Online telecommunications training courses by Teracom

Course Descriptions

Free previews: click a picture below to watch a full lesson, free!

Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) Courses

The CTNS Certification Package includes six courses plus the TCO CTNS Certification Exam, Certificate and Personalized Letter of Reference. These courses will give you the core knowledge needed in telecom today, plus a certificate to prove it! Unlimited repeats of exams and courses. 30-day no-questions-asked 100% money-back guarantee.

2201 The PSTN
2206 Wireless Telecommunications
2212 OSI Layers and Protocol Stacks
2211 LANs, VLANs, Wireless and Optical Ethernet
2213 IP Addresses, Packets and Routers
2214 MPLS and Carrier Networks

Download the printable PDF brochure

Purchase courses in this set of six in the CTNS Certification Package, or individual courses as best meets your needs.

These courses are also included in the Certified Telecommunications Analyst (CTA) Certification Package.

The Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert CTSME Certification Package
includes all of these courses at a substantial discount... plus 5 TCO certification exams, all with unlimited repeats.

Free Lesson 1: Course Introduction

Another free lesson: The Voiceband

Course 2201 The PSTN

Loops and Trunks • POTS • Circuit-Switching • LECs, CLECs and IXCs • Analog • Voiceband • DTMF • SS7

One cornerstone of a full, rounded base of knowledge of telecommunications is the structure and operation of the Public Switched Telephone Network, built over the past 135 years, still in operation in every country on earth – knowledge necessary for connecting the PSTN to, and steadily replacing the PSTN with IP telecom technologies.

In this course, you'll build a solid understanding of the fundamentals of the telephone system: Customer Premise and Central Office, loops, trunks, remotes, circuit switching and how a telephone call is connected end-to-end. We'll cover LECs, CLECs and IXCs, sound, analog and the voiceband, twisted pair, DTMF and SS7. Updated for the 2020s. Updated for the 2020s.

Course Lessons
1. Introduction
2. History of Telecommunications (USA and Canada)
3. The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
4. Analog Circuits and Sound
5. The Voiceband
6. Plain Ordinary Telephone Service (POTS)
7. Signaling: Pulse Dialing and Dual Tone Multiple Frequency (DTMF)
8. Signaling System 7 (SS7)

Based on Teracom's famous Course 101, tuned and refined over the course of more than 20 years of instructor-led training, we'll cut through the jargon to demystify telephony and the telephone system, explaining the jargon and buzzwords, the underlying ideas, and how it all works together… in plain English.

Featuring many photos of actual equipment both inside a Central Office and in the outside plant, this multimedia course is an excellent way to get up to speed on traditional telephony.

Detailed Course Description

In this online telecommunications course, we begin with a history lesson, understanding how and why telephone networks and the companies that provide them are organized into local access and inter-city transmission, or as we will see, Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) and Inter-Exchange Carriers (IXCs).

Then we will establish a basic model for the PSTN and understand its main components: Customer Premise, Central Office, loop, trunk, outside plant, circuit switching, attenuation, loop length, remotes, and why knowledge of the characteristics of the loop remains essential knowledge even though we are moving to Voice over IP.

Next, we'll cover aspects of telephony and Plain Ordinary Telephone Service, including analog, the voiceband, twisted pair, supervision and signaling including DTMF. The course is completed with an overview of SS7, the control system for the telephone network in the US and Canada.

On completion of this telecommunications course online, you will be able to draw a model of the Public Switched Telephone Network, explain its core-and-edge architecture, identify components and technologies, along with the big picture, including:

Why telecom networks are divided into local access wiring and long-distance transmission
The founding, breakup and re-emergence of AT&T in the US; TELUS and Bell in Canada
A basic model for the PSTN and its main components
Loops, why they are called loops and why there is a maximum loop length
The outside plant
Circuit-switching
Central Office and Customer Premise
How and why remotes are used; fiber to the neighborhood
Plain Ordinary Telephone Service
What analog is, and how it relates to copper wires, electricity, circuits and sound
How microphones and speakers work
The human hearing range
Whether trees falling in the forest if no-one is there to hear them cause a sound
The voiceband
Why and how the telephone system can limit frequencies to the voiceband
Why two wires are used
Why they are twisted together (twisted pair)
Tip and ring, -48 volts
Supervision, dial tone, ringing, lightning protection
Dial-up
Touch-tone and DTMF
Basics of SS7
Call routing between carriers using SS7

Detailed Course Outline

1. Introduction Course introduction and overview

2. History of Telecommunications Local phone companies, long distance; US: Bell System, breakup, LECs and IXCs; Canada

3. The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Loops and trunks, CO, customer premise, circuit-switching, outside plant, loop length, remotes

4. Analog Circuits and Sound What analog means, microphones and speakers, copper wires and electricity, trees falling in the forest

5. The Voiceband Reproducing thoughts vs. reproducing sound, frequency range, filters, limitations

6. Plain Ordinary Telephone Service (POTS) Twisted pair, analogs on two wires, dial tone, ringing, supervision, lightning protection

7. Signaling: Pulse Dialing and DTMF Dial-up, make-or-break signaling, touch-tone, DTMF, in-band signaling

8. Signaling System 7 (SS7) Control system for the PSTN, SCPs and SSPs, call routing between carriers

Download the Course Brochure PDF for the full detailed description

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTNS Certification and Letter of Reference

Certified Telecommunications Analyst (CTA) Certification Package
Sixteen courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence! All choices come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee: full refund within 30 days. details

Free Lesson 1: Course Introduction

Another free lesson: Wi-Fi - 802.11 Wireless LANs

Course 2206 Wireless Telecommunications

Mobile Network Fundamentals • Cellular Principles • Digitized Voice over Radio • Mobile Internet • FDMA, TDMA, CDMA and OFDM • 4G LTE and OFDMA • 5G: New Spectrum, Ultra-Broadband and IoT • Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax • Communication Satellites

Wireless Telecommunications is a comprehensive up-to-date course on cellular plus Wi-Fi and satellites. Taking this course, you will develop a solid understanding of the fundamental principles of radio, mobility and cellular; network components and operation, digital radio, mobile phone calls and mobile Internet access; and spectrum-sharing technology OFDM, and how it's used in LTE and 5G. In addition, you will get up to speed on the components, operation and latest standards for Wi-Fi, and the essentials of satellite communications.

Course Lessons
1. Introduction
2. Mobile Network Components, Jargon and Operation
3. Cellular Principles
4. PSTN Phone Calls using the Phone App: Voice Minutes
5. Mobile Internet: Data Plan
6. Spectrum-Sharing: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDM
7. 4G LTE: Mobile Broadband
8. 5G New Radio: Enhanced Mobile Broadband, IoT Communications
9. Wi-Fi: 802.11 Wireless LANs
10. Communication Satellites

We'll cut through the jargon to demystify wireless, explaining the fundamentals of cellular and mobility, the buzzwords, the network, technologies and generations, the underlying ideas, and how it all works together... in plain English.

