ITC 311: E-Commerce

For:
Bachelor of Business Management(BBM)
7th Semester

By: Shayak Raj Giri

shayakraj@ioe.edu.np
 Unit 2
The Network Infrastructure
for
E-Commerce

2
 Outline
• Introduction to Information Superhighway (I-Way)
• Components of the I-Way
• Internet as a network infrastructure
• Intranet
• Extranet
• Software Agents (Static and Dynamic)
• ADSL, Wi-Fi, Wide Area Wireless
• UMTS (3G),LTE (4G)
• Bluetooth

3
 Broadband
• A high speed communication technique using a
wide range of frequencies, which enables a large
number of messages to be communicated
simultaneously.
• Broadband commonly refers to Internet access via
high-speed wired and wireless networks including
cable, DSL, optical fiber, WiMAX, 3G, 4G and
satellite.
• Before broadband, Internet access was achieved
with ‘narrowband’ dial-up connections that were
very slow by today’s standards.
4
Introduction to Information Superhighway
(I-Way)
• The information superhighway is a term coined by
American Vice President Albert Gore when giving a speech
on January 11, 1994 describing the future of computers
access and communication over a world-wide network.
• Basically, the term I-way describes a high-
capacity(broadband), interactive(two-way) electronic
pipeline to the home, office or everything else that is
capable of simultaneously supporting a large number of e-
commerce applications and providing interactive
connectivity between users and services and between
users and other users.

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 Introduction to I-way
• The I-way has emerged as the basic network
infrastructure for all types of E-commerce activities
due to its capability to provide integrated voice, data
and video services.
• I-way has changed the way business advertises, market
or sell their products and services.
• Any successful e-commerce application requires the I-
way infrastructure to carry digital data in the same way
that regular commerce needs the interstate highway
network to carry goods from point to point.
• I-way will be a mesh of interconnected data highways
of many forms: telephone wires, cable TV, wireless-
cellular, optical fiber and satellite.
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 Definition of I-Way
• Information Superhighway (I-way) is a high-
speed global communications network that can
carry data, voice, video and other services
around the world using technology such as the
satellite, optical fiber and cellular
telecommunications.
• It is envisioned to provide very high speed
access to information in all forms(text, graphics,
audio, video) via a wired or wireless
connection.
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 Is Internet Information Superhighway?
• In practicality it is identical to Internet,
provided:
 Connections are broadband.
 They are continuously running.

8
 Market Forces Influencing I-way
• Demands and requirements of market participants.
 Users: becoming information publishers.
 Consumers, end users, or business: consuming
information about product/services.
 ISPs: commercial, government or private.
 Value added information providers: includes third
party brokers, intermediaries, originators of
services who add value to services provided by
others.

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 Cont..
• Strategic alliance and I-way infrastructure.
 Large resource requirement
 Alliance between communication,
entertainment and information sectors.
 Alliance to reduce risks, spread costs and
acquire costly expertise in different area
instantly.

10
Components of the I-Way

Figure: Components of the I-Way 11

 Components of the I-Way
• There are three components of the I-way
infrastructure:
1. Consumer access equipment
2. Local on-ramps
3. Global information distribution networks

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 1. Consumer Access Equipment
• Consumer access equipment are devices used by
consumers to access the multimedia interactive contents
of e-commerce.
• This component of I-way includes hardware and
software vendors, who provide physical devices such as
routers and switches, access devices such as computers
and set-top boxes, and software platforms such as
browsers and operating systems.
• Hardware and software vendors provide:
 Computers
 Routers, Switches, hubs
 Set-top box
 Software platforms such as browser, operating systems.
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 2. Local on-Ramps (or access road)
• This component of I-way simplify linkages between
businesses, universities, and homes to the communications
backbone.
• This component is often called the "last mile" in the
telecommunications industry.
• There are four different types of provider of access ramps:
a) Telecom-based
b) Cable TV-based
c) Wireless-based and
d) Computer-based online information services
• These providers link users and e-commerce application.
14
 3. Global Information Distribution Networks
• Global information distribution networks are the
infrastructure that is connecting countries and continents.
• Provides higher transmission speeds at significantly low cost.
• Most of the infrastructure for the I-way already exists in the
vast network of optical fibers, coaxial cables, radio waves,
satellites, and copper wires spanning the globe.
• Linking all the components of the I-way will require large
capital investments.
• The two major technologies under pinning high speed global
information distribution networks are:
a) Long distance networks
b) Satellite networks
• A final requirement is switching hardware and software to
move huge amounts of data effortlessly over such a complex
network.
15
 Internet as a network infrastructure
• A network is a set of devices(often referred to as
nodes or hosts) connected by communication links.
• A node can be a computer, printer, or any other
device capable of sending and/or receiving data
generated by other nodes on the network.
• The Internet is a collection of many separate network
of networks.

