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Glossary

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VividFuture.org.

TelecomTermsandAcronymsYouShouldKnow
Priortotheinternet,wirelessandhighspeedcommunications,"fax"and"vcr"werethe
buzzwordsoftheday.Nowtermsandacronymsenterourvocabularyonamonthly(ifnot
daily)basis.Hereisashortlistoftermsandacronymsthatareessentiallingointoday's
telecomandtechnoworld.

Ifyoucantfindthetermyourelookingforhere.TryNewtonsTelecomDictionaryorcheck
outanonlinetechnicaldictionarycalledTechtionary.

PopularGlossaryTerms

JumpTo:
A

123

Convergence
Cloud
CentralOffice(CO)
Broadband
Fiber/FiberOpticCable
Infrastructure
MobileBroadband
Network
VIVID
3Gand4G

A
ATM(AsynchronousTransferMode)
Veryhighspeedtransmissiontechnology.ATMisahighbandwidth,lowdelay,
connectionoriented,packetlikeswitchingandmultiplexingtechnique.
ATSC(AdvancedTelevisionSystemsCommittee)
Itsnotreallyaword,butanacronymfortheAdvancedTelevisionSystemsCommittee.
ATSCisacommitteeformedtoestablishvoluntarystandardsforadvancedTV
systems,focusingondigitaltelevision,broadbandmultimediacommunications
standards,andinteractivesystems.ATSChas54membersincludingtelevision
networks,producers,tradeassociations,membersoftheacademiccommunity,plus
others.

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Accredited
Thisisveryimportantandcanbeconfusingforsomeonenewtohighereducation.Ina
nutshell,itmeansthatthecourseworkmeetsspecificacademicrequirements
ProgramscanberegionallyornationallyaccreditedsocheckwiththeCouncilfor
HigherEducationAccreditation(CHEA)formoreinformation.Mostoften,tuition
assistanceisavailableforregionallyaccreditedcollegesanduniversitiesand
courseworktakenfromregionallyaccreditedcollegesanduniversitiesismorereadily
transferablethanthattakenfromschoolsthatarenotregionallyaccredited.

B
Backhaul
Inahierarchicaltelecommunicationsnetworkthebackhaulportionofthenetwork
comprisestheintermediatelinksbetweenthecorenetwork,orbackbone,ofthe
networkandthesmallsubnetworksatthe"edge"oftheentirehierarchicalnetwork.
Forexample,whilecellphonescommunicatingwithasinglecelltowerconstitutea
localsubnetwork,theconnectionbetweenthecelltowerandtherestoftheworld
beginswithabackhaullinktothecoreofthetelephonecompany'snetwork(viaapoint
ofpresence).
Bandwidth
Thewidthofacommunicationschannel.Inanalogcommunications,bandwidthis
typicallymeasuredinHertz.Indigitalcommunication,bandwidthismeasuredinbits
persecond(bps).
Bluetooth

Ashortrangewirelessconnectionstandard.Itsaimistolinkawiderangeof
computers,electronicsandtelecomsdevices.Thetechnologyusesalowpower,two
wayradiolink,whichisbuiltintoamicrochip.TheBluetoothstandardisallowingfor
greaterwirelessinternetcapabilityintheofficeandforconsumers.
Broadband
Intelecommunications,broadbandmeansawiderangeoffrequenciesoverwhich
informationcanbetransmitted.
AsimplewaytocomparebroadbandandnarrowbandInternetconnectionsisto
pictureahighway.Onlyonecarcantravelatatimeonaonelanehighway
(narrowband).However,whenahighwayissixoreightlaneswide(broadband),more
trafficcandriveontheroadatthesametime.
ThinkbacktowhenyouhadadialupInternetconnection.Nowthinkaboutthe
Internettoday.Youhavealwaysondataconnectionsthatenableyoutoaccess

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multiplemediasourcesandawiderangeofinformationatthesametime.Thats
broadband.
Bundling
Tripleplayandquadplayarewaysthattelecomcompaniespackage(bundle)their
services.Whiletheyusedtoonlyofferhometelephoneservice,theynowprovide
homephone,Internetconnection,televisionandmaybeevencellphoneservice.
Eachtelecomcarrieroffersdifferentproductsandservicessotheirpackagingis
different.Someevenestablishrelationshipswithothercompaniestodeliverservices.
Forexample,CenturyLinkpartnerswithDIRECTVtooffersatelliteTVservicestoits
customers.
Expecttoseemorebundlinginthefuture.Whoknows,theremayevenbeaquintplay
onthehorizon.

