ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some of the basics of telecommunications technology as it relates to managing information in the public sector. It presents examples of some of the challenges public managers face in implementing telecommunications technology in the context of an actual implementation of a network for a school district. The chapter addresses some of the current managerial and public policy issues related to the use of telecommunications technology in government. Telecommunications media may be bounded or unbounded. A variety of network typologies is available to implement telecommunications architectures. A network typology refers to the way in which computers and other devices are wired together. Five basic typology configurations are used: bus, ring, star, tree, and mesh. The chapter explains a lot of territory from the technical basics of telecommunications technology to some of the managerial and public policy issues associated with the use of telecommunications technology by governments, businesses, and the public.
