| Glossary of
Cellular Telecom Terms |
| A |
| A Carrier |
Most areas have multiple
cellular carriers, each of which
operates on a different frequency band. One is designated the "A" carrier
(non-wireline carrier) and the other is designated the "B"
carrier. In some markets there may be only one carrier which may be "A" or
"B". |
| A/B Switching |
Most cellular phones have the ability to switch to the "A" or
the "B" frequency bands. This feature is useful when roaming outside your home coverage
area. |
| Access Fee |
A monthly charge for the
ability to connect to a wireless network. This fee is assessed monthly whether
the phone is actually used or not. |
| Activation |
Configuration of a
wireless phone so that it is ready to be used to transmit and receive calls on
the wireless network. |
| Activation Fee |
A one-time up-front
charge for activation of a wireless
phone. |
| ADSL (Assymetrical Digital Subscriber Line)
|
A method to increase
transmission speed in a copper cable. ADSL facilitates the division of capacity
into a channel with higher speed to the subscriber, typically for video
transmission, and a channel with significantly lower speed in the other
direction. |
| Airtime |
Total time that a
wireless phone is in connected and in use for talking. This includes use for
calls both received and placed. |
| Alphanumeric Display |
A display, usually LCD,
that has the ability to display both text and numbers. Most often found on the
front of a wireless handset or pager. |
| AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) |
An analog cellular phone service
standard used in the US and other countries. |
| Analog |
A method of modulating
radio signals so that they can carry information such as voice or
data. |
| Antenna |
A device that
facilitates the transmission and reception of radio signals. |
| APC (Adaptive Power Control) |
A feature of some
wireless handsets that helps reduce power consumption to increase battery
charge life. |
| Area Code |
A three digit telephone
number prefix assigned to a calling area. |
| Authentication |
A feature used to reduce
fraud by confirming the identity of a phone to the wireless
network. |
| Automatic Call Delivery |
A service feature that
allows a user to receive calls when roaming outside of
the phone's home coverage area. |
| B |
| B Carrier |
Most areas of the US
have two cellular carriers, each of which operates on a
different frequency band. One is designated the "A"
carrier and the other is designated the "B" carrier (wireline carrier). In
some markets there may be only one carrier which may be "A" or "B". |
| Bandwidth |
Describes the
transmission capacity of a medium in terms of a range of frequencies. A greater
bandwidth indicates the ability to transmit a greater amount of data over a
given period of time. |
| Bluetooth |
A short range wireless
protocol meant to allow mobile devices to share information and applications
without the worry of cables or interface incompatibilities. The name refers to
a Viking King who unified Denmark. Operates at 2.4 Ghz, see
bluetooth.com. |
| BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) |
A
QUALCOMM programming
platform designed to facilitate the development and use of data applications
that can function on any CDMA-based wireless device. Common
applications include games and software for corporate functions. See
J2ME for a similar technology from Sun
Microsystems. |
| Broadband |
Describes a
communications medium capable of transmitting a relatively large amount of data
over a given period of time. A communications channel of high
bandwidth. |
| BTA (Basic Trading Area) |
A geographic region
defined by a group of counties that surround a city, which is the area's basic
trading center. The boundaries of each BTA were formulated by Rand McNally
& Co. and are used by the FCC determine service areas
for PCS wireless licenses. The entire US and some of its
territories is divided into 493 non-overlapping BTAs. |
| C |
| Call Forwarding |
A feature that allows
the transfer of incoming calls to another number of the users
choice. |
| Call Setup |
Activity that occurs in
order to establish a call connection between a wireless handset and the
wireless system. |
| Call Waiting |
A feature that allows a
user to be notified of another incoming call while a call is already in
progress, and gives the user the ability to answer the second call while the
first call remains on hold. |
| Caller ID |
A feature that displays
a caller's telephone number and/or name before the call is
answered. |
| Carrier |
A company that provides
telecommunications services. |
| CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) |
A digital communication
technology used by some carriers to provide PCS service.
Other technologies used are TDMA and GSM. |
| CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data) |
A technology for
transmitting data over analog cellular networks. Requires a special modem and
the wireless carriers' network must be upgraded
to accomodate such data transmssions. |
| Cell |
The area surrounding a cell site.
