You just need to know few things for success in telecom...... 1G The first generation of analogue mobile phone technologies including AMPS, TACS and NMT 2G The second generation of digital mobile phone technologies including GSM, CDMA IS-95 and D-AMPS IS-136 2.5G The enhancement of GSM which includes technologies such as GPRS 3G The third generation of mobile phone technologies covered by the ITU IMT-2000 family 3GPP The 3rd Generation Partnership Project, a grouping of international standards bodies, operators and vendors with the responsibility of standardising the WCDMA based members of the IMT-2000 family 3GPP2 The counterpart of 3GPP with responsibility for standardising the CDMA2000-based members of the IMT-2000 family. 3GPP2 is spearheaded by ANSI 8PSK Octantal Phase Shift Keying A5/1/2/3/8X Encryption algorithms for GSM networks AAL ATM Adaptation Layer ABR Available Bit Rate A-bis Interface between the BSC and BTS in a GSM network AB Access Burst; used for random access and characterised by a longer guard period to allow for burst transmission from a MS that does not know the correct timing advance when first contacting a network ACTE Approvals Committee for Terminal Equipment ACTS Advanced Communications Technologies and Services . a European technology initiative ACU Antenna Combining Unit ADPCM Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation; a form of voice compression that typically uses 32kbit/s AFC Automatic Frequency Control AGCH Access Grant Channel; downlink only, BTS allocates a TCH or SDCCH to the MS, allowing it access to the network Air interface In a mobile phone network, the radio transmission path between the base station and the mobile terminal A-interface Interface between the MSC and BSS in a GSM network AM Amplitude Modulation AMPS Advanced Mobile Phone System, the analogue mobile phone technology used in North and South America and in around 35 other countries. Operates in the 800MHz band using FDMA technology AMR Adaptive Multi-Rate codec. Developed in 1999 for use in GSM networks, the AMR has been adopted by 3GPP for 3G Analogue The representation of information by a continuously variable physical quantity such as voltage ANSI American National Standards Institute. An non-profit making US organisation which does not carry out standardisation work but reviews the work of standards bodies and assigns them category codes and numbers ANSI-136 See D-AMPS API Application Program Interface AoC Advice of Charge ARIB Association of Radio Industries and Businesses. An organisation established by Japan.s Ministry of Posts and Communications to act as the standardisation authority for radio communication and broadcasting ARPU Average Revenue Per User ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit ASP Application Service Provider Asymmetric Transmission Data transmissions where the traffic from the network to the subscriber is at a higher rate than the traffic from the subscriber to the network A-TDMA Advanced Time Division Multiple Access ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode; a multiplexed information transfer and switching method in which the data is organised into fixed length 53-octet cells and transmitted according to each application.s instantaneous need AUC Authentication Centre; the element within a GSM network which generates the parameters for subscriber authentication Bandwidth A term meaning both the width of a transmission channel in terms of Hertz and the maximum transmission speed in bits per second that it will support BCH Broadcast Channels; carry only downlink information and are mainly responsible for synchronisation and frequency correction (BCCH, FCCH and SCH) BCCH Broadcast Control Channel; the logical channel used in cellular networks to broadcast signalling and control information to all mobile phones within the network B-CDMA Broadband Code Division Multiple Access B-ISDN Broadband ISDN BER Bit Error Rate; the percentage of received bits in error compared to the total number of bits received BERT Bit Error Rate Test Bit A bit is the smallest unit of information technology. As bits are made up using the binary number system, all multiples of bits must be powers of two i.e. a kilobit is actually 1024 bits and a megabit 1048576 bits. Transmission speeds are given in bits per second (bit/s) Bluetooth A low power, short range wireless technology designed to provide a replacement for the serial cable. Operating in the 2.4GHz ISM band, Bluetooth can connect a wide range of personal, professional and domestic devices such a laptop computers and mobile phones together wirelessly. BHCA Busy Hour Call Attempts; the number of call attempts made during a network.s busiest hour of the day BSC Base Station Controller; the network entity controlling a number of Base Transceiver Stations BSS Base Station System/Subsystem BTS Base Transceiver Station; the network entity which communicates with the mobile station CAI Common Air Interface; a standard developed for the UK.s public CT2 networks which enabled the same handset to be used on different networks CAMEL Customised Application for Mobile network Enhanced Logic; an IN feature in GSM networks that enables users to carry personal services with them when roaming into other networks that support CAMEL CSE CAMEL Service Environment Capacity A measure of a cellular network.s ability to support simultaneous calls CB Cell Broadcast CC Call Control; manages call connections CCB Customer Care and Billing CCCH Common Control Channels; a group of uplink and downlink channels between the MS and the BTS (see PCH, AGCH and RACH) CCS7 Common Channel Signalling No. 7 CDMA Code Division Multiple Access; also known as spread spectrum, CDMA cellular systems utilise a single frequency band for all traffic, differentiating the individual transmissions by assigning them unique codes before transmission. There are a number of variants of CDMA (see W-CDMA, B-CDMA, TD-SCDMA et al) CDMAone The first commercial CDMA cellular system; deployed in North America and Korea; also known as IS-95 CDMA2000 A member of the IMT-2000 3G family; backwardly compatible with cdmaOne CDMA 1X The first generation of cdma2000; the standardisation process indicated that there would be CDMA 2X and CDMA 3X but this no longer appears likely CDMA 1X EV-DO A variant of CDMA 1X which delivers data only CDPD Cellular Digital Packet Data; a packet switched data service largely deployed in the USA. The service uses idle analogue channels to carry the packetised information. CDPSK Coherent Differential Phase Shift Keying CDR Call Detail Records; the record made within the cellular network of all details of both incoming and outgoing calls made by subscribers, The CDR is passed to the billing system for action Cell The area covered by a cellular base station. A cell site may sectorise its antennas to service several cells from one locationCell site The facility housing the transmitters/receivers, the antennas and associated equipment Cell splitting The process of converting a single cell to multiple cells by sectorising the antennas in the cell site or constructing additional cells within a cell site CELP Code Excited Linear Prediction; an analogue to digital voice coding scheme, there are a number of variants used in cellular systems CEPT Conference of European Posts and Telecommunications. A organisation of national posts, telegraphs and telephone administrations. Until 1988, when this work was take over by ETSI, the main European body for telecommunications standardisation. CEPT established the original GSM standardisation group CF Call Forwarding CI Carrier to Interference ratio CIBER Cellular Intercarrier Billing Exchange Roamer Record CID Caller Identification Circuit switching A method used in telecommunications where a temporary dedicated circuit of constant bandwidth is established between two distant endpoints in a network. Mainly used for voice traffic; the opposite of packet switching CLID Calling Line Identification CLIP Calling Line Identification Presentation CLIR Calling Line Identification Restriction CM Connection Management; is used to set up, maintain and take down call connections CMOS Complementary Metal Oxide Substrate Codec A word formed by combining coder and decoder the codec is a device which encodes and decodes signals. The voice codec in a cellular network converts voice signals into and back from bit strings. In GSM networks, in addition to the standard voice codec, it is possible to implement Half Rate (HR) codecs and Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) codecs Control signal A signal sent to a cellular phone from a base station or vice versa which carries information essential to the call but not including the audio portion of a conversation CPE Customer Premises Equipment; all the equipment on the end user.s side of the network interface CPU Central Processing Unit CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check CRM Customer Relationship Management CSS Customer Support System CT Cordless Telephony CT0 Zero generation cordless telephony; the earliest domestic cordless phones which used analogue technology and which had severe limitations in terms of range and security CT1 First generation cordless telephony; Improved analogue phones with greater range and security; a number of European nations produced CT1 standards CT2 Second generation cordless telephony; Using digital technology CT2 phones offered greater range, improved security and a wide range of new functionalities. Used in both domestic and cordless PABX deployments, CT2 was standardised as an interim ETS but was overwhelmed by DECT CT2-CAI Second generation cordless telephony-common air interface CTA Cordless Terminal Adaptor; a DECT term CTM Cordless Terminal Mobility CTR Common Technical Regulation; part of the ETSI standardisation process CUG Closed User Group Back to top D/A Digital to Analogue conversion DAC Digital to Analogue Convertor DAMA Demand Assigned Multiple Access D-AMPS Digital AMPS, a US wireless standard also known as IS-136 DAN DECT Access Node DCA Dynamic Channel Assignment DCCH Dedicated Control Channels; responsible for roaming, handovers, encryption etc. (See SDCCH, SACCH and FACCH) DCE Data Communications Equipment DCH Data Clearing House DCPSK Differentially Coherent Phase Shift Keying DCS1800 Digital Cellular System at 1800MHz, now known as GSM1800 DECT Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications system, a second generation digital cordless technology standardised by ETSI DEPSK Differential Encoded Phase Shift Keying DES Digital Encryption Standard DFSK Double Frequency Shift Keying Digital a method of representing information as numbers with discrete values; usually expressed as a sequence of bits DPCM Differential Pulse Code Modulation DPSK Digital Phase Shift Keying DQPSK Digital Quadrature Phase Shift Keying DS-CDMA Direct Sequence CDMA DSP Digital Signal Processing DSRR Digital Short Range Radio; a UK standard for a low power, short range radio system designed for small voice and data networks DTE Data Terminal Equipment DTMF Dual Tone MultiFrequency; better know as Touch Tone. The tones generated by touching the keys on the phone are used for a variety of purposes including voice mail systems and voice messaging DTX Discontinuous Transmission Dual Band The capability of GSM infrastructure elements and handsets to work across both the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands. The capability to seamlessly handover between the two bands offers operators major capacity gains DB Dummy Burst; transmitted as a filler in unused timeslots of the carrier Duplex The wireless technique where one frequency band is used for traffic from the network to the subscriber (the downlink) and another, widely separated, band is used for traffic from the subscriber to the network (the uplink) Back to top EDGE Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution; effectively the final stage in the evolution of the GSM standard, EDGE uses a new modulation schema to enable theoretical data speeds of up to 384kbit/s within the existing GSM spectrum. An alternative upgrade path towards 3G services for operators, such as those in the USA, without access to new spectrum. Also known as Enhanced GPRS (E-GPRS) EEPROM Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory EFR Enhanced Full Rate; a alternative voice codec that provides improved voice quality in a GSM network (see codec) EFT Electronic Funds Transfer EGSM Extended (frequency range) GSM EIR Equipment Identity Register; a database that contains a list of all valid mobile stations within a network based on their IMEI EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated Power EPOC The mobile phone operating system developed by Symbian. Derived from epoch-the beginning of an era-EPOC is a 32-bit operating environment which comprises a suite of applications, customisable user interfaces, connectivity options and a range of development tools EPROM Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory Erlang A dimensionless unit of average traffic density in a telecommunications network ERMES Enhanced Radio Messaging System; a paging technology developed by ETSI which was intended to allow users to roam throughout Europe. Adopted by a number of European and Middle Eastern countries, ERMES, like paging in general, was overtaken by the ubiquity of GSM ERO European Radiocommunications Office ERP Effective Radiated Power ESMR Enhanced Special Mobile Radio; a US PMR variant (see SMR) ESN Electronic Serial Number; a 32-bit number that uniquely identifies a mobile phone ESPRIT European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology ETACS Extended TACS; the extension of TACS by the addition of new frequencies ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute: The European group responsible for defining telecommunications standards Back to top FACCH Fast Associated Control Channel; similar to the SDCCH but used in parallel for operation of the TCH. If the data rate of the SACCH is insufficient borrowing mode is used FB Frequency Correction Burst; used for frequency synchronisation of the mobile FCC Federal Communications Commission; the US regulatory body for telecommunications FCCH Frequency Correction Channel; downlink only, correction of MS frequencies, transmission of frequency standard to MS etc. FDD Frequency Division Duplex; a radio technique which uses paired spectrum; UMTS has an FDD element FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access-a transmission technique where the assigned frequency band for a network is divided into sub-bands which are allocated to a subscriber for the duration of their calls FEC Forward Error Correction FH Frequency Hopping FH-CDMA Frequency Hopping CDMA FMC Fixed Mobile Convergence FMI Fixed Mobile Integration FPLMTS Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunications System, the original title of the ITU.s third generation concept now known as IMT-2000 FRA Fixed Radio Access; see WLL FSDPSK Filtered Symmetric Differential Phase Shift Keying FSK Frequency Shift Keying; a method of using frequency modulation to send digital information FSOQ Frequency Shift Offset Quadrature Modulation FSS Fixed Satellite ServiceGb The interface between the PCU and the SGSN in a GSM/GPRS network Back to top Gc The interface between the GGSN and the HLR in a GSM/GPRS network Gd The interface between the SGSN and the SMSC in a GSM/GPRS network Gf The interface between the SGSN and the EIR in a GSM/GPRS network Gi The interface between the GGSN and the Internet in a GPRS network Gn The interface between the GGSN and the SGSN in a GPRS network Gp The interfaces between the GGSN/SGSN and the Border Gateway in a GPRS network Gr The interface between the SGSN and the HLR in a GPRS network Gs The interface between the SGSN and the MSC in a GSM/GPRS network GAIT GSM/ANSI 136 Interoperability Committee GAP Generic Access Profile; a DECT term Gbit/s A unit of data transmission rate equal to one billion bits per second GMSC Gateway Mobile Services Switching Centre; the gateway between two networks GCF Global Certification Forum Geostationary Refers to a satellite in equatorial orbit above the earth which appears from the surface to be stationary GERAN GSM-EDGE Radio Access Network; the name for the evolution of GSM towards 3G based on EDGE GGRF GSM Global Roaming Forum GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node; the gateway between a cellular network and a IP network. GHz A unit of frequency equal to one billion Hertz per second GMPCS Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite GMSK Gaussian filtered Minimum Shift Keying; a refinement of FSK which minimises adjacent channel interference GPRS General Packet Radio Service; standardised as part of GSM Phase 2+, GPRS represents the first implementation of packet switching within GSM, which is a circuit switched technology. GPRS offers theoretical data speeds of up to 115kbit/s using multislot techniques. GPRS is an essential precursor for 3G as it introduces the packet switched core required for UMTS GPS Global Positioning System; a location system based on a constellation of US Department of Defence satellites. Depending on the number of satellites visible to the user can provide accuracies down to tens of metres. Now being incorporated as a key feature in an increasing number of handsets GRX GPRS Roaming Exchange GSM Global System for Mobile communications, the second generation digital technology originally developed for Europe but which now has in excess of 71 per cent of the world market. Initially developed for operation in the 900MHz band and subsequently modified for the 850, 1800 and 1900MHz bands. GSM originally stood for Groupe Speciale Mobile, the CEPT committee which began the GSM standardisation process GSM MoU The GSM Memorandum of Understanding, an agreement signed between all the major European operators to work together to promote GSM. The precursor of the GSM Association GSM-R GSM-Railway, A variant of GSM designed to meet the special communications needs of international train operators Back to top Handoff The transfer of control of a cellular phone call in progress from one cell to another, without any discontinuity Hands-free The operation of a cellular phone without using the handset; usually installed in vehicles. HCS Hierarchical Cell Structure; the architecture of a multi-layered cellular network where subscribers are handed over from the macro to the micro to the pico layer depending on the current network capacity and the needs of the subscriber HDLC High level Data Link Control HIPERLAN High Performance Radio Local Access Network; a wireless local area network being standardised by ETSI (Also HIPERLAN2) HLR Home Location Register; the database within a GSM network which stores all the subscriber data. An important element in the roaming process HSCSD High Speed Circuit Switched Data; a special mode in GSM networks which provides higher data throughput By cocatenating a number of timeslots, each delivering 14.4kbit/s, much higher data speeds can be achieved HSPSD High Speed Packet Switched DataIub The interface between the Node B and the RNC in a UMTS network Back to top Iur The interface between RNCs in a UMTS network Iups The connection between the RNC and the packet switched network in a GSM/GPRS/UMTS network Iucs The connection between the RNC and the circuit switched network in a GSM/GPRS/ UMTS network I-ETS Interim European Telecommunications Standard I-mode A service developed by Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo, I-mode delivers a huge range of services to subscribers and has proved enormously popular with some 30 million regular users. The revenue sharing model used for I-mode is being adopted by other operators as the basis for the new services enabled by GPRS and 3G IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity; an internal subscriber identity used only by the network IMT-2000 The family of third generation technologies approved by the ITU. There are five members of the family: IMT-DS, a direct sequence WCDMA FDD solution IMT-TC, a WCDMA TDD solution IMT-MC, a multicarrier solution developed from cdma2000 IMT-SC, a single carrier solution developed from IS-136/UWC-136 IMT-FT, a TDMA/TDD solution derived from DECT IN Intelligent Network INAP Intelligent Network Application Part Internet A loose confederation of autonomous databases and networks. Originally developed for academic use the Internet is now a global structure of millions of sites accessible by anyone Intranet A private network which utilises the same techniques as the Internet but is accessible only by authorised users IP Internet Protocol IPR Intellectual Property Rights IPv6 The next generation of IP addressing designed to replace the current system IPv4 which uses a 32 bit address code which limits the number of possible addresses. IPv6 uses a 128 bit code ensuring that the possible number of IP addresses will be virtually limitless IrDA Infra red Data Association Iridium A low earth orbit satellite communications system developed initially by Motorola. IS-54 The first evolution in the USA from analogue to digital technology. Used a hybrid of analogue and digital technology, superseded by IS-136 IS-95 Cellular standard know also as cdmaOne IS-136 Cellular standard also known as TDMA or D-AMPS ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network ISO International Standards Organisation ISP Internet Service Provider ITU International Telecommunications Union ITU-R ITU Telecommunications Radio Sector ITU-T ITU Telecommunications Standardisation Sector IWF Interworking Function Back to top Java A programming language developed by Sun Microsystems Java is characterised by the fact that programs written in Java do not rely on an operating system JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group Back to top LAN Local Area Network LANS Local Area Network Services LAP Link Access Protocol LEO Low Earth Orbit; refers to satellites which orbit the Earth at around 1,000 kilometres LMSS Land Mobile Satellite Service LOS Line of Sight Back to top MAC Media Access Control; the lower sublayer of the OSI system MAN Metropolitan Area Network MAP Mobile Application Part Mbit/s Megabit: a unit of data transmission speed equal to one million bits per second MHz Megahertz; a unit of frequency equal to one million Hertz MCPA Multi Carrier Power Amplifier MeXe Mobile Execution Environment; likely to be based on Java, MeXe enables WAP-enabled devices to offer a wider range of features with greater security and flexibility, as well as greater control of telephony features MFSK Multiple Frequency Shift Keying MMI Man Machine Interface MMS Multimedia Messaging Service; an evolution of SMS, MMS goes beyond text messaging offering various kinds of multimedia content including images, audio and video clips MMSK Modified Minimum Shift Keying MNO Mobile Network Operator Modulation The process of imposing an information signal on a carrier. This can be done by changing the amplitude (AM), the frequency (FM) or the phase, or any combination of these MoU Memorandum of Understanding- see GSM MoU MPEG Motion Picture Experts Group; MPEG4 is a technology for compressing voice and video so that the information can be transmitted over normally difficult links such as mobile radio MS Mobile Station MSC Mobile Switching Centre; the switching centre of a mobile phone network, the MSC has interfaces to the BSCs, HLR, VLR and other MSCs MSISDN Mobile Station International ISDN Number MSK Minimum Shift Keying; Another term for FFSK Multiplexing A telecommunications technique where several channels can be combined to share the same transmission medium. The most common forms are Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) MVPN Mobile Virtual Private Network Back to top N-AMPS Narrowband AMPS NB Normal Burst; used to carry traffic and control channels except RACH NET Norme Europeenne de Telecommunications NMT Nordic Mobile Telephone system; an analogue cellular technology deployed in the Nordic countries in the late 1970.s; variations were also deployed in the Benelux countries and in Russia. NMT operated in the 450 and 900MHz bands and was the first technology to offer international roaming, albeit only in the Nordic countries Node B The element in a UMTS network which interfaces with the mobile station, analogous to a BTS in a GSM network Back to top OTA Over the air activation (of services and tariff changes) O&M Operations and Maintenance OMC Operations and Maintenance Centre OMC-R The radio OMC OMC-S The switching OMC OSI Open Systems Interconnection; a seven layer model for protocols defined by ISO Back to top PACS Personal Access Communication System; a digital cordless technology developed initially by Bell Labs in the US, PACS was designed to compete with DECT Packet switching A communication system wherein the information is transmitted in packets of a set size. These packets have address headers and find their way to their destination by the most efficient route through the network. Compared to circuit switching where a connection is occupied until the traffic exchange is completed, packet switching offers considerable efficiencies as connections can be used by a number of users simultaneously PAMR Public Access Mobile Radio; Commercial service using trunking techniques in which multiple groups of users can set up their own closed systems within a shared public network PAP Public Access Profile; a DECT term PCH Paging Channel; downlink only, the MS is informed of incoming calls by the BTS via the PCH PCM Pulse Code Modulation; the standard digital voice format at 64kbit/s PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card Interface Association the body responsible for defining the standards and formats for memory expansion cards for laptop computers and PDAs. Now extended to cover cards for mobile phones PCN Personal Communications Network; a designation initially used in the UK to refer to networks operating in the 1800MHz band (see also DCS1800). No longer in use PCS 1900 Personal Communications Systems 1900MHz; the terminology used in the US to describe the new digital networks being deployed in the 1900MHz band; rarely used today PCU Packet Control Unit; an element in a GPRS/UMTS network PDA Personal Digital Assistant PDC Personal Digital Communications; a digital cellular technology developed and deployed uniquely in Japan. A TDMA technology, PDC is incompatible with any other digital cellular standard PEDC Pan European Digital Communications; A designation occasionally used in the early 1990.s to describe GSM. No longer in use Penetration The percentage of the total population which owns a mobile phone PHS / PHP Personal HandyPhone System/Phone; a digital cordless technology developed in Japan which achieved great success. Deployed by NTT DoCoMo and other Japanese operators PHS offered two-way communications, data services and Internet access and eventually won some 28 million customers. Now in decline as cellular.s wide area capabilities offer better service PIN Personal Identifier Number PKI Public Key Infrastructure PLMN Public Land Mobile Network; any cellular