Detailed Course Description

You'll gain a solid understanding of the key principles of wireless and mobile networks:

Radio fundamentals
Mobile network components and operation
Coverage, capacity and mobility
Why cellular radio systems are used
Registration and handoffs
Digitized voice over radio for PSTN phone calls
Mobile Internet: "Data Plan"
Cellular technologies: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDM
4G LTE and OFDMA
5G: new spectrum, more b/s, ultra-broadband and IoT
Wi-Fi: 802.11 wireless LANs, Wi-Fi 6 / 802.11ax, Wi-Fi security
GEO and LEO satellite communications

We begin with basic concepts and terminology involved in mobile networks, including base stations and transceivers, mobile switches and backhaul, handoffs, cellular radio concepts and digital radio concepts.

You'll understand how a phone call connects from a cell phone to a landline, and the different methods of allowing other devices to use a smartphone's mobile Internet connection.

Without bogging down on details, we'll review spectrum-sharing technologies: FDMA for first generation; 2G GSM/TDMA, 3G CDMA and 4G and 5G OFDM.

We'll take some time to understand how modems represent bits on subcarriers, and how OFDMA is used in 4G and 5G to dynamically assign subcarrier(s) to users.

This is followed with Wi-Fi, or more precisely, 802.11 wireless LANs: the system components, frequency bands, bitrates and coverage for all of the versions up to Wi-Fi 6 which is 802.11ax, the first Wi-Fi to implement full-duplex communications with multiple simultaneous devices using OFDMA and a theoretical 9.6 Gb/s. We'll also cover WPA-2 and WPA-3 security.

The course is completed with communications satellites, in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit and Low Earth Orbit, including Iridium Next and Starlink.

Detailed Course Outline

1. Introduction Course introduction and overview. Basic radio principles, analog and digital over radio.

2. Mobile Network Components, Jargon and Operation Handset, base station, airlink, handoffs, backhaul and connection to wireline systems

3. Cellular Principles The requirements of coverage, capacity and mobility. Cellular for coverage, spectrum sharing for capacity, and handoffs for mobility.

4. PSTN Calls Using the Native Phone App: "Voice Minutes" Components and operation involved in a phone call: microphone, codec, RF modem, antenna, backhaul and connection to other carriers at the Toll Center building.

5. Mobile Internet: "Data Plan" Mobile Internet via a smartphone; using the RF modem and antenna as a tethered modem, mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.

6. Spectrum-Sharing: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDM Sorting out the generations and standards.

7. 4G LTE: Mobile Broadband Subcarriers, how LTE implements modems on subcarriers, and OFDMA for dynamic capacity sharing.

8. 5G NR: Enhanced Mobile Broadband, IoT Communications New spectrum and use cases: more b/s at conventional frequencies, ultra-broadband in millimeter-wave bands, and low bit rates for IoT devices.

9. Wi-Fi: 802.11 Wireless LANs Wi-Fi components and principles of operation, 802.11 standards, frequency bands and coverage, including Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax, implementing OFDMA with massive performance increase. Completed with WPA-2 and WPA-3 Wi-Fi security.

10. Communication Satellites Geosynchronous Earth Orbit and Low Earth Orbit, Iridium Next and Starlink.

Download the Course Brochure PDF for the full detailed description

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTNS Certification and Letter of Reference

Certified Telecommunications Analyst (CTA) Certification Package
Sixteen courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 1: Course Introduction

Another free lesson:
Protocols and Standards

Course 2212 The OSI Layers and Protocol Stacks

Protocols & Standards • OSI Model • Layers • Protocol Stacks • FedEx Analogy

This course begins the "IP courses" in the Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) certification package.

The OSI 7-Layer Reference Model is used to sort out the many functions that need to be performed, to be able to discuss separate issues separately. The functions are organized into groups called layers, which are stacked one on top of the other. This allows us to relate different pieces of the puzzle in subsequent lessons.

The course starts with the big picture, then one lesson for each layer, then protocol stacks.

Course Lessons
1. Introduction
2. Open Systems
3. Protocols and Standards
4. ISO OSI 7-Layer Reference Model
5. The Physical Layer
6. Data Link Layer
7. Network Layer
8. Transport Layer
9. Session Layer
10. Presentation Layer
11. Application Layer
12. Protocol Stacks
13. Protocol Headers
14. Standards Organizations

Based on Teracom's famous Course 101, tuned and refined over the course of more than 25 years of instructor-led training. You'll learn what a layer is, what the layers are, what each one does and examples of where things like TCP fit into the model ...and how it all works together… in plain English.

Detailed Course Description

This course establishes a framework for all of the discussions in subsequent lessons and courses: the OSI 7-Layer Reference Model, which identifies and divides the functions to be performed into groups called layers.

You'll learn what a layer is, the purpose of each layer, see examples of protocols used to implement each layer, and learn how a protocol stack really works with the famous "FedEx Analogy" presented as an embedded video by our top instructor, Eric Coll.

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain:

The concept of an open system and its advantages
What a protocol is, and what a standard is
The OSI Model and its purpose
What a Layer is
The seven layers of the OSI model
The name of each layer
The functions each layer is responsible for
Examples of actual protocols for each layer
What a protocol stack is and how it operates
Examples of standards organizations that publish protocols

Detailed Course Outline

1. Introduction Course introduction and overview

2. Open Systems Open systems vs. proprietary systems.

3. Protocols and Standards Illustrated overview of all the functions required for communications, and protocols vs. standards

4. ISO OSI 7-Layer Reference Model Top-level overview and introduction to Layers

5. The Physical Layer Fiber, Twisted Pair, Cable and Wireless

6. Data Link Layer LANs and MAC Addresses

7. Network Layer IP, MPLS, Packets and Routers

8. Transport Layer Reliability, Connections, Ports and Sockets

9. Session Layer SIP, POP and HTTP

10. Presentation Layer ASCII, MIME, Compression, Encryption, Codecs

11. Application Layer SMTP, HTML and English

12. Protocol Stacks How a protocol stack and peer protocols actually work. Tracing the flow through the stack with the FedEx Analogy

13. Protocol Headers Babushka Dolls

14. Standards Organizations ISO, IETF, ITU

Download the Course Brochure PDF for the full detailed description

Build structured, broad knowledge of networks - understanding that lasts a lifetime. Stand out from the crowd!