C
CDMA(CodeDivisionMultipleAccess)
CDMAisachannelaccessmethodusedbydifferentradiocommunication
technologiesonewaytounderstandCDMAistothinkofapartywhereeveryoneis
talkingatthesametime.Lotsofconfusion,right?CDMAassignsdifferentcodesto
eachgroupofusers,soothergroupshearjustnoiseandtuneout.
CLECCompetitiveLocalExchangeCarrier
TheTelecommunicationsActof1996openedthedoortocompetitionforlocalphone
service.ThisactmandatedthattheIncumbentLocalExchangeCarriers(ILEC)suchas
Verizon,BellSouth,orSBCprovidethenecessaryinterfacessothatCLECscould
provideseamlesslocalservice.Forexample,MegaPathisaCLEC.
CPE(CustomerProvidedEquipment)
Telephoneequipment(keysystems,PBXs,answeringmachines,etc.)whichliveonthe
customerspremises.
CSP(CommunicationServiceProvider)
Anumbrellatermusedtodescribebothtraditionalprovidersofcommunication
services(ie:telecom)andalternateproviderssuchascableTVcompaniesandother
overthetopproviders.
CSRCustomerServiceRecord
Acopyofhowyourtelephonerecordsappearinyourlocalcarriers'database.It
containsinformationitemsandchargessuchas:typeofservice,federalaccess
charge,numberportabilitycharge,callingblocksontheline,911charge,etc.Itisthe
"snapshot"ofyourentireserviceforeachline.
Carrier

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Acompanythatisauthorizedbyregulatoryagenciestooperateatelecommunications
system.ExamplesincludeAT&T,Alltell,andVerizon.
CentralOffice(CO)
Inalmosteveryneighborhoodthereisawindowlessbuildingthathousestheswitching
equipmentthatconnectsyourtelephonetoyourneighbor'stelephoneorroutesyour
calltoanothercentralofficeforlongdistancecalls.Thisbuildingiscalledthecentral
office.Thecentralofficehasswitchingequipmentthatcanswitchcallslocallyorto
longdistancecarrierphoneoffices.
Cloud

Collectionoftechnologiesthroughwhichbusinessesorconsumerspaytouse
softwarethatlivesinanothercompanysdatacenter.Thebenefitisthatservercapacity
canincreaseordecreaseinresponsetocustomerdemand,freeingcompaniesfrom
havingtoinvestasmuchinhardwareandultimatelysavingthemmoney.
Thisrelatestotelecommunicationsbecausetheinformationinthecloudisaccessed
throughbroadbandconnections.Cloudcomputingisdrivinglargevolumesofnew
trafficacrosstelecomnetworksandmakingbusinessesincreasinglyreliantontelecom
services.
AreportfromthePewInternetandAmericanLifeProjectexplainsfurther.
Awidevarietyofplayersisrushingtoexploitthesebusinessopportunitiesinthenew
evolvingCloudecosystem.Overthetop(OTT)providers(forexample,Googleand
Amazon),systemintegrators,pureCloudprovidersandmanyothersseemeagerto
grabasliceoftheCloudpie.Also,CommunicationsServiceProviders(CSPs)have
recognizedCloudasasourceofnewrevenues.Anumberofthemhavemadeoffering
Cloudbasedservicestoclientsanintegralpartoftheirbusinessstrategies.
CollectiveBargaining
Anegotiationbetweenanemployerandatradeunion.
Connectivity
Intelecommunicationandcomputingingeneral,aconnectionisthesuccessful
completionofnecessaryarrangementssothattwoormoreparties(forexample,
peopleorprograms)cancommunicateatalongdistance.Connectivitycanbetiedto
bothhardwareandsoftware.
Convergence
Thetendencyfordifferenttechnologicalsystemstoevolvetowardsperformingsimilar
tasks.Agreatexampleofthisissmartphones.Notonlycanyoumakecalls,youcan
alsousethemasapersonalcomputertosurftheweb,sendtextmessagesand
monitoryourhomesecuritysystem.

