Mini Case 1
Given the company dealing with the telephone and Internet-based operations, Eureka!, the list of desired equipment for its new office cannot be limited by either analog or digital data transmission systems as computer and telephone operations demand both speed of activities and best possible technique of reducing in transit errors to the minimum. Drawing from these factors, the equipment to be installed in the new Eureka! office should combine analog and digital transmission possibilities and be wired and wireless.
As for the wired analog equipment, it should include the fitting number of telephones with the respective number of voice channels, slots, and fibers. The digital wired equipment should include copper wires as such, wired PCs, and the intermediate fibers to deliver the wire to every PC and connect them into a local network. The wireless equipment should also include telephone and computer technology ranging from corporate cell phones to portable laptops and wireless 3G or 4G Internet modems (Fitzgerald & Dennis, 2007, Ch. 3).
The reasons for such a suggestion are simple. The wired equipment is a cheaper and more reliable way of data transmission, especially regarding a telephone connection. At the same time, in case of wired equipment failure or given the need for urgent telephone connection of Internet access, the use of wireless technology will be rather beneficial. Although subjected to multiple mistakes in the transmission process and abrupt connection breakages, wireless equipment is a necessary part of the technological outfit of every modern company (Fitzgerald & Dennis, 2007, Ch. 3).
Mini Case 2
Facing the choice of the telephone and Internet access conditions, Eureka! should pay attention to the relation of quality demanded and price suggested for each of the four alternatives present (Fitzgerald & Dennis, 2007, Ch. 3). Thus, the first variant is to use standard telephone and computer technology for the highest price among all the variants. Calculated for the 60 employees Eureka! employs, the costs for ordinary services will amount to $3600 a month.
The second variant offers standard voice transmission lines and DSL for Internet access at the price of $2400 per month for all the company’s employees. This variant is rather attractive as it provides acceptable service quality and relatively acceptable prices (Fitzgerald & Dennis, 2007, Ch. 3).
The third variant is the most attractive one as it offers standard voice transmission services but the most updated Internet access services as well. The costs calculated for the whole staff amount to $2700 per month, which is an acceptable sum based on the quality/price relation.
Finally, the fourth option is the cheapest one but the quality of services offered leaves much to be desired. Paying $60 per month for the whole staff to have access to an all-digital circuit that limits the company’s operational capacities to either telephone calls or Internet activities interchangeably is not a wise step.
Drawing from all these considerations, the third variant is recommended to Eureka! as the best one based on quality/price considerations. The price is slightly higher than another acceptable variant, i. e. option 2, but the quality of services offered, especially concerning Internet access, is much higher.
References
Fitzgerald, J. & Dennis, A. (2007). Business Data Communication and Networking. 10th Edition, John Wiley & Sons.