c


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A & B Bit is used in digital environments to convey signaling information. A bit equal to one
generally corresponds to loop current flowing in an analog environment; A bit value of zero
corresponds to no loop Current, i.e. to no connection. Other signals are made by changing bit
values: for example, a flash-hook is sent by briefly setting the A bit to zero.


A Links, also known as SS7 access links, connect an end office or signal point to a mated pair of
signal transfer points. They may also connect signal transfer points and signal control points at
the regional level with the A-links assigned in a quad arrangement.




A&B Bit Signaling, also called 24th channel signaling, is a procedure used in T1 transmission
facilities in which each of the 24Â T1 subchannels devotes 1 bit of every sixth frame to the
carrying of supervisory signaling information. On T1 lines that use Extended SuperFrame(ESF)
framing, the signaling bits are robbed from the 6th, 12th, 18th, and 24th frame, resulting in
"ABCD" signaling bits.




ABAM cable refers to a type of T1 cable. This cable was a 22 gauge, 100 ohm insulated, twisted
pair. ABAM cable is no longer available, but you can easily find cable that meets the technical
requirements.


 



Abandoned Call is a call in which the call originator disconnects or cancels the call after a
connection has been made, but before the call is established.


 
Abandonment refers to the network replacement of a connect signal with an on-hook signal
(network) prior to receiving a CI (customer installation) answer signal. Abandonment is the only
way to end an unanswered call attempt.

 
  
Abbreviated Address is an address that has fewer characters than the full address, usually for
special communications and other services or for certain users. Examples of abbreviated
addresses are (A) a four-digit telephone number for a user calling another user connected to the
same switching exchange, and (B) message addresses that have only the addressee name and
station code or number.

 
  



Abbreviated Address Calling is a calling that enables a user to employ an address having fewer
characters than the full address when initiating a call. Communications network users may be
allowed to designate a given number of abbreviated address codes. The allocation of the
abbreviated address codes to a destination or group of destinations may be changed as required,
by means of a suitable procedure.

 
 



Abbreviated Dialing is a telephone feature (synonym speed dialing ) that (A) permits the user to
dial fewer digits to access a network than are required under the nominal numbering plan, and
(B) is limited to a subscriber-selected set of frequently dialed numbers.




ABCD signaling is a 4-bit telephony line signaling coding in which each letter represents 1 of the
4 bits. This often is associated with CAS or robbed-bit signaling on a T1 or E1 telephony trunk.




ABCD Signaling Bits, also refered as ABCD Bits, are 4-bits telephony line signaling coding in
which each letter represents 1 of the 4 bits. The implementations of ABCD signaling are
different in E1 and T1 digital trunks. On E1, ABCD bit values may be used to signal an
incoming call, disconnect, seize and so on, They are closely analogous to the A and Bits
commonly used on T-1 digital trunks. On E1, there are 32 channels (time-slots) in contrast to 24
channels on T-1, hence the faster bit rate of 2.048 MHz versus 1.544 MHz for T-1. On E1,
channels 0 and 16 are used to carry the ABCD bits and synchronization (framing) bits; hence
only 30 channels are available for audio conversations. On T-1 digital trunks, the ABCD
Signaling Bits implements the robbed bit signaling.

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ABCD Tones are simply additional DTMF tones that may be used in any way the standard (0-9)
tones are used. The ABCD Tones are used in the U.S. Military telephone network (Aoto Von), in
some Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) systems, for control messages in some PBX systems,
and in some amateur radio auto-patches.

  

 !  
Attendant Blocking of Directory Number (ABDN) is a feature of telephone service enables the
attendant to block a DN (Directory Number) for a telephone from receiving to making calls. This
is particularly useful when a caller dials the attendant DN and requests an external (long
distance) call. If the caller chooses to disconnect until the attendant successfully places the call,
the requesting DN becomes idle and can receive or make calls. Therefore, the requesting DN
could be busy when the attendant establishes the requested call.

     

Absent Subscriber Service is a telephone service provided by local telephone carriers to
customers who will be away for a period of time and want to stop the service without losing their
telephone number . The calls to the subscriber will be intercepted by a live operator or a machine
and a message will be delivered. When the customers come back, they will get their old number.
But in the meantime, while they are away, they pay less money per month than they would for
normal phone service.

 


Absolute delay refers to the following: 1. The time interval or phase difference between
transmission and reception of a signal. 2. The total time between the instant a bit enters the
network and the instant a corresponding bit exists the network

"

Absorption Band is a range of wavelengths (or, equivalently, frequencies) in the electromagnetic
spectrum within which electromagnetic energy is absorbed by a substance. When the absorbing
substance is a polyatomic gas, an absorption band actually is composed of a group of discrete
absorption lines which appear to overlap. Each line is associated with a particular mode of
vibration or rotation induced in a gas molecule by the incident radiation.

" !!  

Absorption coefficient is measure of the attenuation caused by absorption of energy that results
from its passage through a medium. Absorption coefficients are usually expressed in units of
reciprocal distance. The sum of the absorption coefficient and the scattering coefficient is the
attenuation coefficient.

"" 

Absorption Spectrum is a diagram which shows the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation
absorbed by a material. The material could be a gas, a solute or a solid. An absorption spectrum
is, in a sense, the inverse of an emission spectrum.

#$
AC/DC Ringing refers to telephone ringing that use both ac and dc voltages and currents.

   
Access Code (AC) refers to a set of digits or numbers besides regular telephone number dialed
on the telephone in order to access some telephone related services. For instance, some phone
needs to dial 9 to "access outside line", some long distance carrier needs a special set of code to
be connected, etc.

 
  
 
Automatic Circuit Assurance (ACA) is a PBX feature that helps one to identify bad trunks. The
PBX keeps records of calls of very short and very long duration. If these calls exceed a certain
parameter, the attendant is notified. The logic is that a lot of very short calls or one very long call
may snidest that a trunk is hung, broken or out of order, The attendant can then physically dial
into that trunk and check it.

 
 




Automatic Call Back (ACB) is a telephone feature that allows one to instruct the telephone
system to retain the called and calling numbers, when encountering a busy situation, to
reestablish the call when there is an available line.

  "
Access Attempt is the process by which one or more users interact with a telecommunications
system to enable initiation of user information transfer. An access attempt begins with an
issuance of an access request by an access originator and ends either in successful access or in
access failure.

 %
 
Access Charge is the charge or fees imposed by a communications service or telephone company
for the use of its network.

 &

 
Access Failure refers to an unsuccessful access in a telecommunications system that results in
termination of an access attempt in any manner other than initiation of user information transfer
between the intended source and destination (sink) within the specified maximum access time

 "
Access Group refers to a set of phones or terminals that have the same permission to access the
phone system, computers and networks.

  
Access Line refers to a transmission path that continuously connects a subscriber's premises to a
switching center, common carrier operating center, or teleprocessing system.

 
Access link is the local line connecting customer to the central office switch, giving access to a
PSTN carrier who will provide the customer dial tone or private line communications services.
The access link may be a T1 line, a DSL connection, a cable (CATV) network, a broadband
wireless link, or a metro-Ethernet connection.

  
Access Number refers to "dial-up Numbers" to access to an local Internet Service Provider.

 ' 
Access Protection refers to the process or means to protect a telephone system local loop against
possible outages and failures.

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Access Rate refers to the maximum data transmission rate over the access link in a typical
network like former AT&T hikes cable access rate.

  
Account Code is a numeric code that must be entered to dial long distance numbers in some
companies to control telephone billing. Account code can protect against telephone abuse and is
a way to track calls back to the person or project originating the calls.

  " 

  
Accunet spectrum digital service refers to a former AT&T's leased line digital service as 56
Kbps.






ACD Call Back Massaging is one of the ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) capabilities. It allows
callers to leave messages for agents instead of waiting for a live agent. It helps to balance
workloads of an agent between peak and off-peak hours.




  


$
ACD Caller Directed Call Routing refers to as an auto attendant capability of ACD. It allows
callers to direct themselves to the appropriate agent group without the intervention of an
operator. By responding to prompts (like pressing certain number on telephone), a caller is
automatically routed to the designated agent group.

 

(!! 
ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) Central Office refers to an ACD usually located in a central
office and supplied to the customer by the telephone company with tariffed pricing structures.



$
ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) Conditional Routing refers to an ability of ACD that monitors
various parameters within the system and call center and to intelligently route calls based on that
information conveyed in those parameters like volume levels of calls in queue, the number of
agents available, and etc.



  


$
ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) Data Directed Call Routing refers to an ACD capability that it
can automatically process calls based on data provided by a database of information resident in a
separate data system.

)

 


' 
ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) Intelligent Call Processing refers to the features of the ACDs
to intelligently route calls according to (1) information provided by the caller, (2) a database on
callers and system parameters within the ACD.

 
ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) Number is the telephone number dialed in order to access any
of the multiple agents in an ACD group.

 
 



Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) is a telephone facility that manages incoming calls and
handles them based on the number called and an associated database of handling instructions.
Many companies, offering sales and service support, use ACDs to validate callers, make
outgoing responses or calls, forward calls to the right party, allow callers to record messages,
gather usage statistics, balance the use of phone lines, and provide other services.

$
AC-DC Ringing is telephone ringing function/facility that makes use of both AC and DC
voltages and currents. An AC may be used to operate a ringer and DC to aid the relay action that
stops the ringing when the called telephone is answered.
*' 
 
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'  
Algebraic Code Excited Linear Prediction (ACELP) is a process employed in analysis by
synthesis codecs in order to predict the filter coefficients required to synthesize speech at the
receiving party. This process is specified in the ITU-T G723.1 codec specification.

   

Acoustic Connection is a connection to a device or system made by sound waves. Any system
that provides voice communication, such as a telephone set, is an example of Acoustic
Connection.

 "
 "

  

Amplitude Compandored Sideband (ACSB) is a narrow-band modulation using a single
sideband with a pilot tone, allowing an expander in the receiver to restore the amplitude that was
severely compressed by the transmitter. (Note that most of the noise reduction circuits used in
audio recording are also variations of companding.) This mode promised greater robustness and
fade-resistance on HF than even SSB, but was pretty much leapfrogged in favor of spread
spectrum, which solves the problem even better.

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America's Carriers Telecommunications Association (ACTA) is a trade association of
"competitive", long distance carriers. One of their purposes is to petition the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to ban the selling of software and hardware products by
some companies that enable use of the Internet to voice long distance services.

  



Active Call refers to a state of a call in a call processing used in call center which indicates a
connection is in any state except "Hold, Null, or Queued".

  
"

Active Campaign refers to an out-band calling project that is currently active.

   
Active Line refers to telecommunication channel or logical communications circuit that is
currently established for data or voice transmission.

   


Active Noise Control is a process to control, reduce or cancel unwanted noise during a call.

  '
 "

Active Participation refers to a feature in a call center which allows intrusion into an agent call
by a supervisor who can listen to or join the conversation.

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   *" 
Advanced Communications technologies and Services (Europe) (ACTS) refers to a programme
under the European Community 4th Framework R &TD Programme, collaborative research and
technology development in Europe. It is one of the biggest European R&TD investments with
around 120 projects in place. The DTI/EPSRC High Performance Interfaces & Protocols (HPIP)
LINK programme is the complementary UK initiative.

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Automatic Coin Telephone Service (ACTS) is a public coin-operated telephone service that
completes a variety of phone calls, times the calls, and collects payment without the aid of an
operator.

- 
 


-
Automatic Calling Unit (ACU) is a device that enables equipment, such as computers and card
dialers, to originate calls automatically over a telecommunications network.

.  % 

Asynchronous Cross-connect (ACX) is an ATM specific switch that can connect different ATM-
compatible services together.

  
 



Average Delay to Abandon (ADA) refers to the time the average caller who abandoned waiting
before being abandoned.

 
  
 


"

Automatic Directory Assistance Call Completion (ADACC) is a switch feature/application that
offers the caller the option of having the DA call automatically completed to the requested
listing.

