ment & Marketing at 128 Technology for his lucid explanations of their stateful routing software. Thanks to Rick Swiderski, VP and General Manager at NEP Group, for his informative discussions of the challenges facing rural telephone companies. His firsthand knowledge was tremendously helpful. Thanks also to Kurt Raaflaub, head of strategic solutions marketing at ADTRAN. Kurt and his staff provided important information on the use of copper cabling connections to fiber cabling to bring high-speed broadband to rural areas. Glenn Axelrod of Axelrod Broadcast Solutions illuminated the details behind multiplexing technologies used in cable TV networks. Sal Tuzzeo at Nielsen discussed consumer trends in viewing television. Thanks as well to Joanta Stanke, Research Director at Point Topic Ltd,, for her information and graphic on Internet access patterns worldwide. Special appreciation to Mohammad Zulgarnain, Distinguished Architect of Global Solutions at Verizon Communications. Mohammad illuminated the important features and advantages of software defined networks. He further provided examples of how enterprises and branch offices are deploying the technology. A special thank you to Tom Case, Chief Information Officer for the town of Lexington Massachusetts, who met with me and discussed the day-to-day issues involved in designing and maintaining municipal networks. A thank you also to Donna Drudik and Jim Thompson, California 911 Telecommunications Engineers, for discussing the importance and time criticality for handling calls to 911 emergency centers. Jim also provided information on technologies used for deploying emergency telecommunications services for www.TechnicalPDF.com handling text messages, mobile, and landline calls at emergency call centers. Thanks to Ben, vice president of security for a major financial company. Ben illuminated the challenges and technologies deployed to protect enterprises from hackers. And appreciation to Keith Wise for valuable assistance with the Study Guide. And finally, thank you 