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTNS Certification and Letter of Reference

Certified Telecommunications Analyst (CTA) Certification Package
Sixteen courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Certified IP Telecom Network Specialist (CIPTS) Certification Package
Four courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CIPTS Certification and Letter of Reference

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 1: Course Introduction

Another free lesson:
Twisted-Pair LAN Cables, Categories, Wiring Plan and Switch Hierarchy

Course 2211 LANs, VLANs, Wireless and Optical Ethernet

MAC Addresses • MAC Frames • Layer 2 Switches • VLANs • Ethernet on Copper • 1000BASE-T • Power over Ethernet • Cable Categories • Office Wiring Plan • Wireless Ethernet (Wi-Fi) • Optical Ethernet • Ethernet in the Core, MANs and PONs • Fiber Types • SFP Transceivers • Field Installation

This course is all about Ethernet: the fundamentals, equipment and implementations, including twisted-pair copper cables, wireless and optical, in‑building, in the network core, in MANs and PONs.

Course Lessons
1. Introduction
2. Broadcast Domains, MAC Addresses and MAC Frames
3. LAN Switches a.k.a. Layer 2 Switches
4. VLANs
5. 802 Physical Standards: 802.3 Twisted Pair and 802.11 Wi-Fi
6. Twisted-Pair LAN Cables, Categories, Wiring Plan and Switch Hierarchy
7. Optical Ethernet and Fiber Links

Based on Teracom's famous Course 101, tuned and refined over the course of more than 25 years and counting of instructor-led training.

We'll cut through the jargon to demystify Ethernet, MAC addresses, LANs and VLANs, Ethernet on copper wires, Ethernet over the Ether (Wi-Fi) and Ethernet on fiber: Optical Ethernet.

You'll understand the jargon and buzzwords, the underlying ideas, and how it all works together to form the physical basis of the network that used to be called the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), now being absorbed Pac-Man style by The Internet, becoming the IP Packet-Switched Telecommunications Network (IP‑PSTN).

… in plain English.

Detailed Course Description

This course is all about Ethernet: the fundamentals, equipment and implementations including twisted-pair copper cables, wireless and fiber, in-building, in the network core, MANs and PONs.

Ethernet implements the equivalent of pipe physically connecting two devices. IP and MPLS are used to move packets from one pipe to another. They are covered in other courses.

Ethernet and its MAC frames has fulfilled one of the Holy Grails of telecom, packaging everything the same way on all kind of links: copper wire, fiber and wireless - in the core of the network, in the access network, and in the customer premise. Standardizing on MAC frames across the board makes interworking simpler, more reliable and cheaper to implement. One can only stand back in awe and admire.

We’ll begin with the fundamental idea of a broadcast domain, first implemented with a bus cable.

We’ll understand LAN interfaces, and how each interface has a hard-coded MAC addresses, and how the address field in a MAC frame is used to indicate for whom a frame is intended, since all stations in a broadcast domain receive it.

We’ll then understand how the bus is now inside a box called an Ethernet switch, LAN switch or Layer 2 switch, how the switch learns the MAC address of each station, and how the LAN switch forwards MAC frames to one or more stations.

Then we’ll go over the important idea of VLANs, which are broadcast domains defined in software, and how VLANs can be used to segregate traffic by device type and by work area at the enterprise level, and segregate traffic by customer at the carrier level.

You’ll learn about the many standards for implementing Ethernet, 802.3 from the original 10BASE-5 to 1000BASE-T on Categories of twisted-pair cables, 802.11 wireless LANs and Wi-Fi certification.

We’ll finish with a compressive lesson on Optical Ethernet: Ethernet on fiber, which is the basis of today’s telecom network.

You’ll learn how bits are represented on fiber, how fiber cables are installed underground, and how fiber splicing is used to connect bulk fiber to equipment.

We’ll review Optical Ethernet standards from 1 Gb/s to 100 Gb/s.

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain:

The idea of a broadcast domain.
The idea of a MAC addresses to identify a LAN interface on a station in a broadcast domain.
What MAC frames are, and what purpose they serve.
What a LAN switch is, and what it does.
How VLANs can be used to segregate devices into different broadcast domains.
The IEEE 802 series of standards: The 802.3 standard and communicating MAC frames at 10 Mb/s on coaxial cables to Gigabit Ethernet on copper and fiber.
What the code 1000BASE-T means.
MAC frames over the Ether, a.k.a. Wi-Fi, the 2.4 and 5 GHz unlicensed bands, and the fundamentals of how the bits in MAC frames are communicated using radio carrier frequencies.
Wiring Ethernet to the work area with Cat 5, Cat 5e and Cat 6 twisted-pair copper-wire cables. Wiring closets and Layer 2 aggregation switches.
What Optical Ethernet is, and how it is the building block of telecom networks, including Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), carrier MPLS networks, and Passive Optical Networks (PONs) for fiber to the home.
The fundamentals of how the bits in MAC frames are communicated using light guided in glass tubes.
How fiber cables are deployed and connected to equipment at each end.
What designations like 100GBASE-ER4 mean.

Detailed Course Outline

1. Course Introduction

2. Broadcast Domains, MAC Addresses and MAC Frames
The fundamental idea of devices connected together in a broadcast domain, and how stations communicate using MAC addresses

3. LAN Switches a.k.a. Layer 2 Switches
How LAN switches are at the center of practical implementation of connecting stations, and how they forward frames between stations in a broadcast domain.

4. VLANs
Defining broadcast domains in software to segregate traffic. Used to separate customer traffic on carrier MANs, and used in-building as a basic network security measure.

5. 802 Physical Standards: 802.3 Twisted Pair and 802.11 Wi-Fi
Ethernet on copper wires, and standards like 1000BASE-T. Ethernet over the Ether, usually called Wi-Fi, and how MAC frames are communicated using radio carrier frequencies.

6. Twisted-Pair LAN Cables, Categories, Wiring Plan and Switch Hierarchy Wiring
Ethernet to the work area with Cat 5, Cat 5e and Cat 6 twisted-pair copper-wire cables, wiring closets and Layer 2 aggregation switches.

7. Optical Ethernet and Fiber Links
The fundamental idea of representing the 1s and 0s that make up a MAC frame using light carried in a glass tube, how fibers are actually installed and commissioned, and review the Optical Ethernet implementations in the 802.3 standard.

Download the Course Brochure PDF for the full detailed description

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTNS Certification and Letter of Reference

Certified Telecommunications Analyst (CTA) Certification Package
Sixteen courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Certified IP Telecom Network Specialist (CIPTS) Certification Package
Four courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CIPTS Certification and Letter of Reference

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 1: Course Introduction

Another free lesson:
Network Address Translation (NAT)

Course 2213 IP Addresses, Packets and Routers

IP Addresses • Packets • Networks • Routers • Static and Dynamic Addresses • DHCP • Public and Private Addresses • NAT • IPv6

IP Networks, Routers and Addresses is a comprehensive course on IP networking fundamentals: IP packets, IP addressing and IP routers.

We'll see how routers implement the network with packet-switching, that is, relaying packets from one circuit to another, and how routers are a point of control for network security. We'll introduce the term Customer Edge (CE), and understand the basic structure and content of a routing table.

Then we'll cover the many aspects of IP addressing: IPv4 address classes, dotted decimal, static vs. dynamic addresses, DHCP, public vs. private addresses, Network Address Translation, and finish with an overview of IPv6.