operator.s network PMR Private Mobile Radiocommunications; two-way radio technology widely used for despatch and delivery services, taxi companies and the like. See TETRA POCSAG Post Office Code Standardisation Group; a now defunct industry grouping which standardised pager addressing systems PoP Points of Presence; a method of measuring the value of a cellular licence; the approximate number of potential customers within a geographical area POTS Plain Old Telephone Service PROM Programmable Read Only Memory PSK Phase Shift Keying PSRCP Public Safety Radio Communications Project; an initiative by the UK Government to standardise all emergency services communications on to a single digital technology (see TETRA) PSDN Public Switched Data Network PSPDN Public Switched Packet Data Network PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network PSU Power Supply Unit PTO Public Telecommunication Operator PTT Posts, Telephone and Telegraph Administration PTT Push-to-Talk; a feature of PMR systems PWT Personal Wireless Telecommunications; a variant of DECT developed for use in the USA Back to top QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation QAPSK Quadrature Amplitude Phase Shift Keying QCELP Quadrature Code Excited Linear Prediction QoS Quality of Service; a broad term to describe the performance attributes of an end-to-end connection QPSK Quadrature Phase Shift Keying Back to top RACE Research in Advanced Communications in Europe RACH Random Access Channel; uplink only, allows the MS to request an SDCCH in response to a page or for a call RAM Random Access Memory RFP Radio Fixed Part; equivalent to a base station in a DECT system RCC Radio Common Carrier RELP Regular pulse Excitation Linear Prediction coding Reuse The assignment of frequencies or channels to cells so that adjoining cells do not use the same frequencies and cause interference whereas more distant cells can use the same frequencies. Reuse expands the capacity of a cellular network by enabling the use of the same channels throughout the network RP Radio Part RNC Radio Network Controller; the element which controls the Node Bs within a UMTS network. It is roughly analogous to a BSC in a GSM network Roaming A service unique to GSM which enables a subscriber to make and receive calls when outside the service area of his home network e.g. when travelling abroad Router A device which forwards information in a network on a connectionless basis RRM Radio Resource Management, part of the UMTS infrastructure RT Remote Terminal Back to top SACCH Slow Associated Control Channel; transmits continuous measurements in parallel with operation of TCH or SDCCH; needed for handover decisions SAR Specific Absorption Rate SB Synchronisation Burst; used for time synchronisation of the mobile S-CDMA Synchronous CDMA (see CDMA) SCH Synchronisation Channel; downlink only frame synchronisation and identification of base station SCP Switching/Service Control Point SDCCH Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel; communications channel between the MS and the BTS. Used for signalling during call set-up before a TCH is allocated SDLC Synchronous Data Link Control SDMA Spatial Division Multiple Access SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node; the gateway between the RNC and the core network in a GPRS/UMTS network SIM Subscriber Identity Module; A smart card containing the telephone number of the subscriber, encoded network identification details, the PIN and other user data such as the phone book. A user.s SIM card can be moved from phone to phone as it contains all the key information required to activate the phone SoHo Small Office/Home Office Streaming An Internet derived expression for the one-way transmission of video and audio content STK SIM ToolKit: specified within the GSM standard, this allows operators to add additional functions to the phone menu in order to provide new services such as mobile banking or email SMR Specialised Mobile Radio; the US term for private mobile radio (See PMR) SMS Short Message Service; a text message service which enables users to send short messages (160 characters) to other users. A very popular service, particularly amongst young people, with 400 billion SMS messages sent worldwide in 2002 SMSC SMS Centre-the network entity which switches SMS traffic SMSCB SMS Cell Broadcast SMS-MO SMS Mobile Originated SMS-MT SMS Mobile Terminated SMS-PP SMS Point to Point SP Service Provider SQAM Staggered Quadrature Amplitude Modulation SQPSK Staggered Quadrature Phase Shift Keying SS Supplementary Service Support; handles special services SS7 Signalling System Number 7 (See CCS7) SSP Service Switching Point STM Synchronous Transfer Mode Symbian A company created by Psion, Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola in 1998 with the aim of developing and standardising an operating system which enable mobile phones from different manufacturers to exchange information The operating system is known as EPOC. Matsushita has subsequently joined Symbian Back to top TACS Total Access Communications System (an AMPS variant deployed in a number of countries principally the UK) TAP Transferred Account Procedure; the essential charging methodology for international GSM roaming. There have been four TAP standards, TAP1, TAP2, TAP2+ and TAP3. The latter offers variable record length and is sufficiently flexible to support all future requirements arising from the move to 3G TBR