Credit
Avaluethatisassignedtoaclassand/ordegreethatisoftenrelatedtohowoftenthe
coursemeets,howmuchcontentiscovered,andthenumberofstudentoutcomes.

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D
DAC(DigitalAnalogConverter)
Adevicewhichconvertsdigitalpulses(ie:data)intoanalogsignalssothatthesignal
canbeusedbyanalogdevicessuchasphones.
DCPowerPlant

EachCentralOfficehousesanACpowerplantaswellasanAC/DCconverterthat
runsthemajorityofthetelecommunicationsequipment.SomeCentralOffice
Techniciansfocusonkeepingthesepowerplantsrunningefficiently24/7.

DSL(DigitalSubscriberLine)
Thetechnologyusedbetweenacustomerspremisesandthetelephonecompanyto
supportthetransportofhigherbandwidthdigitalsignalsonthecoppertwistedwire
pairsalreadyinplaceaspartofthetelephonyinfrastructure.Alsoknownasgeneric
namesignifyingthefamilyofDigitalSubscriberLinetechnologiesincludingADSL,
HDSL,VDSL,etc.
DSO,DS1&DS3(DigitalSignal0,1,3,etc)
Differentlevelsofdigitalhierarchyfortheamountandspeedofdatacarriedona
circuit.ThefundamentalspeedlevelisDS0,whichisavoicegradechannel.
DWDM(DenseWaveDivisionMultiplexing)
ThehighercapacityversionofWDM,whichisameansofincreasingthecapacityof
fiberopticdatatransmissionsystemsthroughsendingmanywavelengthsoflightdown
asinglestrandoffiber.
Dongle
AportablemobilebroadbandadapterconnectedtoalaptoporPCviaaUSBport.
Whataweirdword!

E
Ethernet

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Ethernetisastandardforusingvarioustransmissionmedia,suchascoaxialcables,
unshieldedtwistedpairs,andopticalfibers.
*definitionfromTIA

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F
FIOS
ThisisaVerizonproduct.LearnaboutFIOShere.
FTTC,FTTH,FTTB
Think"Fibertothe____".Intheacronymsabove,the____isCabinet,Homeand
Businessandrelatetoopticalfiberextentions.Translation?Accessnetworksthat
consistofopticalfiberfromtheexchangetothecabinet//home/business.
Facility(facilities)
Afacilitiespersonassignsthecableorfiberpairnumbers.Thefacilitiesassignment
referstowherethetelephonenumberstartsinthecentralofficeandtherouteittakes
fromthecentralofficetotheendaddress(includesthoseboxesyouseeonthesideof
thestreet).
Femtocells
Femtocellsenhancecoverageandcapacityinsidebuildingswhichmeansfewer
droppedcalls.Thishaspotentialtoallowcellphonecallstotravelovertheinternet.
Femtocells.Theywillbeeveryplace.Andthecheapertheyare,theeasiertoinstall.
thebettercoverageyouget.
IvanSeidenberg,CEOVerizon
Fiber/FiberOpticCable

Transmitslightsignalsalongglassstrands,permitting10100timesfastertransmission
thantraditionalcopperwire.Whatthismeanstotheconsumer,isfaster,moreefficient
cellphonesandInternetconnections.
YoumayhearFTTH(fibertothehome),FTTP(fibertothepremises).Thoseterms
simplymeanhowclosethefibercomestoabuilding,houseenduser.Thecloserit
comes,thefastertheconnection.