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 Some questions about Internet
• Is there any single organization that controls the
Internet?
• Is there anybody who owned the Internet?
• Where did it come from, and how did it support
the growth of the Web?
• How it functions?
• How much do you really need to know about the
technology of the Internet?
• Yet it has provided the infrastructure for a
transformation in commerce, scientific research,
and culture.
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 What is Internet?
• The Internet is an interconnected network of
thousands of networks and millions of computers
linking businesses, educational institutions,
government agencies, and individuals.
• The World Wide Web (or shortly Web) is one of the
Internet’s most popular services, enables the exchange
of information over the Internet through HTTP
(Hypertext Transfer Protocol) using browser.
• Web site is collection of related web pages.

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 Internet and Web
• The Internet is an infrastructure, whereas
the Web is a service built on top of the
infrastructure.

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The Evolution of Internet

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21
How Internet works?

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 How Internet works?
• Device(client) should be connected to Internet. (via
router/modem/switch/physical link etc. to the ISP)
• Type web address known as URL on the browser. (e.g.
https://www.saraswaticampus.edu.np)
• Your query is pushed to your ISP which connects to
several servers like DNS (Domain Name Server).
• A DNS Server routes that request to the appropriate
server.
• Your browser sends HTTP request to the target server
using TCP/IP.
• The server responds with an HTTP response containing
a file (.html, .css, .pdf, .png, .mp3, etc. )
• The browser of client renders the file so that human
can understand it.
• Go on browsing………………… 23
 Key Terminologies
• Network Hardware
• Links
• Clients
• Server
• Client/Server Computing
• Routers
• Modem
• Switch
• Hub
• Routing algorithm
• Domain Name
• Domain Name Server/System(DNS)
• Internet Service Provider (ISP)
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 Cont..
• Protocol
• OSI reference model
• Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP)
model
• IP Addresses
 IPv4 Internet address
 IPv6 Internet address
• Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or Universal Resource
Locator (URL)
• Web browser
• Hypertext
• HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
• Cloud computing 25
 Cont..
• IP addresses
• Every device connected to the Internet must have a unique
address number called an Internet Protocol (IP) address.
 IPv4 Internet address:
 Deployed in 1981
 32-bit IP address
 4,294,967,296 ~ 4.3 billion possible addresses
 E.g. 192.168.1.2
 IPv6 Internet address
 Deployed in 1998
 128-bit IP address
 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 possible
addresses
 E.g. 2041:0000:130F:0000:0000:07C0:853A:140B
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 Cont..
• Domain names
• The Domain Name System allows expressions such as ntc.net.np
(Nepal Telecom’s web site) to stand for numeric IP address
202.70.64.2
• DNS servers
• DNS servers are databases that keep track of IP addresses and
domain names on the Internet.
• Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or Universal Resource Locator
(URL)
• Web browser software program whose primary purpose is to
display Web pages.

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 Protocols
• Protocol is a set of rules and standards for data transfer
that defines what is communicated, how it is
communicated and when it is communicated.
Some of the commonly used Internet protocols are:
• HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
 The Internet protocol used for transferring Web pages.
Can configure on email clients
• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) like Microsoft outlook
 The Internet protocol used to send mail to a server.
• Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3)
 A protocol used by the client to retrieve mail from an
Internet server.
• Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)
 A more current e-mail protocol that allows users to search,
organize, and filter their mail prior to downloading it from
the server. 28
 Protocols cont..
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
 One of the widely used Internet services. Part of
the TCP/IP protocol that permits users to transfer
files from the server to their client computer and
vice versa.
• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) /Transport Layer
Security (TLS)
 Protocols that secure communications between
the client and the server.
• Ping
 A program that allows you to check the connection
between your client and the server.
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Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model
What is OSI Model?
• The OSI Model is a logical and conceptual model,
developed by ISO that defines network communication
used by systems open to interconnection and
communication with other systems.
• OSI model is a generic model that is based upon
functionalities of each layer.
• OSI model distinguishes the three concepts, namely:
services, interfaces, and protocols.
• The OSI has seven layers.
• It is not implemented entirely, but it is still referenced
today.
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 OSI Model