The area in which calls are handled by a particular cell
site. |
| Cell
Site |
The transmission and reception equipment, including the
base station antenna, that connects a cellular phone to
the network. |
| Cellular |
The type of wireless communication that is most familiar
to mobile phones users. Called 'cellular' because the system uses many base
stations to divide a service area into multiple 'cells'.
Cellular calls are transferred from base station to base station as a user
travels from cell to cell. |
| CO (Central
Office) |
A connection point between the wireless phone system at
the MTSO and the landline phone
system at the PSTN. |
| Clone (Cloning) |
A wireless phone that
has been programmed to mimic another wireless phone. Often used to defraud a
wireless carrier by placing illegal calls without any intention of
payment. |
| Coverage Area |
The geographic area
served by a wireless system. Same as Service
Area. |
| Cross-talk |
A signal leak from one
channel to another - often the cause of noise and distortion. |
| D |
| Decibel (dB) |
A unit of measure used
to express relative difference in power or intensity of sound. |
| Digital |
A method of encoding
information using a binary code of 0s and 1s. Most newer wireless phones and
networks use digital technology. |
| Dual band |
A feature on some
wireless phones that allows the handset to operate using either the 800 MHz
cellular or the 1900 MHz PCS
frequencies. |
| Dual mode |
A feature on some
wireless phones that allows the handset to operate on both analog and digital
networks. |
| Duplex |
As in ordinary telephone
service, a characteristic of a communications system where simultaneous
transmission and reception is possible. |
| E |
| E-mail |
The ability to send and
receive text messages through a wireless handset. |
| EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution) |
A further development of
the GSM protocol designed to handle data at speeds up to 384
Kbps. Considered to be 3G wireless technology. |
| ESMR (Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio) |
Using frequency bands
orginally allocated for two-way dispatch services, companies such as
Nextel and
Southern LINC have built digital mobile
phone services similar to cellular and PCS systems. |
| ESN (Electronic Serial Number) |
The unique serial number
of a cellular phone that identifies it to the
cellular system for the purpose and placing and
receiving calls. |
| F |
| FCC (Federal Communications Commission) |
A US government agency
responsible for regulating communications industries. |
| Fingerprinting |
See
Radio-frequency
fingerprinting. |
| Follow-Me Roaming |
The ability of a
wireless system to forward incoming calls to a handset
that is roaming outside its home service area without any pre-notification to
the wireless carrier. |
| G |
| GSM
(Global Standard for Mobile) |
A digital communication technology used by some carriers to
provide PCS service. Other technologies used are
CDMA and TDMA. |
| GPRS
(General Packet Radio Service) |
An emerging technology
standard for high speed data transmission over GSM
networks.GPRS is the General Packet Radio Service that is part of the GSM
standard and delivers "always-on" wireless packet data services to GSM
customers. GPRS can provide packet data speeds of up to 115 kb/s. GPRS achieves
faster connection speeds thanks to two cutting-edge technologies. The first is
the General Packet. Rather than sending information in a steady stream through
a single channel as current phones do, a GPRS-enabled phone (or other device)
breaks the information down into "packets" and sends them over multiple
channels (up to eight). Each packet travels by the quickest available route to
the recipient, where it is reassembled into the original message. Sending
packets by several different channels increases the speed of transmission and
cuts down on signal errors. The second big idea in GPRS is Radio Service. Like
a radio, a GPRS-enabled phone or data device is "always on". As long as you
have your Motorola GPRS phone switched on, you have an open channel for sending
and receiving text messages, updates from the web and other data. You'll be
able to exchange files and browse the web with your mobile phone as easily as
you do now with your PC at home or at work. You won't even have to log on
– with GPRS you'll always be on. |
| H |
| Handoff |
The transfer of a
wireless call in progress from one transmission site to another site without
disconnection. |
| Hands-Free Speakerphone |
A feature of some
wireless phones that allows the users to talk and listen to calls without
holding the phone against their head. |
| Handset |
Any hand held device
used to transmit and receive calls from a wireless system. Also known as a
wireless phone, a cellular phone, a mobile phone, a PCS phone and many other
terms. |
| Handshake(ing) |
Signals between a
wireless phone and a wireless system to accomplish call
setup. |
| Home Coverage Area |
A designated area within
which cellular calls are local and do not incur
roaming or long distance charges. |
| HomeRF |
A digital wireless
communications protocal designed for the transport of voice and multimedia
content between consumer electronic devices(including PCs) in a residential
setting. Operates at 2.4 Ghz, see homerf.org. |
| I |
| Interconnection Fee |
A fee charged for calls
from wireless phones that must be routed to landline phones. |
| J |
| J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) |
A Java environment
optimized to run applications on devices small devices with limited processing
power and memory. See BREW for a similar technology from