Firewall
Afirewallisapartofacomputersystemornetworkthatisdesignedtoblock
unauthorizedaccesswhilepermittingauthorizedcommunications.Itisadeviceorset
ofdeviceswhichisconfiguredtopermitordenycomputerbasedapplicationupona
setofrulesandothercriteria.
LaunchVideo
Frame
Aracktowhichtelecommunicationsequipmentismounted.Youwillseethesein
CentralOffices.
FrameRelay
Thestandardforhighspeeddatacommunications,offeringuserstransmissionspeeds
of2.048megabitspersecondandhigher.ItallowsfasterspeedsthantheX.25packet
switchingstandardbecauseitdoesawaywithelaborateerrorcorrectionandrouting
information.Itsmainapplicationisinterconnectinglocalareanetworks.
FunctionalAreas
Thesearedifferentareasofabusiness.Mostbusinessesconsistofanumberof
differentdepartments,eachofwhichhasaspecificjobortasktodothesearecalled
'functions'.Therearecertainlymorethanwhatareshownherebutthissimplediagram
willgiveyouanideaofsomefunctionalareas.

H
HCS(HierarchicalCellStructure)
HierarchicalCellStructure:thearchitectureofamultilayeredcellularnetworkwhere
subscribersarehandedoverfromthemacrotothemicrotothepicolayer,depending
onthecurrentnetworkcapacityandtheneedsofthesubscriber.
HDVoice
Atechnologythatprovidesbetteraudioqualitybydeliveringatleasttwicethesound
range(wideband)ofatraditional(narrowband)telephonecall.
HDSL(HighBitRateDigitalSubscriberLine)
Thisisdigitalaccesstechnologytypicallyusedbybusinesses.Itrequirestwocopper
wirepairs(orinsomecasesfiber)butdoesntrequirecomplexengineeringand
installation.
HSPA(HighSpeedPacketAccess)
Oftenreferredtoas3.5G,thisisanextensiontotheoriginal3Gstandardproviding
significantlyhigherdatarates.HSDPA(downlink)canprovidetheoreticalmaximum

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downlinkspeedsof168Mbps.HSUPA(uplink)supportsmaximumuplinkspeedsof22
Mbps.
HTML
HypertextMarkupLanguage.Theauthoringlanguageusedtocreatewebpagesfor
theWorldWideWeb.HTMLidentifieseachelementofinformationinadocumentusing
HTML"tags"surroundedbythe<and>signs.HTMLalsoallowsforlinkstoother
webpagesonthesameserverorsomewhereelseontheinternet.Thesoftware
(browsersoremailprograms)thenconvertsthecontentstoasuitableformatfor
viewing.
HetNet(HeterogeneousNetwork)
Aheterogeneousnetworkisanetworkconnectingcomputersandotherdeviceswith
differentoperatingsystemsand/orprotocols.
*definitionfromWikipedia

I
IPAddress
AnIPaddressisa32bitnumberthatidentifieseachsenderorreceiverofinformation
thatissentinpacketsacrosstheInternet.WhenyourequestanHTMLpageorsende
mail,theInternetProtocolincludesyourIPaddressinthemessage(actually,ineachof
thepacketsifmorethanoneisrequired)andsendsittotheIPaddressthatisobtained
bylookingupthedomainnameintheUniformResourceLocatoryourequestedorin
theemailaddressyou'resendinganoteto.Attheotherend,therecipientcanseethe
IPaddressoftheWebpagerequestorortheemailsenderandcanrespondby
sendinganothermessageusingtheIPaddressitreceived.
AnIPaddresshastwoparts:theidentifierofaparticularnetworkontheInternetandan
identifieroftheparticulardevice(whichcanbeaserveroraworkstation)withinthat
network.OntheInternetitselfthatis,betweentherouterthatmovepacketsfromone
pointtoanotheralongtherouteonlythenetworkpartoftheaddressislookedat.
*definitionsuppliedbywhatis.com
IPTV(InternetProtocolTelevision)
DigitaltelevisiondeliveredovertheInternet.Itcanbeaccessedthroughaclosedor
publicnetwork,withacomputerorasettopboxcapableofprocessingthevideo
streams.Thisisindirectcompetitionwithtraditionalcableandbroadcasttelevision.
IPTVcanbebundledwithVoIPandInternetaccessforatripleplayservice,increasing
thecompetitionthatothertelevisionprovidersface.
Infrastructure
Thisisanincrediblyimportantpartofthecommunicationsindustry.Roughly25%ofall
telecomworkersareinvolvedwithtelecominfrastructureinitssimplestterms,
infrastructureincludesthepiecesandpartsthatmakesophisticatedcommunications
systemswork.

