Book excerpt: Telecommunications has evolved and grown at an explosive rate in recent years and will undoubtedly continue to do so. As its functions, applications, and technology grow, it becomes increasingly complex and difficult, if not impossible, to meet the demands of a global network using conventional computing technologies. Computational intelligence (CI) is the technology of the future-and the future is now. Computational Intelligence in Telecommunications Networks offers an in-depth look at the rapid progress of CI technology and shows its importance in solving the crucial problems of future telecommunications networks. It covers a broad range of topics, from Call Admission Control, congestion control, and QoS-routing for ATM networks, to network design and management, optical, mobile, and active networks, and Intelligent Mobile Agents. Today's telecommunications professionals need a working knowledge of CI to exploit its potential to overcome emerging challenges. The CI community must become acquainted with those challenges to take advantage of the enormous opportunities the telecommunications field offers. This text meets both those needs, clearly, concisely, and with a depth certain to inspire further theoretical and practical advances.