Course Lessons
1. Introduction
2. Review: Channelized Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM)
3. Statistical Time-Division Multiplexing: Bandwidth-on-Demand
4. Network: Bandwidth on Demand + Routing
5. Routers
6. IPv4 Addresses
7. DHCP
8. Public and Private IPv4 Addresses
9. Network Address Translation
10. IPv6 Overview
11. IPv6 Address Allocations and Assignment

Based on Teracom's famous Course 101, tuned and refined over the course of 20 years of instructor-led training, we'll cut through the jargon to clearly explain IP and routers, packets and addresses, the underlying ideas, and how it all works together… in plain English.

Detailed Course Description

This course could also be called "Layer 3", as it is all about Layer 3 of the OSI model: the network layer, and in particular, IP packet networks.

Packet networks embody two main ideas: bandwidth on demand and packet switching.

First, we'll recap channelized TDM and its limitations, then understand statistical TDM or bandwidth on demand.

Next, we'll understand how routers implement the network with packet switching, that is, relaying packets from one circuit to another, and how routers are a point of control for network security. We'll introduce the term Customer Edge (CE), and understand the basic structure and content of a routing table.

Then we'll cover the many aspects of IP addressing – needed to be able to do the packet switching: IPv4 address classes, dotted decimal notation, static vs. dynamic addresses, DHCP, public vs. private addresses, Network Address Translation, and finish with an overview of IPv6 and IPv6 address allocation and assignment.

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain:

What a packet is
What a router is
Overbooking and bandwidth on demand
Why and how it can be implemented
What a network is, what a private network is
How routers implement a network by connecting links
How routers move packets between broadcast domains
Basic network design and security: packet filtering
The basic structure and contents of a routing table
The Customer Edge
IPv4 address blocks: Class A, Class B and Class C
Dotted-decimal notation
Static addresses and dynamic addresses
DHCP and how and why it is used to assign both
Public addresses and private addresses
How, why and where each is used
NAT: Network Address Translation
IPv6
How IPv6 addresses are allocated to ISPs
How each residence gets 18 billion billion IPv6 addresses

Detailed Course Outline

1. Introduction Course introduction and overview

2. Review: Channelized Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) Traditional TDM – and why it is inefficient

3. Statistical Time-Division Multiplexing: Bandwidth-on-Demand Overbooking and opportunistic capacity

4. Private Network: Bandwidth on Demand + Routing The simplest framework for understanding routers and bandwidth on demand

5. Routers Routers and routing tables. Packet forwarding and packet filtering. Customer Edge.

6. IPv4 Addresses Address classes and dotted-decimal notation.

7. DHCP Dynamic addresses and static addresses – and how both are assigned using DHCP

8. Public and Private IPv4 Addresses How to obtain public addresses, and why private addresses are used in many cases

9. Network Address Translation How a NAT glues private IPv4 addressing used in-building to public addressing used on the Internet

10. IPv6 Overview Introduction to IPv6, what's new, the improvements on IPv4 and the IPv6 packet format

11. IPv6 Address Allocations and Assignment Types of IPv6 addresses, registries and allocations to ISPs. How subnets are assigned to end-users

Download the Course Brochure PDF for the full detailed description

Understand the whole IP story, including routers, packets, addresses, DHCP, NAT and IPv6. What's not to like?

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTNS Certification and Letter of Reference

Certified Telecommunications Analyst (CTA) Certification Package
Sixteen courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Certified IP Telecom Network Specialist (CIPTS) Certification Package
Four courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CIPTS Certification and Letter of Reference

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 1: Course Introduction

Another free lesson:
TCP/IP over MPLS

Course 2214 MPLS and Carrier Networks

Carrier Packet Networks • Technologies • MPLS • MPLS VPNs • SLAs • CoS • Integration & Aggregation

MPLS and Carrier Networks is a comprehensive training course designed to build a solid understanding of carrier packet networks and services, the terminology, technologies, configuration, operation and most importantly, the underlying ideas… in plain English.

We'll cut through the buzzwords and marketing to demystify carrier packet networks and services, explaining Service Level Agreements, traffic profiles, virtual circuits, QoS, Class of Service, Differentiated Services, integration, convergence and aggregation, MPLS and other network technologies, and how they relate to TCP/IP without bogging down on details.

Course Lessons
1. Introduction
2. Carrier Packet Network Basics
3. Service Level Agreements
4. Virtual Circuits
5. X.25*
6. Frame Relay*
7. TCP/IP over Frame Relay*
8. QoS Requirement for Voice over IP
9. ATM*
10. MPLS
11. TCP/IP over MPLS
12. Differentiated Classes of Service using MPLS
13. Integration and Convergence using MPLS
14. Managing Aggregates of Traffic with MPLS Label Stacking
15. MPLS Services vs. Internet Service

* Lessons on these legacy technologies are optional, included for reference for anyone who needs to know about them. They are not on the final exam. Feel free to skip these lessons.

Based on Teracom's famous Course 101, tuned and refined over the course of over 25 years of instructor-led training, you will gain career- and productivity-enhancing knowledge of the structure, components and operation of carrier packet networks and services, how they are implemented, packaged and marketed by carriers and how they are used by government, business… and other carriers.

Detailed Course Description

MPLS and Carrier Networks is a comprehensive, up-to-date course on the networks companies like AT&T build and operate, how they are implemented, the services they offer, and how customers connect to the network.

This course can be taken by those who need just an introduction to carrier networks and MPLS, as well as by those who need to build a solid base on which to build project- or environment-specific knowledge.

In the previous course, we used a private network, i.e. dedicated point-to-point circuits connected with routers, as the simplest framework for understanding packets, bandwidth on demand, routers, and network addresses.

In this course, we will take the same idea and apply it again at the carrier network level: replacing the dedicated lines with bandwidth on demand service from a carrier between the customer locations.

We'll spend much of this course understanding a powerful traffic management tool called virtual circuits, how they are implemented with MPLS, and how MPLS can be used to provide differentiated services, aggregate traffic and implement convergence.