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L
L2TP(Layer2TunnelingProtocol)
Layer2TunnelingProtocolisanIETF(InternetEngineeringTaskForce)standard
tunnelingprotocolforVPNs.ISPsusethistoprovidesecure,nodetonode
communicationsinsupportofmultiple,simultaneoustunnelsinthecoreoftheinternet
orIPbasednetworks.
LAN(LocalAreaNetwork)
Locallyownedandadministerednetworkfordatacommunicationsthatprovidesa
relativelyhighbandwidthoveralimitedgeographicareaforcommunicationbetween
attacheddevices(typicallypersonalcomputersandservers).LANsaremostoftenata
customersite.AnEthernetisacommonexampleofatypeofLAN.
LATALocalAccessandTransportArea
Geographicareacoveredbyoneormorelocaltelephonecompanies,whichare
legallyreferredtoaslocalexchangecarriers(LECs).Aconnectionbetweentwolocal
exchangeswithintheLATAisreferredtoasintraLATA.Aconnectionbetweenacarrier
inoneLATAtoacarrierinanotherLATAisreferredtoasinterLATA.InterLATAislong
distanceservice.ThecurrentrulesforpermittingacompanytoprovideintraLATAor
interLATAservice(orboth)arebasedontheTelecommunicationsActof1996.
LTE(LongTermEvolution)

LTEisabroadbandaccesstechnologythatenhancestheabilityofmobileusersto
accesslargeramountsofdata.LTEoperatesonalowerfrequencyof700MHzgivingit
enhancedsignalrangeandbuilding/obstaclepenetration.AT&TandVerizonWireless
arebuildingtheir4GnetworkswithLTEtechnology.
Thisisabigdealbecauseforthemostpart,consumerswantmoreandmoredata.In
fact,arecentIBMreportshowsthatwhenpeopleareaskedwhattheywouldbeleast
likelytocutbackontosavemoneypeoplechosemobilephonesandbroadband
Internetonlyaftertheirhomes.

M
MMS(MultimediaMessagingService)
Thestandardinmobilemessagingservices,addingphotos,picturesandaudiototext
messages.
MUXMulitplex
Totransmittwoormoresignalsoverasinglechannel.IntheworldofCAT5the
explosionofchoicesthatdigitalTVisbringingthemultiplexmeanstooffersubscribers
achoiceofvariousstartingtimesformoviesandevents.

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MobileBroadband
Wirelesshighspeedinternetaccessthroughaportablemodem,telephoneorother
device.

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N
Network
Atelecommunicationsnetworkisacollectionofterminals,linksandnodeswhich
connecttogethertoenabletelecommunicationbetweenusersoftheterminals.
Networksmayusecircuitswitchingormessageswitching.Eachterminalinanetwork
musthaveauniqueaddresssomessagesorconnectionscanberoutedtothecorrect
one.
*Wikipediadefinition
NetworkOperationsCenter(NOC)

Anetworkoperationscenter(orNOC,pronounced"knock")isoneormorelocations
fromwhichcontrolisexercisedoveracomputer,televisionbroadcastor
telecommunicationsnetwork.