Figure: Seven layers of the OSI model

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 OSI Layers
1) The physical layer is responsible for movements of
individual bits from one hop (node) to the next.
2) The data link layer is responsible for moving
frames from one hop (node) to the next.
3) The network layer is responsible for the delivery of
individual packets from the source host to the
destination host.
4) The transport layer is responsible for the delivery
of a message from one process to another.
5) The session layer is responsible for dialog
control and synchronization.
6) The presentation layer is responsible for translation,
compression, and encryption.
7) The application layer is responsible for providing
services to the user. 32
Summary of OSI layers

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 TCP/IP model
• TCP/IP was developed in the 1970s and adopted as
the protocol standard for ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network) in 1983.
• TCP/IP became the standard Internet communications protocol.
• The layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite do not exactly match those in
the OSI model.
• The original TCP/IP protocol suite was defined as having four layers:
1) Host-to-network or network interface layer
2) Internet
3) Transport
4) Application
• However, when TCP/IP is compared to OSI, we can say that the
TCP/IP protocol suite is made of five layers:
1) Physical
2) Data link
3) Network
4) Transport
5) Application
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TCP/IP Vs. OSI model

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 Limitations of Internet
• limitations of today’s Internet, which include:
 Bandwidth limitations
 Quality of service limitations
 Network architecture limitations
 Language limitations
 Limitations arising from the wired nature of
the Internet
• The future Internet infrastructure??

36
 Intranet
• An Intranet is a private computer network
inside an organization that uses Internet
technologies to provide an Internet-like
environment within the enterprise that enables
employees to :
• Share information
• Collaborate
• Improve their communications
• Support business processes
• An intranet can be used to facilitate working in
groups and teleconferencing. 37
 Cont..
• An “intranet” can be also defined as an
“internal internet”.
• Typically, larger organizations allow users
within their intranet to access the public
Internet through firewall servers that have the
ability to screen messages in both directions so
that company security is maintained.
• Remote access can be done using VPN
connection through Internet.

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Internet, Intranet and Extranet

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Internet, Intranet and Extranet

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 Extranet
• An extranet may be viewed as an intranet mapped
onto the public Internet or onto some other private
network.
• Access to the extranet is restricted to individual users
with the login credentials, each having different access
roles/requirements.
• Therefore, an extranet is a controlled private network
allowing that a business partner, customer, vendor
and suppliers may only access the information
pertinent to their operations, and prohibits access to
other sensitive company data, without granting access
to the organization's entire network.
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 Advantages of extranets
• Communicate and collaborate more effectively - with clients, customers
and stakeholders via a secure network.
• Integrate supply chains - e.g. consolidate processes such as online ordering,
order tracking and inventory management.
• Reduce costs - e.g. make manuals and technical documentation available
online to trading partners and customers.
• Improve business relationships - because of the close collaborative working
that extranets support.
• Improve customer service - e.g. give customers direct access to information
and enable them to resolve their own queries.
• Simplify processes - e.g. use a single user interface between you and your
business partners
• Secure communications - communication takes place in a controlled and
secure environment.
• Information sharing is simple.
• Work flexibly - extranet allows remote and mobile staff to access core
business information 24 hours a day, irrespective of location.
• The ability to exchange large volumes of data.
• Sharing product data or catalogs with business partners.
• Joint company collaboration and training.
• Effective project management. 42
 Software Agents
• Software agents are a piece of software which works
for the user.
• However software agent is not just a program. An
agent is a system situated within and a part of an
environment that senses that environment and acts
on it.
• Software agents are defined as being a software
program that can perform specific tasks for a user
and possessing a degree of intelligence that permits
it to performs parts of its tasks autonomously and to
interact with its environment in a useful manner.
[From Intelligent Software Agents by W. Brenner, R.
Zarnekow and H. Wittig]
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 Software Agents
• The term "software agents" here distinguishes it
from hardware agents (robot) or human agents.
• A software agent stays in the computer, can move
in the networks, can observe its environment and
can take several actions to reach its goals.
• It also has certain level of intelligence, can "think",
can learn from its environment and can make
decision under uncertainty.
• There is no unique and universally accepted
definition of what constitutes an agent.