Technical Basis for Regulation (part of the ETSI standardisation process) TCH Traffic Channel TD-CDMA Time Division CDMA TD-SCDMA Time Division-Synchronous CDMA; a CDMA variant developed by Chinese vendors which is claimed to offer high data rates and greater coverage TDD Time Division Duplex; a radio technology for use in unpaired spectrum. WCDMA/UMTS includes a band for TDD mode usage and both PHS and DECT use this technology TDMA Time Division Multiple Access; a technique for multiplexing multiple users onto a single channel on a single carrier by splitting the carrier into time slots and allocating these on a as-needed basis Telematics A wireless communications system designed for the collection and dissemination of information, particularly refers to vehicle-based electronic systems, vehicle tracking and positioning, on-line vehicle navigation and information systems and emergency assistance TETRA Terrestrial Trunked Radio; a European developed digital private mobile radio technology which is now being extensively deployed worldwide Tetrapol A competitive digital PMR technology to TETRA developed by French vendors TFTS Terrestrial Flight Telephone System Timeslot A frame within a TDMA schema; has a time interval of 576 microseconds. Physical content of a timeslot is known as a burst. Five different burst types exist, they are distinguished by different TDMA frame divisions (see NB, FB, SB, AB and DB) TIPHON Telecommunications and Internet Protocol Harmonisation over Networks; an ETSI project designed to support the market for voice communications and voice band communications. In particular TIPHON will ensure that users on IP-based networks can communicate with those on circuit switched networks TMN Telecommunications Management Network TMSI Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity; covers the IMSI to prevent over-the-air interception and tracing TRAU Transcoder Rate Adapter Unit; the transport unit for a 16kbit/s traffic channel on the A-bis interface Tri-band Refers to a mobile phone able to operate on the three internationally designated GSM frequencies- 900, 1800 and 1900MHz TrueSync A technology which enables the optimal synchronisation of calendars, address books, action lists and memoranda. It enables multi-point, one-step synchronisation of wireless and wireline devices, desktop computers and server-based applications and services TRX Transmitter/receiver (transceiver) Back to top UI User Interface Um The air interface between the BTS and the MS in a GSM network Uu The air interface between the Node B and the MS in a UMTS network. UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System; the European entrant for 3G; now subsumed into the IMT-2000 family as the WCDMA technology. UPN Universal Personal Number UPT Universal Personal Telecommunications URL Uniform Resource Locator; the addressing system of the Internet USO Universal Service Obligation UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access; the air interface component of WCDMA. UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network; the UMTS radio access network comprising the RNC, Node B and the air interface USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module; the 3G equivalent of the GSM SIM UWB Ultra Wide Band Back to top VAS Value Added Services VBR Variable Bit Rate VHE Virtual Home Environment VLR Visitor Location Register Vocoder Voice coder VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol VPN Virtual Private Network VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminal VSELP Vector Sum Excited Linear Prediction Back to top WAP Wireless Application Protocol; a de facto standard for enabling mobile phones to access the Internet and advanced services. Users can access websites and pages which have been converted by the use of WML into stripped-down versions of the original more suitable for the limited display capabilities of mobile phones WARC World Administration Radio Conference; an ITU conference held at regular intervals to determine the allocation of spectrum for various services WCDMA Wideband CDMA; the technology created from a fusion of proposals to act as the European entrant for the ITU IMT-2000 family WLL Wireless Local Loop; a technique for providing telephony and low speed data services to fixed customers using wireless. Regarded as having considerably potential for rapidly addressing the telecommunications gap in developing countries. A number of different WLL solutions have been marketed based on cellular and cordless technologies WLAN Wireless Local Area Network; a short range radio network normally deployed in traffic hotspots such as airport lounges, hotels and restaurants. WLAN enables suitably equipped users to access the fixed network wirelessly, providing high speed access (up to 11Mbit/s download) to distant servers. The key WLAN technologies are the IEEE802.11 family and ETSI HIPERLAN/2 WML Wireless Markup Language; a markup language developed specifically for wireless applications. WML is based on XML WQAM Weighted Quadrature Amplitude Modulation WWW World Wide Web XML eXtended Markup Language The Consumer Mobile Glossary Advice of charge A service which provides the user with information on the cost of calls from a mobile phone Airtime The amount of time a subscriber spends using his/her mobile phone Battery status/Battery charge display An indication of the amount of battery life remaining Battery A chargeable device which