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O
OEM
ThisacronymstandsforOriginalEquipmentManufacturer.Manytypesoftechnicians
needtobefamiliarwithproductsfromvariousmanufacturers.
Oscilloscope

ElectronictestingdevicethatcandisplaywaveformsandotherinformationonaTV
screenlikecathoderaytube.Asbasicfixtureinscifimovies.

OutsidePlant
Referstoallofthephysicalcablingandsupportinginfrastructure(suchasconduit,
cabinets,towerorpoles),andanyassociatedhardware(suchasrepeaters)located
betweenademarcationpointinaswitchingfacilitytoanotherswitchingfacilityortoa
customerpremises.

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PBX
PrivateBranchExchangeDigitaloranalogtelephoneswitchboardlocatedonthe
customerpremisesandusedtoconnectprivateandpublictelephonenetworks.
PBX(PrivateBranchExchange)
Aprivate(asinownedbythetelephonecompany)exchange(asintheCentralOffice).
APBXisasmallversionofthephonecompanyslargercentralswitchingoffice.In

otherwords,ananalogtelephoneswitchboardlocatedonthecustomerpremises
andusedtoconnectprivateandpublictelephonenetworks.
Plant
Ageneraltermforallequipmentusedbyatelephonecompanytoprovide
telecommunicationsservices.Inthetelecombusiness,plantcomesintwovariations
insideandoutsideplant.Insideisinabuilding.Outsideisoutsidethebuildingon
poles,intheground.
Premises
Atacustomerslocation/premises.Thiscouldbeanythingfromanofficetoafactoryto
ahome.
PriorLearningAssesment(PLA)
Theprocessbywhichastudent'sformerlearning,bothformalandinformalistested
andevaluatedforpossibleacademiccredit.PriorLearningAssessment(PLA)can
include:transfercredit,schoolsponsoredchallengeexams,standardizednational
examsdevelopedbyCLEPandDANTES,ACE(AmericanCouncilonEducation)
recommendedcreditandportfolios.

R
RBOC(RegionalBellOperatingCompany)
Thereareseven(alsoknownasBabyBells)whichownthelocalexchangecarriersin
theUSfollowingthedivestiture/breakupofAT&T('MaBell')in1984.
RegionallyAccredited
ThedeterminationbyoneofsixregionalaccreditingbodiesintheUnitedStatesthata
collegeoruniversitymeetsasetofqualitystandardsthesixregionalagencies
include:
MiddleStatesAssociationofCollegesandSchools
NewEnglandAssociationofSchoolsandColleges
NorthCentralAssociationofCollegesandSchools
NorthwestCommissiononCollegesanduniversities

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SouthernAssociationofCollegesandSchools
WesternAssociationofSchoolsandColleges
SeetheCouncilforHigherEducationAccreditation(CHEA)formoreinformation.
RemoteAccess
CheckoutthisCenturyLinkvideotobetterunderstandRemoteAccess.
Reseller
Telecommunicationscompaniesthatpurchasenetworkcapabilitiesfromexternal
sourcesandresellthoseservicestoprivatehouseholdsorbusinesses.
Routing/Router
Theprocessofselectingpathsinanetworkalongwhichtosendnetworktraffic.
Routersaretheequipmentusedtomakethishappen.

S
SDH(SynchronousDigitalHierarchy)
SDHandSONETareessentiallythesamething.Standardmultiplexingprotocolsthat
transfermultipledigitalbitstreamsoveropticalfiberusinglasersorlightemitting
diodes(LEDs).Lowerratescanalsobetransferredviaanelectricalinterface.
*definitionfromWikipedia
SONET(SynchronousOpticalNetwork)
Afamilyoffiberoptictransmissionratescreatedtoprovidetheflexibilityneededto
transportmanydigitalsignalswithdifferentcapacitiesandtoprovideadesign
standardformanufacturers.
SS7(SignalingSystemNumber7)
Aninternational,standard,setoftelephonesignalingprotocolswhichareusedtoset
upmostoftheworld'spublicswitchedtelephonenetworktelephonecalls.Themain
purposeistosetupandteardowntelephonecalls.
Satellite
Satellitetelecommunicationsestablishmentsaremadeupmostlyofgovernmentand
privateorganizationsthattransmitavarietyofdatathroughsatellites,includingphotos
oftheearth,messagestoandfrompublicsafetyofficials,andavarietyofother
information.DirecttohomesatelliteTVproviders,however,areclassifiedwithwired
telecommunications.
ServiceManagementSystem(SMS)
AhighlyreliablecomputersystemthatisconnectedtotelecommunicationsNetwork
systems.