Without bogging down on details, we'll cut through buzzwords and marketing to demystify:

Carrier packet networks and services
Customer Edge (CE) and Provider Edge (PE)
Service Level Agreements
Traffic profiles
Virtual circuits
QoS, Class of Service and Differentiated Services
Integration, convergence and aggregation
MPLS and other network technologies
How this relates to TCP/IP
How MPLS is used for business customer VPNs
How MPLS is used for integrated access:
How all services are carried together on one circuit
How MPLS is used to prioritize and manage IP packets
"MPLS services" vs. the Internet

Detailed Course Outline

1. Introduction Course introduction and overview

2. Carrier Packet Network Basics Customer Edge, Provider Edge, Access and Core

3. Service Level Agreements Traffic Profile and Class of Service

4. Virtual Circuits Traffic Classes, Virtual Circuits and Virtual Circuit IDs

5. X.25 Packet Network Protocol Stack & OSI Layers*

6. Frame Relay Frame Relay vs. Packet Switching, IP, TCP, FRADs*

7. TCP/IP over Frame Relay Tracing a file download end-end through the equipment and protocols*

8. QoS Requirement for Voice over IP How packetized voice works and what is needed

9. ATM Brief overview: ATM objectives, cells, Service Classes*

10. MPLS MPLS components, jargon, basic operation

11. TCP/IP over MPLS Tracing a file download end-end, MPLS for VPN or VPLS

12. Differentiated Classes of Service using MPLS QoS, traffic classification, Diff-Serv: multiple CoS

13. Integration and Convergence using MPLS Carrying all traffic on a single network technology

14. Managing Aggregates of Traffic with MPLS Label Stacking Carrying virtual circuits on virtual circuits - access and core

15. MPLS Service vs. Internet Service Similarities and differences, pros and cons. The Future.

*Lessons on legacy technologies X.25, Frame Relay and ATM are included for anyone who needs to know about them. Feel free to skip these lessons; their content is not on the exam.

Download the Course Brochure PDF for the full detailed description

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTNS Certification and Letter of Reference

Certified Telecommunications Analyst (CTA) Certification Package
Sixteen courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CTA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Certified IP Telecom Network Specialist (CIPTS) Certification Package
Four courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CIPTS Certification and Letter of Reference

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Certified Wireless Analyst (CWA) Courses

The CWA Certification Package includes three courses, CWA Certification Exam, TCO Certificate and Personalized Letter of Reference.

2231 Wireless Fundamentals
2232 Mobile Communications
2233 Fixed Wireless: Wi-Fi

These courses cover the full range of wireless fundamentals, jargon and technologies, giving you the knowledge required in the wireless business today, plus a certificate to prove it!

Download the printable PDF brochure

Purchase courses in this set of three in the CWA Certification Package, or individual courses as best meets your needs.

Check out the CTNS + CWA combo package discount special!

Free Lesson 1: Course Introduction

Course 2231 Wireless Fundamentals

Radio fundamentals • Spectrum • Digital radio • Modems and Modulation • Propagation, Penetration and Fading

Wireless Fundamentals is the first course in the CWA Certification Package. We begin with the basics: what radio is, how it's organized and how and it's used to communicate information.

We begin by understanding what radio actually is, and why we use it for communications. We'll understand how radio frequencies are in the Gigahertz range, used within frequency bands measured in the Megahertz wide.

Then we will look at the spectrum, i.e. standardized bands of frequencies, how they are allocated and the need for licenses. You will learn which bands are used for what, from cordless phones to Wi-Fi and cellular, including the new 700-MHz bands.

Next, we'll understand how information is represented using radio. The first stop is a quick review of old-fashioned analog radio and TV, followed by what most systems use today: digital. We'll spend some time understanding digital, how 1s and 0s are communicated by modems and familiarize you with jargon and buzzwords like QAM and QPSK.

We'll finish off with radio transmission issues, including propagation, penetration and fading.

Course Lessons

1. Radio Fundamentals
2. Wireless Spectrum and Radio Bands
3. Analog Radio
4. Digital Radio: How Modems Work
5. Propagation, Penetration and Fading

Detailed Course Description

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain

What is meant by "radio"
Why we use it
The frequencies and bands that are used
Which services each is used for
How we represent 1s and 0s on these bands, and
Transmission characteristics including propagation, penetration and fading.

Download the printable Course Brochure PDF

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified Wireless Analyst (CWA) Certification Package
Three courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CWA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 1: Mobile Network Components and Operation

Course 2232 Mobile Communications

Cellular Principles • Mobility • Handoffs • PSTN Phone Calls • Mobile Internet • FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDM • GSM, UMTS, HSPA • LTE and OFDMA • 5G New Radio • mmWave • IoT

Course 2232 Mobile Communications is the second course in the CWA Certification Package.

With a good foundation in place, we'll cover mobile communications from A to Z. This is where the money is!

We begin with basic mobile network concepts and mobility terminology including base stations and transceivers, mobile switches and backhaul, handoffs and cellular radio concepts.

You’ll learn how voice calls using a PSTN phone number are connected from a mobile network to a landline network, and how and where the mobile operator connects to the Internet for mobile Internet service.

We’ll review tethered modems, and connecting nearby devices to the Internet by bridging a smartphone’s mobile Internet service to its Wi-Fi hotspot capability.

We’ll explain the different spectrum-sharing technologies and their variations: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA and OFDM, and installed-base technologies GSM, UMTS, HSPA.

Then we’ll concentrate on LTE, LTE-Advanced and 5G New Radio, including millimeter-wave ultra broadband and low bitrates for IoT devices.

Course Lessons

1. Mobile Network Components and Operation
2. Cellular Principles
3. Frequency-Division Multiple Access
4. PSTN Calls Using the Native Phone App: "Voice Minutes"
5. Mobile Internet: "Data Plan"
6. TDMA (GSM): Time-Division Multiple Access
7. CDMA: Code-Division Multiple Access
8. Spread Spectrum
9. CDMA Operation and Patents
10. 3G: CDMA 1X, UMTS and HSPA
11. Spectrum-Sharing Roundup: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDM
12. 4G LTE: Mobile Broadband
13. OFDM
14. Dynamic Assignment of Subcarriers
15. 5G NR: Enhanced Mobile Broadband, IoT Communications

Detailed Course Description

On completion of this course, you will be able to

Draw a model of a cellular wireless telecommunications network
Identify all of its components and technologies from handset to mobile switch
Explain what "cellular" radio systems are is and why they are used
Explain what a handoff is, and how this implements mobility
Explain the characteristics and operation of FDMA, TDMA, CDMA and OFDM
Which technologies and generations each is associated with
Explain the difference between what mobile operators call "voice minutes" and "data plan"
Explain mobile internet access via cellular, tethered modems and mobile Wi-Fi hotspots
Define OFDMA and how it is used in LTE and 5G
Outline the use cases for 5G and the expected bit rates
Differentiate between 5G low bitrate, long reach for IoT vs. 5G ultra-broadband, short reach for VR

Download the printable Course Brochure PDF

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate.

Certified Wireless Analyst (CWA) Certification Package
Three courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CWA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 2: Bluetooth

Course 2233 Fixed Wireless

Wireless LANs • 802.11 Standards • Wi-Fi • Security • Bluetooth • WiMAX • Point-to-Point Microwave • Satellites

Course 2233 Fixed Wireless is the third and final course in the CWA Certification Package.

We'll round out your knowledge with wireless that does not support mobility, including the most important, Wi-Fi, and other current technologies.

We'll start with infrared and Bluetooth.

Next is Wi-Fi, more accurately called 802.11 Wireless LANs. We'll explain how Wi-Fi works, and survey the different variations like 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac and more.