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 Examples of Software Agents
• Buying agents: Also know as shopping bots. These
agents helps the users to surf while finding the
products and services they are searching for.
• User agents: These agents carry out user tasks
automatically. For example, fill out forms on webpage
with the user's stored information.
• Monitoring and surveillance agent
• Data-mining agent
• Mail management agent
• Scheduling meetings agent
• News filtering agent
• etc.
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Software Agents Types

46
 Software Agents Types
• There are several types of existing software agents as
follows:
• Collaborative agents
• Interface agents
• Mobile agents
• Information/Internet agents
• Search agent (or search bot)
• Reactive agents
• Hybrid agents
• Smart Agents
• For example, agents may be classified by their mobility,
i.e. by their ability to move around some network. This
yields the classes of static and mobile agents.
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 Static vs. Dynamic Agent
• Static Agent
• Does not change or act after perceiving it’s
environment.
• If an agent perceives the world at time t0 and the
agent performs no action until t1, the world will not
change.
• In term of mobility, static agents are generally stagnant
in nature and lack of mobility.
• Agent class other than mobile agent may be static.
• Example:
• A mail agent executes in background and is activated
only when there is incoming mail message then after
processing the mail the agent goes to sleeping state
until another event request processing.
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 Dynamic Agent
• Changes according to time after perceiving inputs
from environment.
• In term of mobility, dynamic agents generally travel
from host to host and mobile in nature.
• Mobile agents are example of dynamic agent.
• Example:
• Dynamic agent can search for the cheapest price
ticket available for required route on required date,
find the amount available on user's bank account,
communicate with other agents of different sellers
then purchase ticket for its owner by choosing the
best deal then lastly notifies the owner.
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 ADSL
• Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
• In 1985 Bell Laboratory used traditional copper wires to
support new digital services.
• In Nepal, Nepal Telecom launched ADSL service from
Baisakh 17, 2065.
• Asymmetric - The data can flow faster in one direction
than the other. Data transmission has faster downstream
to the subscriber than upstream.
• Digital – Data communication is done in digital method.
• Subscriber Line - The data is carried over a single twisted
pair copper wire to the subscriber premises.

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 ADSL Cont..
• ADSL is a form of DSL, a data communications
technology that enables faster data
transmission over copper telephone lines.
• ADSL is one of the popular internet
technologies which provides simultaneous data
and voice through the PSTN landline phone,
where the download speed is always higher
than upload.

51
 ADSL Network Components
• The ADSL modem at the customer premises.
• The modem of the central office.
• DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) .
• Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS).
• Splitter – a filter that separates the analogue
voice signal from ADSL data frequencies.

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ADSL Architecture

PSTN Upstream Downstream

4 25 138 1104 KHz

53
 ADSL Requirements
• Phone-line, activated by your phone company
for ADSL.
• Splitter or Filter to separate the phone signal
from the Internet signal .
• ADSL modem.
• Subscription with an ISP supporting ADSL.

54
 ADSL Speed Comparison

Pure Fibre

Hybrid Fibre/Copper
FTTH

Enhanced
Copper FTTx,
VDSL2,
ADSL2plus
ADSL

ISDN
Voice band
Modem
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Wireless technology - types of Wireless
Networks:

56
 1. Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN):
• Wireless personal area networks (WPANs) connect
devices within a small area, somewhere around within a
person's reach.
• A WPAN has a typical range of about 30 feet.
• They are commonly used to interconnect compatible
devices near a central location.
• Some of the wireless network technologies carrying over
WPAN are:
• Bluetooth
• ZigBee
• Z-Wave
• Infrared
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 Bluetooth
• Bluetooth is a short-range Ad-hoc wireless
communications technology that uses low-energy
radio waves to send wireless data between Bluetooth-
enabled devices.