provides the mobile phone with power. A variety of battery technologies have been used for mobile phones including nickel cadmium (NiCad), nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium ion (Li-ion) Call barring A service which enables users to bar certain incoming or outgoing calls on their mobile phones Call timer A service which keeps track of the amount of airtime being used by the subscriber on a cumulative basis Call divert The capability to divert incoming calls to another phone (fixed or mobile) or to an answering service Call hold The ability to put an ongoing call on hold whilst answering or making a second call Caller ID Caller Identification; displays the name/number of the person calling a mobile phone. Also known as CLI CLI See Caller ID CLR Clear; the key on a cellular phone which is pressed to remove information from the display Data capable Mobile phones which have the capability to enable transmission of data from a laptop computer or PDA via the phone Dual band Mobile phones which support transmission and reception of calls on the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands with seamless handover between the two frequency bands EFR Enhanced Full Rate (codec); an improved version of the standard voice codec used in GSM phones; offers improved speech quality without impacting on network capacity END The key on a cellular phone which is pressed to terminate a call Infrared data port A facility on a mobile phone to allow information to be exchanged with other devices e.g. a PC using infra red technology Lock A function on a cellular phone which, when activated, prevents use of the phone until the user enters a security code No Service An indication on the display of a cellular phone that indicates that the user is in an area where cellular service is unavailable One-touch dialling The ability to dial frequently called numbers using a single key stroke; see Speed Dialling PCN Personal Communications Networks; an outdated term for GSM services in the 1800MHz band PDA Personal Digital Assistant; a sophisticated handheld device with advanced display facilities and a range of business-oriented software programs Phone book A list of personal names and numbers stored in a mobile phone.s internal memory or in the SIM card. These numbers can be called by accessing the appropriate memory and making a single key stroke PIN Personal Identity Number; a number, usually four digits, that must be keyed into a mobile phone to make it work. A security measure to prevent unauthorised usage RCL The function on a cellular phone which recalls a phone number from memory Roaming The ability to make and receive calls on the same mobile phone when travelling outside the area of the home network operator Smartphone a combination of mobile phone and personal digital assistant SND Send; The key on a cellular phone which initiates a call or answers an incoming call Speed dialling See One-touch dialling Standby time The length of time a battery can power a mobile phone when it is switched on but not making or receiving calls Talk-time The length of time a battery can power a mobile phone when making or receiving calls Voicemail A service offered by network operators whereby calls received when the mobile is in use, switched off or out of coverage can be diverted to an answering service which can be personalised by the user WAP Wireless Application Protocol; a standard whereby mobile phones can gain access to specially tailored Internet websites WMLWireless Markup Language; a specially designed markup language used for tailoring WAP content. WML enables optimum usage of the limited display capabilities of the mobile phone 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP2 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 ARIB Association of Radio Industries and Businesses ATIS Alliance for Telecommunication Industry Solutions AWS Advanced Wireless Services CAPEX Capital Expenditure CCSA China Communications Standards Association CDMA Code Division Multiple Access CDMA2000 Code Division Multiple Access 2000 DAB Digital Audio Broadcast DSL Digital Subscriber Line DVB Digital Video Broadcast eHSPA evolved High Speed Packet Access ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute FDD Frequency Division Duplex FWT Fixed Wireless Terminal GSM Global System for Mobile communication HSPA High Speed Packet Access HSS Home Subscriber Server IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IPTV Internet Protocol Television LTE Long Term Evolution MBMS Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output MME Mobility Management EntityNGMN Next Generation Mobile Networks OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OPEX Operational Expenditure PAPR Peak to Average Power Ratio PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect PCRF Policing and Charging Rules Function PDSN Packet Data Serving Node PS Packet Switched QoS Quality of Service RAN Radio Access Network SAE System Architecture Evolution SC-FDMA Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node TDD Time Division Duplex TTA Telecommunications Technology Association TTC Telecommunication Technology Committee TTI Transmission Time Interval UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access WLAN Wireless Local Area Network May be few more thing...... :)
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 12:15:00 +0000
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