Then we'll cover the crucial issue of security on Wi-Fi and why you want the WPA-2 Personal standard.

We finish off with point-to-point microwave systems, and satellites: Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites and how they are used for voice and data communications.

Course Lessons

1. Infrared
2. Bluetooth
3. Wi-Fi: Wireless LANs
4. Wi-Fi Security and WPA2
5. 802.16 WiMAX
6. Point-to-Point Microwave
7. Satellite

Detailed Course Description

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain

How TV remote controls communicate,
How Bluetooth uses frequency hopping to define channels,
How Wi-Fi and wireless LANs work,
The relative merits of different flavors of 802.11,
How Wi-Fi security is implemented and the best choice,
What WiMAX is and where it is headed,
What point-to-point microwave is and its applications, and
The differences in operation and application for LEO and GEO satellite communications.

Download the printable Course Brochure PDF

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified Wireless Analyst (CWA) Certification Package
Three courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CWA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Certified VoIP Analyst (CVA) Courses

The CVA Certification Package includes six courses, the CVA Certification Exam, TCO Certificate and Personalized Letter of Reference. Unlimited repeats of exams and courses: guaranteed to pass, refresh your knowledge anytime.

CVA covers all major VoIP, SIP and IP telephone system topics: VoIP equipment, the ways VoIP is implemented, packetized voice fundamentals, sound quality with sound samples, MPLS, SLAs and CoS, SIP, SIP trunking and more.

2221 Fundamentals of Voice over IP
2222 VoIP Architectures and Implementation Choices
2223 Softswitches, SIP and VoIP Call Setup
2224 Voice Packetization, Codecs and Voice Quality
2225 SIP Trunking & Carrier Connections
2226 IP Network Quality: CoS, QoS, MPLS and SLAs

These courses build on IP and PSTN fundamentals. If you are completely new to telecom, we recommend you take the CTNS courses first to build a knowledge base, then the CVA courses.

Purchase courses in this set of six in the CVA Certification Package, or individual courses as best meets your needs.

Check out the CTNS + CVA combo package discount special!

Free Lesson 1: Introduction
& The Big Picture

Another free lesson:
Voice in IP Packets

Course 2221 Fundamentals of Voice over IP

Jargon & Buzzwords • VoIP Phone System Components and Operation • Voice Packetization • LANs and WANs • VoIP Phones: MAC Address, DHCP, IP, UDP, RTP, QoS • SIP, Softswitches & SIP Trunking • Cloud • The Future

Fundamentals of Voice over IP is a complete introduction to everything Voice over IP. You'll learn the fundamental ideas and principles of a VoIP telephone system, VoIP, SIP & all the other jargon - what it actually means and how it all works together.

At each step, we'll also cover supporting and related technologies like Ethernet MAC frames and codecs and video over IP.

Course Lessons
1. The Big Picture
2. Terminals
3. Voice in Packets
4. SIP and Soft Switches / SIP Servers / Call Managers
5. Media Servers: Video Servers
6. Gateways
7. LANs and WANs
8. Key VoIP Standards
9. Where All of This is Headed: IP Dial Tone

This course can be taken by anyone who needs to get up to speed on all things VoIP. You will gain career-enhancing knowledge of the components and operation of Voice over IP systems, and learn what all of the jargon and buzzwords mean.

It also serves as a first pass through topics that are covered in greater detail in subsequent lessons.

Detailed Course Description

Lesson 1. Introduction watch now (free)
- Course overview, fundamental concepts
Lesson 2. VoIP Phones and Terminals
- Voice over IP phone: computer functions
- MAC address and Ethernet LAN interface
- IP address and DHCP, UDP
- Telephone functions
- Speech digitization and codecs
- Creating IP packets containing voice
- SIP client for call setup: SIP basics
- Minimum requirement for VoIP phone
- Optional: display, video codec, camera, keyboard, …
- QoS and packet classification
- Packet labeling
- Differentiated services: prioritization
- Softphones on computer screens
- 4G cellular is VoIP

Lesson 3. Voice in IP Packets watch now (free)
- Digitizing voice
- Encapsulation in IP packets
- Carried in MAC frames
- Tracing a phone call end-to-end
- Voice quality & jitter buffers

Lesson 4. SIP and Softswitches - SIP Servers / Call Managers
- Visit to a DMS-100 CO switch
- Softswitch vs. traditional PBX / CO switch
- Registration with SIP server
- SIP call disposition rules
- SIP: finding out the called party’s IP address
- How SIP works
- Hosted PBX
- Cloud servers: softswitch as a service

Lesson 5. Media Servers
- Video is where the money is
- Integrated messaging
- Video on demand and Video over IP
- Video server - Netflix server appliance
- DVR as a network service
- Streaming music
- Digital rights management

Lesson 6. Gateways
- Protocol converters
- Traditional DS0 telephony vs. Voice over IP
- Packets - streaming DS0 media format conversion
- SIP - PSTN ISDN signaling conversion
- Media gateway & Media Gateway Control Protocol

Lesson 7. LANs and WANs
- LANs: physical connection and MAC addresses
- Gigabit Ethernet: Cat 5e, 6
- Optical Ethernet in the core
- IP packets carried in MAC frames between devices
- Power over Ethernet (PoE)
- Uninterruptible power supply
- Wiring closets
- LAN switches
- VoIP over Wi-Fi: 802.11
- Wi-Fi Access Point connections

- WAN: between buildings
- Access, network service type, billing agreement
- Fiber, cable, DSL, wireless access
- Legacy WAN services: T1, Frame Relay, ATM
- Current IP WAN services
- Internet and Internet VPNs
- Service Level Agreement (SLA) and MPLS VPNs
- SIP Trunking

Lesson 8. Key VoIP Standards
- IETF RFCs
- SIP and SDP
- RTP: time stamps
- correcting jitter with RTP
- UDP and TCP. How TCP works.
- IP: network addresses for packets
- ITU G.711 voice and H.264 video codecs
- IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, 802.11 Wi-Fi,
- 802.2 MAC addresses & MAC frames
- Cat 5, 5e, 6 cables
- Optical Ethernet

Lesson 9. Where All of This is Headed: IP Dial Tone
- The IP-PSTN
- The Packet-Switched Telecommunications Network
- IP Dial Tone: send an IP packet to anywhere, anything
- Telephone network and Internet become the same thing: the IP-PSTN
- Telephone service = SIP
- Web surfing = DNS
- Value-added services: e.g. SIP Trunking
- Cloud SIP servers: Google Voice
- Underlying technologies: IP, MPLS and Ethernet

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified VoIP Analyst (CVA) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CVA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTNS + CVA Combo Discount Special
Get CTNS and CVA Certification Packages together at a discount

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a money-back guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 3: Phone Call From Internet to PSTN, e.g. gmail Client

Course 2222 VoIP Architectures and Implementations

VoIP over the Internet • VoIP at Carriers • VoIP-Enabled PBX • PBX Replacement • Softswitches • Hosted PBX • Cloud Services • IP Centrex • Asterisk & Open-Source • SO/HO VoIP Phone Features

VoIP Architectures and Implementation Choices is a comprehensive overview of the many flavors of VoIP, comparing and contrasting the various implementation and architecture choices.