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Smartphone
Asmartphoneisamobilephoneonsteroids.Itoffersmoreadvancedcomputingand
connectivitythanacontemporarybasicfeaturephone.Smartphonescanbethought
ofashandheldcomputersintegratedwithinamobiletelephone.

Splice
Thejoiningoftwoormorecablestogetherbysplicingtheconductorstogether.In
copperwiretelephonecables,splicingisonamechanicalbasisandpairtopair,with
thepairsorganizedbybindergroupsandcolorcodes.Inopticalfibercables,the
splicingisfibertofiber,withthefibersorganizedbyribbonorcoloredbuffertubeand
colorcode.Fiberopticssplicingmaybeeithermechanicalsplicingorfusionsplicing.
Switchswitching
Adevicethatchannelsincomingdatafromanyofmultipleinputportstothespecific
outputportthatwilltakethedatatowarditsintendeddestination.Inthetraditional
circuitswitchedtelephonenetwork,oneormoreswitchesareusedtosetupa
dedicatedthoughtemporaryconnectionorcircuitforanexchangebetweentwoor
moreparties.OnanEthernetlocalareanetwork(LAN)aswitchdeterminesfromthe
physicaldevice(MediaAccessControlorMAC)addressineachincomingmessage
framewhichoutputporttoforwardittoandoutof.Inawideareapacket
switchednetworksuchastheInternet,aswitchdeterminesfromtheIPAddressineach
packetwhichoutputporttouseforthenextpartofitstriptotheintendeddestination.
*definitionfromwhatis.com

T
TIRKS(TrunksIntegratedRecordKeepingSystem)
AnoperationssupportsystemdevelopedbytheBellSystemduringthelate1970s.It
wasdevelopedforinventoryandordercontrolmanagementofinterofficetrunkcircuits
thatinterconnecttelephoneswitches.Itgrewtoencompassandautomatemany
functionsrequiredtobuildtheeverexpandingdatatransportnetwork.Supporting
circuitsfromPOTSand150baudmodemsupthroughT1,DS3,SONETandDWDM,it
continuestoevolvetoday,andunlikemanysoftwaretechnologiestoday,provides
completebackwardcompatibility.TIRKSisinuseatAT&T,Verizon,CenturyLink,and
CincinnatiBellTelephone.
Telecommunications
Transmittingsignalsoveradistanceinordertocommunicate.Theclassictincan
telephoneisaverysimpletelecommunicationssystem.
Emergingtechnologieshavebroughtusfarfromthatmodel.Todayscommunication
couldbeviatelephone,television,radio,satellite,wirelessnetwork,computernetwork,
telemetry,orothermeans.

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Thesetechnologies,plusmanymoreareconvergingyoucanaccesstheInternet,
playvideos,ortrackyourchildren'smovementsviaglobalpositioningsystem(GPS)
technologyonyourcellphonesothelinesbetweentelecommunicationsandother
industrieslikecomputerhardware,applicationsoftware,consumerelectronicsand
entertainmentaregettingblurrierallthetime.
Telecommunicationssystems
Networksofleadingedgetechnologiessuchasfiberopticsystems,satellites,wireless,
telephony,andcable,whichareconnectedtocomputersthatalloworganizationsand
individualsthroughoutbusinessandindustrytocommunicateinstantaneouslyaround
theworld.
Toll
Adevicethatreceivescallsandallowsthemtobetransmittedtothenextlocalcalling
area,thusavoidingtolloraccesscharges.
Trunk/Trunking
Acommunicationlinebetweentwoswitchingsystems.Thetermswitchingsystem
typicallyincludesequipmentinaCentralOfficeandPBXs.AtietrunkconnectsPBXs.
CentralofficetrunksconnectaPBXtotheswitchingsystemattheCentralOffice.

