This fundamental planning course is designed for managers from both technical and administrative backgrounds with responsibilities for input into their organization’s short-, medium-, or long-term telecommunications planning activities. Since the course attracts participants from varied backgrounds, the instruction begins with an overview of basic telecommunications concepts and technology. This lays the foundation for a formal seven-step planning process, which combines principal concepts of engineering economics with some modern market considerations. Participants apply their monitoring, analysis, and decision-making skills to case study examples that simulate challenges and opportunities in countries with rapidly developing networks. Lectures and casework activities are supplemented by guest presentations of future technology issues and field trips to network installations.

Selected topics include: introduction to the telecommunications network; area network planning functions; defining key issues and determining planning objectives; deriving and comparing technical alternatives; basic economic concepts and techniques; first costs vs. life cycle costs; revenue flows, inflation, and international monetary exchange; the time value of money and the derivation of various short- and long-term economic indicators.

This course is valuable for engineers and managers who are increasingly involved with long-range planning studies, or whose decisions are based on those studies.

To apply the planning process and techniques to the development and comparison of competitive long-range technical plans.

Managerial; telecommunications engineering, financial or economics experience recommended.

July 27-28, 2000

July 31-August 4, 2000

Morristown, New Jersey (Newark area)

K2-203, K2-205, K2-210, K2-213