Progressing from talking between computers over the Internet through Internet telephony, Managed IP Telephony, PBX enhancement, PBX replacement with call manager / softswitch systems, IP Centrex, Hosted PBX and Cloud Services, you'll gain the knowledge to confidently differentiate VoIP architectures and discuss pros and cons of options.

Course Lessons
1. Intro + Internet Telephony: Computer-Computer VoIP over the Internet
2. Internet Telephony Example: Skype
3. VSPs: Internet to Phone e.g. Gmail Client
4. VSP Phone to Phone over Internet e.g. Vonage
5. VoIP Becomes The New POTS
6. VoIP at Carriers
7. VoIP-Enabled PBX and Migration Options
8. Premise Softswitch: PBX Replacement
9. Cloud Services and Hosted PBX: Softswitch as a Service (SaaS)
10. IP Centrex
11. Asterisk and Open-Source Softswitch Software
12. IP Phone Features and Uses

Based on Teracom's famous Course 130, tuned and refined over the course of over 20 years of instructor-led training, you will gain career- and productivity-enhancing knowledge of all of the different things someone could mean when they say "Voice over IP", and the pros and cons of each.

Detailed Course Description

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain

The user and network components required for computer to computer VoIP phone calls over the Internet (e.g. Skype)
The user and network components required for computer to POTS line VoIP phone calls over the Internet (e.g. gmail client, Google Hangouts Dialer)
The user and network components required for phone to phone VoIP phone calls over the Internet (e.g. Vonage)
How and why VoIP will replace POTS
The implementation of VoIP at carriers
How VoIP at a business can be implemented by upgrading an existing PBX, and why this choice would be made
How VoIP at a business can be implemented by replacing an existing PBX with a softswitch / call manager, and why this choice would be made
The pros and cons of cloud-based softswitch services, sometimes called "Hosted PBX"
How the telephone company can provide and manage everything with a service called IP Centrex, and its advantages and disadvantages
What asterisk is, and the risks involved with unsupported open-source software, and
Features available on VoIP phones

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified VoIP Analyst (CVA) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CVA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTNS + CVA Combo Discount Special
Get CTNS and CVA Certification Packages together at a discount

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a money-back guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 1: Introduction to SIP

Course 2223 Softswitches, SIP, and VoIP Call Setup

What SIP Is • What It Does • URIs: SIP Phone Numbers • Call Setup Procedure • Call Disposition Rules • How SIP relates to Softswitches and Call Managers

Softswitches, SIP and Call Setup is all about how VoIP phone calls are set up using messages and procedures complying with the standard Session Initiation Protocol.

In this course, you'll understand what SIP is, how it works, demystify jargon like proxy server and location server, understand how SIP fits in with softswitches and call managers, and trace the establishment of an IP phone call step by step.

Course Lessons
1. Intro + What SIP Is and What It Can Do
2. SIP's Relationship to Other Protocols
3. SIP URIs: Telephone Numbers
4. Register: Update Your Location
5. INVITE: Dialing
6. Location Service: Finding the Far End
7. The SIP Trapezoid
8. SIP Messages and the Session Description Protocol
9. How SIP Relates to Softswitches and Call Managers

Based on Teracom’s famous Course 130, tuned and refined over the course of over 20 years of instructor-led training, you will gain career- and productivity-enhancing knowledge of how SIP is used to set up a VoIP phone call end-to-end, and how SIP fits in with call managers and softswitches.

Detailed Course Description

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain

What SIP is and what SIP does
How and why the essential purpose of SIP is to find out the numeric IP address of the called party's telephone, so the telephones can communicate directly thereafter
Relationship between SIP and other protocols like IP and UDP
How SIP relates to softswitches and call managers
How administration, authorization and accounting are implemented
What a SIP "telephone number" is: URIs
What a proxy server is
How a VoIP telephone call is set up using SIP:
Registering with a softswitch and populating a location table
Sending an INVITE message to your proxy server
How your proxy server finds the far-end proxy server
How the far-end proxy server finds the called party
How the far-end indicates it will take a call
The Session Description Protocol, and what crucial information is passed to the caller at this point
How the call is ended
How these steps are explained with a SIP trapezoid diagram

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified VoIP Analyst (CVA) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CVA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTNS + CVA Combo Discount Special
Get CTNS and CVA Certification Packages together at a discount

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a money-back guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 9: Packet Loss and Sound Samples: What a phone call with jitter and packet loss sounds like

Course 2224 Voice Packetization, Codecs and Voice Quality

How Voice is Digitized and Packetized • Voice Quality • Codecs • Delay and Jitter • How Packets Are "Lost" • Packet Loss Sound Samples • RTP • VoIP Protocol Stack: RTP/UDP/IP/MAC

Voice Packetization, Codecs and Voice Quality is the "nuts and bolts" of Voice over IP: how the voice is digitized and coded, time stamps applied with the RTP protocol, and how the result is carried in UDP, IP packets and MAC frames.

You'll learn about codecs and compression, and understand factors like delay, jitter and packet loss, what causes them, and how they affect sound quality.

Sample sound clips with lost packets and uncorrected timing variations are included in Lesson 9 so you can hear the effects.

Course Lessons
1. Voice Packetization
2. Measuring Voice Quality
3. Factors Affecting Voice Quality
4. Codecs: Voice Coding and Compression
5. Delay
6. Jitter
7. RTP
8. Protocol Stack: RTP, UDP, IP, MAC
9. Packet Loss and Sound Samples
10 .Tips for Maximizing Voice Quality

Based on Teracom’s famous Course 130, tuned and refined over the course of over 20 years of instructor-led training, you will gain career- and productivity-enhancing knowledge of how packetized voice is actually implemented and the factors affecting sound quality.

Detailed Course Description

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain

How voice is packetized: digitization, coding and segmentation of the bit stream into ~20 ms segments
How and why RTP is used to put a time stamp on each segment
Why UDP is used to carry the RTP output, and the two critical functions the UDP implements
The full VoIP protocol stack
How sound quality is measured, and the target quality level
The factors that affect sound quality
Different choices for codecs and why G.711 is preferred
What delay and jitter are, how they happen
How packets actually get "lost" in a network
How delay, jitter and packet loss are corrected at the far-end telephone
Basic guidelines for maximizing sound quality
Testing and troubleshooting techniques

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified VoIP Analyst (CVA) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CVA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTNS + CVA Combo Discount Special
Get CTNS and CVA Certification Packages together at a discount

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a money-back guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 2: Terminating a VoIP Call on a LEC via an IP Connection

Course 2225 SIP Trunking & Carrier Connections

Carrier Interconnect: Switched Access Tariff • Gateways & DSOs • Native VoIP Carrier-Carrier • Session Border Controller • Gateway + PBX/PRI Trunks • SIP Trunking

SIP Trunking & Carrier Connections is all about connecting to carriers to communicate VoIP phone calls, both carrier-to-carrier connections and business-to-carrier SIP trunking.

