Welcome to:

Convergence Technology

Peter G Brierley, ProfessorBusiness Information & Engineering Technologies Division

Office: H-230e9700 Wade Blvd.Frisco, TX 75035

My website: iws.ccccd.edu/pbrierleyMy email: brierley.peter@gmail.com

972-377-1686 office - 972-377-1731 division office

Convergence TechnologyNSF Has Turned Around our Technology Program Growth

Peter Brierley, Professor BIET

Regional Center for Convergence Technology

• $2.469 million over 4 years

• Awarded August 1, 2004

Convergence Technology Center

• Focus

– Building curriculum for Convergence Technician (including the home market)

– Training faculty to teach using case study/problem-based learning in convergence technology subject matter

– Recruiting faculty and students from underserved areas

– Sharing materials with others utilizing CCCCD’s partnership with National Center for Telecommunications Technology Regional Program

What is Convergence Technology?

Convergence is the merging together of voice, video, data, image into a single flexible network -- an IP network

Convergence is the integration of these various data and telecommunication network technologies into a seamless network

What about the future job opportunities?

Home Technology Integrator

Independent or working for a company

Design, install and integrate communications systems and entertainment systems in the home, including

Broadband - DSL and Cable communications Wireless access WITH security Home entertainment systems incorporating TIVO, DVR, and others Home management systems RFID IPTV

Must have great communication skills

Can’t be off-shored!

What are another future job opportunities?

Convergence Technician working in a large company (Enterprise)

Handles support for Voice (including legacy telephony and Voice over IP) Data (like regular computer networking) Video, Image, IPTV RFID

Wired, wireless, Quality of Service

Must have good communication skills

What to study to do these jobs?

Broad array of courses covering Security Data networking Wireless Interoperability Legacy Telephony Cellular Voice over IP… RFID Operating Systems

Non-IT specific skills (soft skills or employability skills) Presentation Communication Time Management

How we determined what skills to include

• Industry Advisory Committee– Job task analysis– Skills assessment– Curriculum development

• Very difficult to address all the required skills in a two year degree

How will these courses be different from regular lecture/lab courses?

Focus on broad knowledge across telephony and data networking, including security from the beginning, not at the end of the course of study

Focus on Quality of Service and solving business problems

Focus on hands-on case studies/problem-based learning to hone skills in linking devices and systems from different manufacturers together to solve the customer’s problem

Implementing a Convergence Program

Faculty Training includes in depth of knowledge in:– TCP/IP– STANDARDS and Pre-standards– Security– PSTN and Softswitch– Broadband Communications – (wired & wireless) – Cellular Telephony– PAN, LAN, HAN, CAN, WAN, WLAN, Wi-Fi, WiMAX– VoIP, FoIP, VVIP, IPTV, multimedia– RFID and Sensors – Home Technology Integration

Frequent reassessment – change is constant and rapid

BASIC Concepts

Students need a firm foundation in:

– OSI layers 1, 2, 3, 4– TCP/IP– Transmission media

• Cable• Fiber• Microwave

– Broadband

– Networking - wired and wireless

Establishing a Convergence Lab

– Computers– Telephone sets – analog, digital, VoIP, Wi-Fi– Telephone switches – small PBX – PAN devices – ipods, PDAs, cell phones– Wired and wireless LANs – Routers, ATAs– Switches– Access Points (802.11a/b/g/n…)– Microphone equipped headsets– IPTV (slingbox)

Industry partners are essential

Implementing Convergence Lab Exercises

• Open Source PBX– Asterisk (VoIP)

• A free PBX software application• Runs on Linux, and MacOSX

• Video/Teleconferencing– WebX– Centra

Implementing a More Expensive Solution

• Various vendors now offer IP PBX’s (VoIP) for the small office– Nortel, Avaya, Samsung, and others– Cost

– $1000 - $1500 each

• Offer students experience with off-the-shelf equipment

• IPTV

Convergence Lab OverviewTRANSPORTTRANSPORT

Office A Office B SOHO

ATM Switch

S

Gigabit Ethernet

S

PRINTERCopier/FAXScanner

VIDEO

Voice over IP

FIBER OPTIC CABLE

T

AP

Wired &Wireless

DVD

LAPTOPLAPTOP

POTS

Integrated Access Device

Office C

TELEPHONYVoice Processing

Integrated Access Device

Wired &Wireless

POTSVoice over IPSwitchingTransmissionDigital systems

R

Hand HeldPilot, PDA

PBX

DESKTOP

Wireless LANs

DSLAMSONET

Make it Hands On

High School and College Faculty Workshops

Make it Hands On

High School and College Faculty Workshops

Ongoing support

Training for faculty

– Introduction of new technologies and protocols– Maintenance and management of equipment Scheduling

facilities and equipment– Continuously developing

• Case studies • Practical Labs

Industry Advisory Group – A MUST

Marketing to Students

Sample High/middle school presentation

et al LAN

Networks

Data HAN

Internet

PSTN

telephone

Cellular

telephone

Cable

TV

One Network

The

Internet

Dial-up

PSTN

Internet

Cell

SchoolNetwork

Class room LAN

DSL

My HAN

Broadband

Time WarnerComcast

Verizonat&t

HDTV

51%

2006 Marketing Resulted in a headcount increase for our Technology Program

IPTV Sling BoxVeriozon HD Cable Converter

Questions and Answers

Contact Information:– Ann Beheler – abeheler@ccccd.edu– Pete Brierley – pgbrierley@ccccd.edu– Mike Harsh – mharsh@ccccd.edu

• www.convergencetechnologycenter.org

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0202408 and0402356Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation