🇻🇳 This article is also available in Vietnamese: Các khái niệm cơ bản về mạng di động

1. What is telecommunications?

Telecommunications, also called telecommunication, is the exchange of information over significant distances by electronic means. A complete, single telecommunications circuit consists of two stations, each equipped with a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter and receiver at any station may be combined into a single device called a transceiver. The medium of signal transmission can be electrical wire or cable (also known as "copper"), optical fiber or electromagnetic fields. The free-space transmission and reception of data by means of electromagnetic fields is called wireless.

2. Areas of telecommunications

  • Voice services (fixed, mobile, etc.), data services (e.g. ADSL), video conferencing, Internet TV, telecom network infrastructure for broadband Internet services, satellite, and other telecom/Internet products and services
  • Value-added services on the Internet and mobile phones
  • Messaging, data and entertainment services on mobile networks
  • Online games on the Internet and mobile phones
  • Trading of telecom and Internet equipment

3. More related concepts

  • Mobile communication: wireless communication that lets users make calls, send messages and access data while moving, using radio waves.
  • Cellular network: a network divided into areas called cells, each served by a base station. Neighboring cells use different frequencies so the same frequencies can be reused elsewhere.
  • Base station (BTS / NodeB / eNodeB / gNodeB): equipment with antennas that connects mobile devices to the core network (2G: BTS, 3G: NodeB, 4G: eNodeB, 5G: gNodeB).
  • Mobile generations (1G to 5G): 1G analog voice; 2G digital voice and SMS (GSM); 3G mobile Internet (UMTS/HSPA); 4G high-speed broadband (LTE); 5G very high speed, low latency and massive device connectivity.
  • SIM (Subscriber Identity Module): a card (or eSIM) that identifies the subscriber and stores authentication data for the network.
  • Roaming: using a mobile service on another operator's network, typically in another area or country.
  • Handover (handoff): transferring an ongoing call or data session from one cell to another without interruption as the user moves.
  • Spectrum / frequency band: the range of radio frequencies licensed to operators for providing services.
  • Bandwidth, throughput and latency: bandwidth is the maximum capacity of a link; throughput is the actual data rate achieved; latency is the delay of data from sender to receiver.
  • SMS / MMS: short text messages / multimedia messages (images, audio, video) over the mobile network.
  • VAS (Value-Added Services): extra services beyond basic voice and data, such as ringback tones, news by SMS, mobile payment and entertainment.
  • VoIP / VoLTE: voice over IP networks / voice calls over a 4G LTE network.
  • OTT (Over-The-Top): services delivered over the Internet without an operator's direct involvement, such as Zalo, WhatsApp, YouTube and Netflix.
  • MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator): an operator that provides mobile services using another operator's network infrastructure.
  • Mobile application: software running on a mobile device. Main types: native (iOS/Android), web app (runs in the browser) and hybrid (web technology wrapped in a native shell).
  • IoT (Internet of Things): physical devices and sensors connected to the Internet, often through mobile networks.

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