58
 Uses of Bluetooth
• Bluetooth tethering
• Tethering is a process of sharing the mobile data or Wi-Fi connection
of smartphone with PC.
• Transfer files between two devices
• Play multiplayer games over bluetooth
• Connect different devices
 Mouse
 Keyboard
 Printer
 Bluetooth gamepads
 Bluetooth speakers/music systems
 Medical devices like stethoscopes, glucose monitors
• Control home security gadgets/remote controls
• Mobile phones
• GPS navigation
• Other…….? 59
 Bluetooth cont..
• Advantages of Bluetooth:
 Inexpensive technology
 Wireless technology, replaces cables and
wires.
 Low power consumption.
• Limitations:
 Slow transfer rate
 Susceptibility to interference
 Short range
60
 2. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN):
• Wireless LAN (WLAN) technology provides internet access
within a building or a limited outdoor area.
• The range of a WLAN can be anywhere from a single room
to an entire campus within short range.
• A wireless LAN is a flexible data communication system
implemented as an extension to, or an alternative for, a
wired LAN.
• Wi-Fi is widely correlated to wireless networking as it has
become the standard for home networks and public
hotspot networks.
• Wi-Fi is the wireless technology used to connect
computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices to the
Internet by using radio signals.
61
Wi-Fi

62
 Cont..

See also:
Elements of Wi-Fi
Working mechanism of Wi-Fi
Uses of Wi-Fi
Limitations of Wi-Fi
Wireless Security protocols
63
3. Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN):
• Fixed wireless network between homes and business
and the Internet.
• WMAN is managed by any private organization; ISP
or government agencies.
• Access to a WMAN is usually restricted to authorized
users or subscriber devices.
• WiMAX is the most widely used form of WMAN.
• Some entities are:
 Base station
 Backhaul
 Access point 64
 WMAN Cont..

Figure: Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN)

65
 4. Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWAN):
• A Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) is a
network that covers a large geographic area.
• Provides access outside the range of WLANs and
WMANs.
• A W-WAN is using mobile telecommunication cellular
network technologies such as LTE, GSM or cellular
digital packet data (CDPD) to transfer data.

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Evolution of mobile communication

67
 UMTS (3G)
• UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) is
a 3G wireless network technology which allows speeds of
up to 2Mbps. (The theoretical max speed for HSPA+ is
21.6 Mbps.)
• UMTS uses Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
(W-CDMA) to carry the radio transmissions.
• UMTS combines aspects of the 2G network with some
new technology and protocols to deliver a significantly
faster data rate.
• Like 2G, 3G evolved into 3.5G and 3.75G as more features
were introduced in order to bring about 4G.

68
UMTS Architecture

69
 UMTS Applications
• Streaming / Download (Video, Audio)
• Videoconferences.
• Fast Internet / Intranet.
• Mobile E-Commerce (M-Commerce)
• Remote Login
• Background Class applications
• Multimedia-Messaging, E-Mail
• FTP Access
• Mobile Entertainment (Games)

70
 LTE (4G)
• LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a Fourth generation
cellular technology standard.
• A project of 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership
Project ).
• Deployed worldwide and installations are
increasing.
• Has advanced new radio interface.
• Broadband connectivity on the move.
• In January 1, 2017, Nepal Telecom commercially
launched 4G LTE in Nepal.
71
 LTE Key Features
• High Spectral efficiency: higher network capacity, improved
cost efficiency.
• Reduced latency, providing faster response times (improved
network responsiveness): allows real-time communication.
• All IP-based networks
• Flexible radio planning
• Velocity tolerance
• Enhancement to security and quality of service.
• Increased data rates via enhanced air interface.
• New service paradigm (e.g., VoLTE)
• VoLTE means voice-over LTE. It's an improved version of 4G
LTE for HD voice and video calls.
• Increased mobility
• Improved application performance. 72
 LTE (4G)
• Its purpose is to provide high speed , high
quality and high capacity to users while
improving security and lower the cost of voice
and data services, multimedia and internet
over IP.
• Potential and current applications include
amended mobile web access, IP telephony,
gaming services, high-definition mobile TV,
video conferencing, 3D television, and cloud
computing.
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 Discussion
• How Internet creates value for
people/organization?
• How Internet is reshaping lifestyle of peoples in
context of Nepal?
• Explain the impact of growth of Internet
technology to new entrants in the marketplace.
• Relate with e-commerce??

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 Thank you

Next Class → Electronic Data Interchange

(EDI)

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