Networking vs. Telecom: What's The Difference?
Search Networking, Friday, July 28,2023
Networking describes how devices interconnect to share resources with each other. Telecom, which includes networking, broadly refers to the exchange of data across long distances.
In the world of enterprise IT infrastructure, the terms networking and telecom are sometimes used interchangeably. Much of this erroneous conflation stems from the days when shared networking closets included network equipment for data transport and telecommunications gear for voice. Over time, it was common to refer to these infrastructure closets as telecom rooms.
With the advancement of VoIP technologies, voice services migrated off separate analog or digital networks and combined with the data network. In response, a single network could now handle telecommunications and data transport services, including hardware, software and cabling.