Types of ICT Communication

ICT is an abbreviation for information and communication technologies. It's generally the combination of information technology, which focuses on computers and related devices, and digital telecommunications, including cellphones, the internet and other digital networks. The term can be a bit amorphous, but it's fair to say types of ICT include cellphones, the internet and home and office networking devices.

Forms of ICT have expanded in the most recent few decades. Digital cellphones, including smart phones and traditional feature phones, have become ubiquitous in many countries. Internet modems and routers are found in offices and homes around the world. Communications software from social networking tools to encrypted messaging apps have exploded in popularity.

As digital networking has gone from relatively slow and expensive, and computers and phones have gotten more reliable and easier to use, they've gone from being the domain of hobbyists and early tech adopters to everyday appliances.

In recent years, billions of people around the world have begun using cellphones. In some cases, the digital devices are even cheaper and more reliable than their wired counterparts, and newer devices come equipped with the ability to speedily access the internet and download a wide variety of apps.

While the original cellphones were expensive to use, bulky to carry and often given to losing signal, modern day cellphones are reliable and easy to transport. Society has also adapted to the point where it's difficult for many people to maintain their business career and social life without carrying a cellphone of some kind.

At the same time, cellphone plans have gotten simpler, especially when it comes to delivering basic communication services such as calling, texting and voicemail. Many users no longer have to worry about exceeding their minute allowances or waiting for nights and weekends to make calls.

The internet has gone from a limited government and academic experiment of the 1960s to a near universal part of modern life. A modem, which stands for modulator-demodulator, is used to transform digital signals from a computer into other forms that can be transmitted across a phone, cable or other network.

Examples of communication technology related to the internet include the dial-up modems of the 1990s and the more modern wireless routers and cable internet modems now found in many homes and businesses. Modern cellphones and many computers can connect with either built-in WiFi modems or cellular modems that let them connect to phone carrier networks. Wi-Fi routers let them connect to a locally installed, usually hardwired modem and on to a larger network.

Many offices, universities and other environments also have internal networks, known as intranets, used for secure internal communication.