QUALCOMM |
| L |
| Landline |
Traditional wired
telephone service. |
| LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) |
A flat panel screen used
to display numbers and/or characters. Often found on a wireless
handset. |
| LED (Light Emitting Diode) |
A light on a handset to
alert the user of various conditions. |
| LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution System) |
A fixed,
broadband wireless system used for voice and
interactive data. Generally used as a lower cost alternative to
landline connections for businesses and others
requiring high bandwidth connections to public
networks. |
| M |
| Memory Dialing |
A feature of a wireless
phone that allows multiple numbers to be stored in the phone itself for quick
dialing by pressing one or two buttons. |
| MMDS (Multipoint Multichannel Distribution
Service) |
Often referred to as
'wireless cable' as it is a wireless system used to distribute cable television
and other broadband signals to multiple users by way
of a single transmitter. |
| MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) |
Similar to
SMS, but in addition to plain text, MMS messages may include
multimedia elements such as pictures, video and audio. These multimedia
elements are included in the message, not as attachments as with
email. |
| Monophonic Ringtones |
Ringtones made up of a series of sequential beeps at
different frequencies. These sound like the beeping of a computer, and the the
tunes are simple because the phone can only produce one sound (beep) at a
time. |
| MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) |
An area defined by the
US government for use in grouping census data and other statistics. MSAs
include a city of at least 50,000 people or an urbanized area of at least
100,000 people and the counties that include these areas. Not all areas of the
US are in an MSA. The FCC used these area definitions to
license cellular telephone service carriers. The FCC
often uses the term MSA to mean Metropolitan Service Areas; they are the same
geographic areas. There are 306 regions of the US designated as
MSAs. |
| MTA (Major Trading Area) |
An area consisting of
two or more Basic Trading Areas as defined by Rand McNally
& Co. These large areas are used by the FCC determine
service areas for some PCS wireless licenses. The US is
divided into 51 MTAs. |
| MTSO (Mobile Telephone Switching Office) |
An office housing
switches and computers to which all cell sites in an
area are connected for the purpose of eventual connection to the
PSTN. The MTSO handles the connection, tracking, status and
billing of all wireless call activity in an assigned area. |
| N |
| NAM (Number Assignment Module) |
A component of a
wireless phone that holds in electronic memory the telephone number and
ESN of the phone. |
| No Answer Transfer |
A feature of a wireless
service that if a call is not answered in a specified number of rings, it will
be transferred to another phone number of the users choice. |
| No Service Indicator |
A feature of wireless
phones that tells the user that wireless service is unavailable in a particular
location. Usually an LED on the handset. |
| O |
| Off Peak |
Any time of day, as
determined by a wireless carrier, when there is lower communications traffic on
the system. Carriers make this distinction to offer lower rates during these
periods when demand is low. |
| P |
| Paging |
A feature of a wireless
device that allows reception of a signal or alphanumeric message. |
| PCS (Personal Communication Services) |
Used to describe a newer
class of wireless communications services recently authorized by the
FCC. PCS systems use a different radio frequency(the 1.9 GHz
band) than cellular phones and generally use all
digital technology for transmission and reception. |
| Peak Period(s) |
Any time of day, as
determined by a wireless carrier, when there is high levels of communications
traffic on the system. |
| POTS (Plain-Old-Telephone-Service) |
Another name for
traditional wired, land based telephone service. |
| Polyphonic Ringtones |
Phones that play
polyphonic ringtones have the ability to produce 16
separate sounds at once. This makes for music that is much richer and the tunes
sound more like the music you know. |
| Prepaid
Cellular/Wireless |
A service plan offered
by some wireless carriers that allows subscribers to pay in advance for
wireless service. |
| PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) |
A formal name for the
world-wide telephone network. |
| R |
| Radio-frequency
fingerprinting |
An electronic process
that identifies each individual wireless handset by examining its unique radio
transmission characteristics. Fingerprinting is used to reduce fraud since the
illegal phone can not duplicate the legal phone's radio-frequency
fingerprint. |
| RF (Radio Frequency) |
A radio
signal. |
| RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) |
An undesired radio
signal that interferes with a radio communications signal causing extraneous
noise and/or signal dropouts. |
| RF Noise |
Undesired radio signals
that alters a radio communications signal causing extraneous sounds during
transmission and/or reception. |
| Ringtone |
A sound from your phone
used to signal an incoming call or message. On most newer phones additional
sounds can be downloaded from the wireless system or by data cable. These
sounds can take the form of anything you want, the most popular sounds are
music. See monophonic ringtones and
polyphonic ringtones.[Article] |
| Roaming |
Using your wireless
phone in an area outside its home coverage area.
