Network Interoperability

Network Interoperability is the ability for communications to occur over various hardware platforms by using a common set of standards and protocols.
Network Interoperability is fundamental in network communication products. Through standards developed by committees and governing organizations such as IEEE, NIST, and the FCC, different variations of manufactured networking components can co-exist with each other producing a larger scale system. Protocols such as TCP/IP standards have allowed for different hardware manufactures to develop and test their products to work on the same connection mediums. With Network Interoperability, each of the hardware manufactures can create their own unique versions of a particular operating system platform yet still be able to mesh communications and technologies into a system.
One of the first examples of Network Interoperability is the telephone system. Different sounds were produced from vibrations around a magnetic coil. As long as all manufactured telephones could produce the same set of vibrations, virtually any size, form-factor-ed phone could be produced to work together on the same telephone network.
In today’s unified communications industry, technologies across all domains have meshed together to produce a unique instance of Network Interoperability. Phones that carry voice over an Internet-based service can communicate seamlessly with a computer or teleprompter, for example, in another country.
Wireless communications has shown many demonstrations of Network Interoperability. An array of wireless communication devices exist on the market that can all provide the same functionality and can communicate with each other because of standards developed by the IEEE802.11 group.

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