of LAN technology having audit and control impact, internal control as it applies to LANs, and presents ideas for auditing this area keeping in mind the realities of what is possible and practical for the auditor. Does not aim to provide a definitive audit approach, but puts forward ideas to stimulate and assist information systems auditors in formulating their own specific approach to LAN audits.

Over the past eight years, the MELVYL catalog has become one of the largest public access catalogs in the world, and now plays a central role in providing access to the library resources of the University of California. Currently, under heavy load, the MELVYL catalog supports many hundreds of simultaneous terminal connections, servicing over a quarter of a million queries a week and displaying more than two million records a week to its user community. This article discusses the history of the network that has supported the MELVYL catalog from the early days of its prototype to the present. It also describes both the current technical and policy issues that must be addressed as the network moves into the 1990s, and the roles that the network is coming to play in integrating local automation, the union catalog, access to resource databases, and other initiatives. Sidebars discuss the TCP/IP protocol suite, internet protocol gateways, and Telenet and related inter‐operability problems.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the degree to which auctioning the right to provide universal service is a viable option in developed countries with high teledensity and near ubiquitous fixed line and mobile networks. The paper also aims to provide signposts on the types of issues regulators need to consider and resolve when designing auctioning mechanisms for the competitive provision of universal service.

The paper examines the nature and scope of universal service, the approaches that have been used to identify the costs of universal service provision and the difficulties in using an auction process to allocate the right to provide universal service in countries with near ubiquitous network infrastructure. Australia is used as a case study on the difficulties of using auctions to encourage new entry in universal service areas served by a powerful incumbent. The paper also examines the types of issues regulators need to resolve when designing auction mechanisms for universal service provision.

The paper concludes that for developed countries, it is unclear whether the use of auctions for the provision of universal service will have the desired effect of ensuring a market‐based approach to service provision. This is because the risks associated with becoming an alternative universal service provider are likely to outweigh the benefits of doing so. Further, the risks faced by an alternative universal service provider are not borne by the incumbent operator thus further increasing the disincentive to bid for the right to provide universal service. The paper also concludes that the practical design of the universal service rights and obligations which will be attached to a winning bidder's license conditions is an extremely important mechanism by which some of the risks to potential universal service providers can be overcome.

The paper stimulates thinking about whether universal service auctions are a viable means of providing universal service in developed countries. In presenting empirical evidence of the difficulties in using auctions to introduce competition in universal service provision, the paper may provide valuable input to the regulatory proceedings associated with introducing universal service contestability arrangements that are currently being conducted in various countries.

Mobile data traffic globally is increasing rapidly in both enterprise and consumer segments. The purpose of this paper is to identify a new network architecture and opportunity that support ubiquitous mobile work for higher-education institutions.

It reviews existing literature and enabling technologies and proposes integrating both wide-area Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-Advanced) and local-area IEEE 802.11ac networks for seamless, gigabit-speed services. A decision framework for moving toward such architecture and a cost/benefit analysis are also presented.

Integrating both LTE-Advanced and IEEE 802.11ac networks for seamless connectivity is technically and organizationally feasible, provided that a higher-education institution has faculty and staff that require locational and interactional mobility. The cost/benefit analysis also shows that moving to the new architecture has potential benefits that can accrue to the higher-education institution.

With the coming availability of these wide-area and local-area gigabit networks, a new architecture that can ubiquitously supports mobile workers may be advantageous to universities and colleges.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first that proposes such integrated architecture in the context of higher-education institutions. In addition to the examination of technological issues and proposed architecture, the decision framework, and cost/benefit analysis should be valuable for institutions contemplating the move toward the new architecture and for guiding further research in this area.

This paper describes some of the findings of a research project (October 1983‐October 1985 funded by BLRDD), investigating the applications of local area networks (LANs) in special libraries and information units.