 
 


   
Automatic Dialing and Announcing Device (ADAD) is a device that use a mechanism that sends
an unsolicited recorded message to your home or workplace and could leave such a message on
your answering machine


" %





Adaptive Channel Allocation refers to a channel allocation scheme in communications system
traffic flow control, channel allocation that information-handling capacities of channels are not
predetermined but are assigned on demand. Adaptive channel allocation is usually accomplished
by means of a multiplexing scheme.

 
  
   
Automated Directory Assistance Service (ADAS) is an application that automates the greeting-
and-inquiry portion of the directory assistance call and plays the subscriber's responses to the
operator for a savings of 2-4 seconds in worktime.

 



  
Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC, A/D or A to D) is an electronic device that converts
continuous signals to discrete digital numbers. The reverse operation is performed by a digital-
to-analog converter (DAC). ADC can uniquely represents all analog input values within a
specified total input range by a limited number of digital output codes.
!   
Add-on Conference is a call feature that allows an additional party to be added to an established
call without attendant assistance.





Add-on Data Module is plug-in circuit card enabling a PBX to send and receive analog and
digital signals.

 "
  
 
Address Complete Message, a CCS/SS7 term, refers to the signaling message that contains call-
status information sent prior to the called party going off-hook.

  
 
Address Message is a signaling message sent in the forward direction that contains (a) address
information, (b) the signaling information required to route and connect a call to the called line,
(c) service-class information, (d) information relating to user and network facilities, and (e) call-
originator identity or call-receiver identity.

 


Address Signaling is a process in telecommunication system used to convey address information.
There are two address signaling methods, dial pulse (DP) and dual tone multifrequency (DTMF)

  


 
Addressed Call Mode permits control signals and commands to establish and terminate calls in
V.25bis.

* 
"  * 
Adaptive Design Engineering (ADE) is the process of providing specialized design and
development of switching, transmission, and customer-premises equipment, or modifications of
standard products to meet the specific needs of a customer.

/


'
Adjacent Signaling Points refers to two signaling points that are directly interconnected by one
or more signaling links.

 "
"
+ Add/Drop Multiplexer (ADM), the main building blocks of
SONET/SDH networks, combines, or multiplexes, several lower-speed streams of data into a
single beam of light. ADMs, upon receipt of an optical signal (OC-n/STM-n), are configured to
drop off the whole incoming signal or drop-off only certain lower rate optical signals and/or
lower rate PDH signals (T1,T3). The remaining signal passes through. At the same time, optical
or PDH signals could be added to replace the dropped-off signal and complete the outgoing
optical signal. ADMs can be used both in long-haul core networks and in shorter-distance metro
networks. A recent shift in ADM technology has introduced so called multi-service
SONET/SDH (also known as a multi-service provisioning platform, or MSPP) equipment which
has all the capabilities of legacy ADMs, but can also include cross-connect functionality to
manage multiple fiber rings in a single chassis. These new devices can replace multiple legacy
ADMs and also allow connections directly from Ethernet LANs to a service provider's optical
backbone.


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Administrative Trunk Group is a category of trunk groups that provide call status monitoring.
The function may be one of revenue protection (i.e., coin overtime collection), protection of the
message network from overloads (i.e., no-circuit announcements), and so on.

' 
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'
  


Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation(ADPCM) is the process by which analog voice
samples are encoded into high-quality digital signals. The first ADPCM standardized by the
CCITT is G.721 for 32 kbps. Later came the standards G.726 and G.727 for 40, 32, 24 and 16
kbps. ADPCM is used to send sound on fiber-optic long-distance lines as well as to store sound
along with text, images, and code on a CD-ROM.


 
 %*+ %

Advanced Branch Exchange is an uncommon PBX term refers to a PBX with advanced features
normally including the ability to handle both voice and data in some sort of integrated way.

 




Aerial Cable is transmission facility physically strung between poles or similar over-head
structures.

 


*   
 '


Aeronautical Emergency Communications System Plan is a process that provides for the
operation of aeronautical communications stations, on a voluntary, organized basis, to provide
the President and the Federal Government, as well as heads of state and local governments, or
their designated representatives, and the aeronautical industry with an expeditious means of
communications during an emergency situation.