You'll learn how the only way for a competitive carrier to terminate a VoIP phone call on a Local Exchange Carrier for the last mile is currently the switched access tariff, converting to DS0 channels using a gateway.

We'll understand why this will be a native VoIP connection in the future, and the role of Session Border Controllers.

Then we'll understand how a business system can connect to the PSTN using a gateway and PBX trunks, and the advantages of the newer SIP Trunking services for business to PSTN connection.

Course Lessons
1. Introduction + Carrier-LEC Connection via DS0
2. Carrier-LEC VoIP Interconnection
3. Session Border Controllers
4. Business -LEC PBX Trunks and Gateway
5. Softswitch Controlling the Gateway
6. SIP Trunking: Native VoIP Connections

Based on Teracom’s famous Course 130, tuned and refined over the course of over 20 years of instructor-led training, you will gain career- and productivity-enhancing knowledge of how connections are made to carriers, both for business-PSTN connections and carrier-carrier connections.

Detailed Course Description

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain

How currently, the only way for a long-distance carrier to terminate a phone call on a LEC is via the switched-access tariff from the 1980s.
What switched access means: channelized time division multiplexing and DS0 channels
How competitive carriers would prefer to terminate phone calls via native Voice over IP, i.e. in IP packets instead of DS0 channels
What a Session Border Controller is, what they do and why they are used
How channelized DS0 connections implemented with ISDN PRI carrying PBX trunks have been the standard choice for business to LEC connections in the past
How a gateway is used to connect an in-building VoIP system to this kind of legacy channelized interface to the phone company
How the gateway is controlled by the softswitch
What SIP trunking is, and why it is rapidly replacing PBX trunks
How SIP trunking eliminates the need for gateways
How SIP trunking eliminates the need for expensive channelized circuits

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified VoIP Analyst (CVA) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CVA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTNS + CVA Combo Discount Special
Get CTNS and CVA Certification Packages together at a discount

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a money-back guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Free Lesson 1: Introduction
and Virtual Circuit Concepts

Course 2226 IP Network Quality: CoS, QoS, MPLS and SLAs

Virtual Circuit Concepts • MPLS Fundamentals & Jargon • Class of Service (CoS) • Service Level Agreement (SLA) • Traffic Profiles • Prioritization • Traffic Policing: "Throttling" • Diff-Serv and MPLS • 802.1P

IP Network Quality CoS, QoS, MPLS and Diff-Serv focuses on the network service provided by carriers to move packets containing voice, and how network traffic is identified, managed and prioritized, resulting in Class of Service offerings to meet Service Level Agreements.

You will learn how carriers use virtual circuits to manage flows of IP packets, and how MPLS is used to do this.

You will understand the idea of Differentiated Services: different transmission characteristics for different kinds of traffic, and how these are implemented as Classes of Service (CoS).

We'll cover Service Level Agreements and how "throttling" some users is sometimes necessary to ensure all users are getting the CoS they are paying for.

We'll cover the Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms MPLS and 802.1P and how Classes of Service are implemented by routers.

Course Lessons
1. Course Introduction + Virtual Circuit Technologies
2. MPLS
3. Differentiated Services (Diff-Serv)
4. Service Level Agreements, Meters, Markers, Shapers and Droppers
5. Interworking Diff-Serv and MPLS
6. Using 802.1P for QoS
7. Implementing CoS: Queuing Techniques

Based on Teracom’s famous Course 130, tuned and refined over the course of over 20 years of instructor-led training, you will gain career- and productivity-enhancing knowledge of network quality, how it is specified and implemented.

Detailed Course Description

On completion of this course, you will be able to explain

What a virtual circuit is
How MPLS is used to implement virtual circuits
What a Class of Service (CoS) is
How MPLS is used to implement Differentiated Services, i.e. different Classes of Service for different traffic
Expedited Forwarding
What a Service Level Agreement (SLA) is
How meters, markers, shapers and droppers are used to condition traffic streams and "throttle" or police specific traffic
How 801.2P can also be used as a Quality of Service (QoS) mechanism
Basic ideas how prioritization is actually implemented in a router

Buying Choices

Individual Course
with unlimited repeats, Teracom Course Completion Certificate

Certified VoIP Analyst (CVA) Certification Package
Six courses including this one with unlimited repeats, TCO CVA Certification and Letter of Reference

CTNS + CVA Combo Discount Special
Get CTNS and CVA Certification Packages together at a discount

CTSME: Certified Telecommunications Subject Matter Expert certification package includes this course.

Shop with confidence!
All choices come with a money-back guarantee: full refund within 30 days.

Recent Google Reviews

4.9 ★★★★★ all reviews

Lance Johnson

★★★★★ a month ago
At this level of commitment, access and efficiency, you won't find a better, more in-depth and reputable telecom training and certification course of study. Happy Customer.

Aaron Weiss 2 reviews

★★★★★ a month ago
The Teracom training courses I took were much better than I had expected. The production of the training materials was high quality and edited well. The instructor spoke clearly, had appropriate teaching aids, and conveyed technical material in a way that was easy to understand. The instructor also injected the right amount of humor to keep me engaged. I would highly recommend Teracom for training.

Ian Palmer 17 reviews

★★★★★ a month ago
All employees use Teracom as part of their onboarding. Great information!

Al Born 2 reviews

★★★★★ a month ago
I have a staff of recruiters who specialize in recruiting telecom professionals. We found Teracom's training to be very helpful so they understood the telecom basics and could better qualify potential candidates.

Volker B 2 reviews

★★★★★ a month ago
I have done three certifications with Teracom (CIPTS, CWA, CTNS). The content of all three courses was excellent as it also covered the reasons for technological changes and evolutions. Since I work in the IT industry on the project management side for many years these courses were a perfect complement to my overall IT knowledge. I can now speak to engineers and technicians more on the same frequency and can provide better consultancy to my customers. I feel the courses are also priced fairly and are fun to watch and study.

Joseph Bindus

★★★★★ a month ago
Enjoyed the courses. Helped me get a new job.

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Course 2221 Fundamentals of Voice over IP

Course 2222 VoIP Architectures and Implementations

Course 2223 Softswitches, SIP, and VoIP Call Setup

Course 2224 Voice Packetization, Codecs and Voice Quality

Course 2225 SIP Trunking & Carrier Connections

Course 2226 IP Network Quality: CoS, QoS, MPLS and SLAs

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