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UVerse

AT&TUverseisaVDSLserviceofferedbyAT&TinvariouspartsoftheUnitedStates.It
providesbroadbandinternetaccess,TV,andphonethroughafibertothenode
communicationsnetwork.
SeeavideofromAT&TabouttheirUVerseproducthere.

V
VIVID
TheacronymVIVIDincludeseachcomponentoftheevolvingcommunications
industry:Voice,Information,Video,Infrastructure&Data.CheckoutourIndustry
Overviewpagetoseesomeofthevividcomponentsoftelecominaction.

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VOIP(VoiceoverInternetProtocol)
Harnessesthepowerofbroadbandinternetconnectionstoallowconsumersaccessto
telephoneservicesovertheinternet.Inotherwords,yourwordsgetconvertedintodata
signalsandtravelovertheinternet.Oncetheygettotheirdestination,theyare
convertedfromdatasignalsbackintoanalogsignalsandtransmitted.
UpgradesintechnologyhelpedcombatproblemswithearlyVoIP,suchaspoorquality
andavailabilityofservice.TodaysVoIPisaviablecompetitortotraditionaltelephony.
Asbusinessescontinuetocutcostsandlimittravelbudgets,expecttoseetheuseof
VoIPincrease.
VoLTE

VoLTE,orVoiceOverLTEissimilartoVoIPbutgoesonestepfurther.Insteadofusing
thehardwareattheendsofthecall(thephones),VoLTEoffloadstheheavyliftingto
thenetworkcreatingVoIPHD.Beyondacrispandclearsound,VoLTEincludesthe
abilitytocancelechosandbackgroundnoiseonthebackend,notthehandsetitself*.
*definitiontakenfrompocketnow.com

Formoreinformation,checkoutthisvideoonVerizon's3Gand4Gnetworkitincludes
anoverviewofVoIPandVoLTE
Voice
Audiblecommunicationoveratraditionallandline,wirelesscellularorsmartphoneor
eventhroughacomputerviaVOIP.

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W
WideAreaNetwork(WAN)

Acomputerorcommunicationsnetworkthatcoversageographicareawhichislarger
thanabusinesscampus.Usually,thedividinglinebetweenalocalorcampusnetwork
andanWideAreaNetworkisarouter.Onthelocalorcampusside,thetransmission
linesinanetwork(copperorfiber)areusuallyownedbytheenterprise.OntheWAN
side,thelinesaretypicallyownedbyacarrierandleasedtoanenterprise.
Byfar,themostfamiliarandlargestWANistheInternet.
Wireless

Wirelesstelecommunicationscarriersprovidetelephone,Internet,data,andother
servicestocustomersthroughthetransmissionofsignalsovernetworksofradio
towers.Thesignalsaretransmittedthroughanantennadirectlytocustomers,whouse
devices,suchascellphonesandmobilecomputers,toreceive,interpret,andsend
information.

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#
3Gand4G
Thesetermsrefertothirdandfourthgenerationcellularwirelesscapabilities.3Gand
4Gnetworksallowmobileandsmartphoneuserstoaccessmoreinformationand
servicesontheirdevicesfaster.Itsbecauseofthesetechnologicaladvancesthatyou
canvideochat,watchInternetTV,playonlinegames,downloadvideosandlistento
streamingmusiconyourphone.Simplyput,3Gand4Gallowyoutodomore.
Both3Gand4GnowenhancedbyLTEtechnologyareavailableacrossmostofthe
U.S.today.Themajordifferencebetweenthetwoisspeed.Ingeneral,4GLTE
networksaremuchfasterthan3GLTEnetworks.

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