 
 
Aggregation Device is a special ISDN terminal adapter. It can aggregate or bond the two B
channels into a single higher-speed connection. Sometimes, aggregate device also includes
bridges which is the data link layer device connecting two LANs.

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Average Handle Time (AHT) is the average time it takes for calls to a service or a skill group to
be handled. Handle time includes talk time plus after-call work time.

) 
 )  "  
Automatic Intercept Center (AIC) is a centrally located set of equipment that is a part of an
Automatic Intercept System and provides arrangements, having stored program control, whereby
the caller is automatically advised, by means of either recorded or electronically assembled
announcements, of the situation that prevents the completion of connection to the called number.
)$ )

$

As-Is Data Rate (AIDR) is a term primarily used by telephone companies to represent the level
of available data throughput that can actually be provided to an end-user over copper wiring.
AIDR, as opposed to MEDR ( Maximum Engineering Data Rate) is an actual measure of what
an end-user can be provided measured in kilobytes per secondâ¼´in other words, an AIDR of
3000 means that the end-user in question can receive up to 3000 kilobytes per second of
download speed.

) 
 )

  1
Advanced Intelligent Network(AIN) is a telephone network architecture that separates service
logic from switching equipment, allowing new services to be added without having to redesign
switches to support new services. It encourages competition among service providers since it
makes it easier for a provider to add services and offers customers more service choices.
Developed by Bell Communications Research(Bellcore, now Telcordia), AIN is recognized as a
telecom industry standard in North America.

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Automatic Identified Outward Dialing (AIOD) refers to a service feature of some switching or
terminal devices that provides the user with an itemized statement of usage on directly dialed
calls. AIOD is facilitated by automatic number identification (ANI) equipment to provide
automatic message accounting (AMA).

2
1 

 
Air-ground worldwide communications system is a worldwide military network of ground
stations that (a) provides two-way communications links between aircraft and ground stations for
navigation and control, including air route traffic control and (b) may also provide support for
special functions, such as for civil aircraft providing assistance to military missions and for
meeting communications requirements for aircraft flying distinguished visitors.

) 

)



Alarm Indication Signal (AIS), in a T1 transmission, is an all-ones signal transmitted in lieu of
the normal signal to maintain transmission continuity and to indicate to the receiving equipment
that there is a transmission interruption located either at the equipment originating the AIS signal
or upstream of that equipment. Alarm Indication Signal (AIS) may also refers to a signal
transmitted in lieu of the normal signal to maintain transmission continuity and indicate to the
receiving terminal that there is a transmission fault located either at the transmitting terminal or
upstream of the transmitting terminal.

) 
 )  " 
Automatic Intercept System (AIS) is a type of Traffic Service System consisting of one or more
automatic intercept centers and a centralized intercept bureau for handling intercept calls.


1
A-Law is the standard codec (compression/decompression) algorithm for pulse code modulation
(PCM) from the ITU-T (the Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International
Telecommunications Union). A-Law is the type of PCM used in most of the world. The other
type, mu-Law, is used in the United States and Japan.





Alerting Signal is a signal used by the telephony network to indicate the presence of an incoming
call. It consists of a ringing signal periodically interrupted by silent (no ringing signal) intervals.


c
Alerting Tone is used to indicate that an operator has connected to the line for emergency
interrupt on a busy line during a verification call. Alerting Tone is 440 Hz on for 2 seconds and
then on again for 5 seconds every ten seconds.

 3 

A-link, short of SS7 Access Link, is a dedicated SS7 signaling link not physically associated
with any particular link carrying traffic. An A-link connects a signaling end-point (e.g., an SCP
or SSP) to an STP. Only messages originating from or destined to the signaling end point are
transmitted on an A-link.



c

All Trunk Busy refers an equipment condition in which all trunks (paths) in a given trunk group
are busy. All-trunks-busy registers do not indicate subsequent attempts to reach trunk groups.