There is usually an additional charge for roaming. |
| Roaming Agreement |
A agreement among
wireless carriers allowing users to use their phone on systems other their own
home systems. Roaming Fee charged for roaming. |
| RSA (Rural Service Area) |
Areas not included in
MSAs are divided into RSAs. Generally these are the rural
areas of the US. The FCC used RSAs to license cellular carriers in areas not
included in MSAs. There are 428 RSAs in the US. |
| S |
| Service Area |
The geographic area
served by a wireless system. Same as Coverage
Area. |
| Service plan |
A contract between a
wireless carrier and a wireless subscriber that details the terms of the
wireless service including rates for activation, access and per minute
usage. |
| Sensitivity |
A measure of a
receiver's ability to viably receive weak radio signals. |
| Signal-to-noise ratio |
A measure of the power
of a signal versus noise. A lower ratio means there is more noise relative to
signal. |
| SMS (Short Messaging System) |
A feature of
PCS phones(primarily GSM) that allows
users to receive and sometimes transmit short text messages using their
wireless phone. |
| Spectrum |
The the entire range
electromagnetic frequencies. |
| Spread Spectrum |
A communications
technology where a signal is transmitted over a broad range of frequencies and
then re-assembled when received. |
| Standby Time |
The time a phone is on
but not actively transmitting or receiving a call. |
| Subscriber |
A cellular phone user. |
| System Selection Switch |
A feature of some
cellular phones that allows switching between 'A' and
'B' cellular carriers. This feature is often used when roaming. |
| T |
| T9® Text Input |
A feature built into
many phones that allows you to use one key press per letter when entering text
on your wireless phone. T9 helps make entering text on a limited keypad quick
and easy.
See T9 for more
information. |
| Talk Time |
The time a phone is on
and actively transmitting or receiving a call. |
| TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) |
A digital communication
technology used by some carriers to provide PCS service.
Other technologies used are CDMA and GSM. |
| Telecommunications Act of
1996 |
Federal legislation
passed in 1996 intended to increase competition among wireless and wireline
carriers for the benefit of consumers. |
| 3G (Third Generation Wireless) |
The next generation of
wireless communications beyond today's digital PCS
technologies. When available, 3G wireless technologies will allow for much
higher transmission rates to wireless devices leading to more useful services
and a better user experience. |
| Toll Charges |
Charges for placing long
distance calls. |
| Toll-Free Calling Area |
An area in which calls
can be placed without incurring long distance charges. |
| V |
| Voice-activated Dialing |
A feature that allows
users to speak words into a wireless phone to cause it to dial pre-programmed
telephone numbers without using the buttons. |
| Voice Mail |
A system that answers
calls and allows users to reply to, save, delete or forward
messages. |
| W |
| WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) |
A global protocol used
in many newer wireless devices that allows the user to view and interact with
data services. Generally used as a means to view Internet web pages using the
limited transmission capacity and small display screens of portable wireless
devices. |
| Wi-Fi |
A wireless data
networking protocol generally used connect PCs and laptops to a network. Also
know as 802.11b and WLAN(Wireless LAN), it is the most common means of wireless
networking and operates at 2.4 GHz. |
| Wireless Carrier |
A company that provides
wireless telecommunications services. |
| WLL (Wireless Local Loop) |
A wireless system meant
to bypass a local landline telephone system. A home or businesses phone system
is connected to the public network by a wireless carrier instead of by the
traditional local phone company. |
| This glossary is © Copyright 1997-2003 Cleanphone
and may not be used without permission. |
