Chapter 1
Introduction to Data Communications
True-False Questions
The following are possible True/False questions for tests. The statement is given and the answer
is provided in square brackets. The level of difficulty (easy, moderate, difficult) and the page
number(s) relevant to the topic are also furnished.
1. According to John Chambers, CEO of Cisco (a leading networking technology company),
the information age is the second Industrial Revolution.
Answer:True Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 4
2. Due to recent advances in high speed communication networks, the information lag, or the
time it takes for information to be disseminated around the world, has been significantly
shortened.
Answer:True Difficulty: Easy Reference: p.4
3. One perspective of data communications and networking as stated in the textbook, examines
the management of networking technologies, including security, network design, and
managing the network on a day-to-day basis and long term basis.
Answer:True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 5
4. The first electronic data communication system was the telephone developed by Alexander
Graham Bell.
Answer:False Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 5
5. The first transcontinental telephone service was established in the 1940s.
Answer:False Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 6
6. An Inter-Exchange Carrier (IXC) provides only local telephone services to homes and
businesses.
Answer: False Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 6
7. Common carriers include the RBOCs, IXCs, and Cable TV companies.
Answer:True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 7
8. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 now permits the RBOCs to provide long distance
outside the region in which they provide local telephone services.
Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 7
9. The Internet was started by the U.S. Department of defense in 1969 as a network of four
computers called ARPANET.
Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 9
10. Telecommunications is the transmission of voice and video as well as data and implies
transmitting a longer distance than in a data communication network.
Answer:False Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 11
,11. A local area network (LAN) connects other LANs and BNs located in different areas to each
other and to wide area networks in a span from 3 to 30 miles.
Answer: False Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 13
12. An intranet is a LAN that uses Internet technologies and is publicly available to people
outside of the organization.
Answer: False Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 15
13. A car manufacturer may give access to certain portions of its network to some of its suppliers
via Internet. This is an example of an Extranet.
Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 15
14. The OSI model is the most widely used network model to develop and build networks today.
Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 16
15. The network layer is responsible for routing messages from the source computer to the
destination computer.
Answer: True Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 17
16. In the OSI model, the application layer is the end user’s access to the network.
Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 18
17. The application layer is the seventh layer of the Internet model and provides the end user’s
access to the network.
Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 18
18. At the transport layer in the Internet model, TCP is responsible for breaking large files
received from the application layer into smaller packets and opening a connection to a server
for transferring the packets.
Answer: True Difficulty: Difficult Reference: p. 17
19. Ethernet is an example of a network layer protocol.
Answer: False Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 17
20. Data communication standards enable each layer in the sending computer to communicate
with its corresponding layer in the receiving computer.
Answer: True Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 22
21. The specification stage of the formal standardization process consists of developing
nomenclature and identifying the problems to be addressed.
Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 23
22. ANSI is a voting participant in the ISO.
Answer: True Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 23
23. Passive optical networking, a key trend for the future, means that virtually any computer will
be able to communicate with any other computer in the world.
Answer: False Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 26
, 24. The high bandwidth requirements (high communications needs) for video have slowed its
integration into computer networks.
Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 28
25. An Application Service Provider (ASP) develops a specific system and companies purchase
or rent the service without installing the system on their own computers.
Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 29
MULTIPLE CHOICE
The following are possible multiple-choice questions for tests. The question is posed and the
answer is provided under the choices. The level of difficulty (easy, moderate, difficult) and the
page number(s) relevant to the topic is also furnished.
1. Data communications and networking can be considered as a global area of study because:
a. new technologies and applications emerge from a variety of countries and spread
around the world
b. the technologies enable global communication
c. the political and regulatory issues are exactly the same in every country
d. a and b
e. none of the above
Answer: D Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 4
2. In 1970, a key decision regarding MCI:
a. set up the Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act
b. permitted MCI to provide limited long distance service in the U.S.
c. permitted telephone and/or computer equipment that was not manufactured by Bell
Telephone to be connected to AT&T’s network
d. divided AT&T into two parts: one part for long distance service, and a second part,
comprised of seven operating companies, for local telephone service
e. set up deregulation for international telecommunications markets in 68 countries
Answer: B Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 6
3. In 1984, a federal judge broke up a highly contested telephone service monopoly and:
a. set up the Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act
b. permitted MCI to provide limited long distance service in the U.S.
c. permitted telephone and/or computer equipment that was not manufactured by
Bell Telephone to be connected to AT&T’s network
d. divided AT&T into two parts: one part for long distance service, and a second
part, comprised of seven regional operating companies, for local telephone
service
e. set up deregulation for international telecommunications markets in 68 countries
Answer: D Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 6
, 4. In 1996, the U.S. Congress replaced all current laws, FCC regulations, and the consent
decree for AT&T. It:
a. set up the Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act
b. permitted MCI to provide limited long distance service in the U.S.
c. permitted telephone and/or computer equipment that was not manufactured by Bell
Telephone to be connected to AT&T’s network
d. divided AT&T into two parts: one part for long distance service, and a second part,
comprised of seven operating companies, for local telephone service
e. set up deregulation for international telecommunications markets in 68 countries
Answer: A Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 7
5. Which of the following statements about the U.S. telephone marketplace is not true, as of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996?
a. Quickly, the local telephone industry in the U.S. went from a highly regulated
monopoly to open competition.
b. RBOCs may not provide long distance service outside the region in which they
provide local telephone services.
c. The common carriers may provide local services to customers.
d. RBOCs can provide long distance services inside their region if at least one
viable competitor for local telephone services exists.
e. The Telecommunications Act replaced the 1984 consent decree under which
AT&T was broken up.
Answer: B Difficulty: Difficult Reference: p. 7
6. Modern (1990s and beyond) data communication networks are characterized by:
a. decks of punch cards
b. online terminals for batch processing
c. isolated (stand-alone) microcomputers
d. batch I/O devices
e. distributed systems that rely heavily on networking
Answer: E Difficulty: Easy Reference: p. 8
7. In 1983, the Internet was split into two parts, one dedicated solely to the military and one
dedicated to university research centers. The two parts were called:
a. Intranet and Extranet
b. BITNET and NSFNET
c. Milnet and Internet
d. ARPANET and Milnet
e. none of the above
Answer: C Difficulty: Moderate Reference: p. 9
8. Which of the following is not true about a server?
a. stores data and software that can be accessed by the client.
b. is the pathway through which messages travel.
c. in client/server computing they work together over the network with client
computers to support the business application.
d. can only perform one function on a network.
e. stores documents and graphics that can be accessed from any Web browser.
Answer: D Difficulty: Difficult Reference: p. 12