"%
Allomorphism is the ability of object instances of a specific class to imitate the behavior of
another object class, and allows proprietary extensions. This is a technique for managing the
complexity introduced by multiple versions of models.


 
  
 
Alternate Access Carriers, also known as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers(CLEC), are local
exchange carriers in direct competition with the RBOCs. They are normally found only in the
larger metropolitan areas.


 
 
) 


Alternate Mark Inversion Signal is a pseudoternary signal, representing binary digits, in which
(a) successive "marks" are of alternately positive and negative polarity and the absolute values of
their amplitudes are normally equal and (b) "spaces" are of zero amplitude.


 
 '

Alternate party, also referred as alternate party diversion, is an optional feature of telephone
services, where a call may be routed to a different number based on time-out and precedence
schemes set up by the customer.

 
 

Administrative Module (AM) is a component of the Lucent 5ESS switch that provides the
system-level interfaces required to operate, administer and maintain a 5ESS switch. The
functions of the AM are: (1) performs common operations that can be done globally and
economically such as resource allocation, maintenance, and control. (2) AM processor is fully
duplicated to provide a highly reliable and stable system. (3) performs call-processing support
functions (4) performs administrative functions, and provides software access to external data
links and disk storage. (5) The call-processing functions of the AM consisted of data routing and
recource allocation. Data routing involves determining the SM on which a terminating line or
trunk appears and then selecting an available trunk in a trunk group to carrythe traffic. The AM
allocates and releases global resources such as TMS time slots to insure efficient operation of the
switch. (6) A duplicated disk memory provides mass storage for programs and data. (7) The AM
is the only processor in this distributed processing architecture, that keeps an up-to-date picture
of the entire system. (8) The master control center (MCC) provides the primary interface
between the 5ESS equipment and the pernnel adminstering/maintaining the system.

 
  
  
Automatic Message Accounting (AMA) is a switching feature that automatically records data
regarding user-dialed calls. AMA handles the automatic collection, recording, and processing of
information relating to calls for billing purposes.

   

Ambient Noise Level is as it implied the level of acoustic noise existing at a given location, such
as in a room, in a compartment, or at a place out of doors. Ambient noise level is measured with
a sound level meter. Ambient noise level is usually measured in dB above a reference pressure
level of 0.00002 Pa, i.e., 20 Pa (micro-pascals) in SI units. A pascal (Pa) is a Newton per square
meter.

 
2 

American Wire Gauge is a standard method of denoting wire diameter, especially for nonferrous,
electrically conducting wire.

  %
Ameritech was one of the seven baby bells spuned off from the former AT&T. Ameritech
became SBC and now merged with AT&T again.

) 
 
 
) 
Alternate Mark Inversion (AMI) is a synchronous clock encoding technique which uses bipolar
pulses to represent logical 1 values. It is, therefore, a three level system. A logical 0 is
represented by no symbol, and a logical 1 by pulses of alternating polarity. The alternating
coding prevents the build-up of an o.k. voltage level down the cable. This is considered an
advantage since the cable may be used to carry a small d.c. current to power intermediate
equipment such as line repeaters.

"
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Amplified Handset is the phone handset equipped with amplifier to increase the voice volume.

  
      
Automatic Number Announcement Circuit (ANAC) Number is a telephone number that plays
back the number of the telephone that carries it. ANAX Numbers are convenient if you wants to
know the telephone number of a pair of wires.




Analog Bridge refers to a circuit in telecommunication system like switch that has the capability
to extend (bridge) a normal two-person voice conversation to include a third person without
degrading the quality of the call




  
Analog Carrier System is a transmission system that uses repeaters that compensate for analog
medium impairments, and produce output signals that are linear-scaled versions of input signals.
Analog carrier systems can carry speech, data, video and supervisory signals although they are
best suited for speech signals.



%


Analog Channel is a channel capable of transmitting analog signals within the specified
bandwidth of the facility. Voice channels are analog channels.






Analog Data refers to the data represented by a physical quantity that is considered to be
continuously variable and has a magnitude directly proportional to the data or to a suitable
function of the data.



 
Analog Decoding is a process, in the electronics context, of converting digital to analog that
generates an analog signal value from the digital signal resulted from analog encoding.



&


Analog Facsimile is a device that can transmit and receive grey shadings. It has the capability of
transmitting continuous shades of grey. Analog Facsimile is usually transmitted digitally.



"

Analog Loop-back is a testing scheme of modem self-test in which data from the keyboard or an
internal test pattern is sent to the modem's transmitter, turned into analog form, looped back to
the receiver and converted back into digital form






Analog Signal is a signal that has a continuous nature rather than a pulsed or discrete nature.
Electrical or physical analogies, such as continuously varying voltages, frequencies, or phases,
may be used as analog signals. A nominally continuous electrical signal that varies in some
direct correlation with another signal impressed on a transducer. For example, an analog signal
may vary in frequency, phase, or amplitude in response to changes in physical phenomena, such
as sound, light, heat, position, or pressure.



1 %
Analog Switch refers to telephone switching equipment that switches the analog signal without
changing its analog nature such as converting the signal into digital signal. Circuit switching is a
typical analog switching.

 
  1


Automatic Network Dialing (AND) refers to a feature that simplify on-network calling among
multiple business locations by providing a single step dialing for private networks and a single
numbering/dialing plan.

) 
  ) !

Automatic Number Identification (ANI) is a system utilized by telephone companies to identify
the DN (Directory Number) of a calling subscriber. ANI serves a function similar to Caller-ID,
but utilizes different underlying technology. In addition, although Caller-ID blocked by prefixing
a call with *67, ANI is (usually) impossible to block. Though ANI is thought of as an ISDN
feature, it is actually distinct from ISDN, and is a part of Signaling System 7.

 %
Anisochronous refers to the characteristics of transmission in which the time interval separating
any two significant instants in sequential signals is not necessarily related to the time interval
separating any other two significant instants.

 1  

Answer Message (ANM) is an off-hook signal sent in the reverse direction that indicates when
the called party answers. Billing of a call starts when the answer message is received.

   
Announcement Service refers to the feature/service of telephone system that allows a caller to
hear a recoding when they dial a certain phone number or extension.

   
Announcement System refers to the system or service that provides information to a caller via
recorded messages or announcements.


 




Annoyance Call Bureau is the department in local phone company which handles complain or
report about annoyance calls or harassing calls people might receive.

 

Annunciator is a visual or audible signaling device that indicates the condition and/or availability
of associated circuit (s) or stations.




$ / 
Anonymous Call Rejection refers to a feature that allows you to reject calls from callers who
have blocked the display of their telephone numbers. Anonymous Call Rejection discourages
anonymous calls, since callers must allow their numbers to be displayed in order to reach you.
c
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Anonymous Telephone Number refers to a phone number that switching systems will handle
differently so that it shouldn't be displayed and voiced back to the called party.

 
 
  1    
Alternate Network Service Agreement (ANSA) is a special arrangement for ISDN service.
Under ANSA, customers who reside in areas where the central office switch does not support
ISDN can be serviced from a neighboring central office at no additional charge. From the
customer's perspective, ISDN is readily available and affordable, but the customer MUST agree
to migrate to the local central office if and when service becomes available. In most cases, this
will involve a change in phone number. This agreement pertains to former Bell South customers
only.

1 

Answer Back is a specific identifying code, automatically transmitted by an addressed station
upon the receipt of a special request signal from the originating station (or system).

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ATM Passive Optic Network (APON), also known as Broadband PON (BPON), is the initial
PON specification defined by the FSAN committee used ATM as their layer 2 signaling
protocol. Use of the term APON led users to believe that only ATM services could be provided
to end-users, so the FSAN decided to broaden the name to Broadband PON (BPON). BPON
systems offer numerous broadband services including Ethernet access and video distribution.

' 
 '  
Automatic Protection System (APS) is a switching architecture designed for SONET
(Synchronous Optical Network ) to perform error protection and network management from any
point of the signal path.



Area Code is a three-digit number (the first three digits in the phone number xxx-xxx-xxxx)
identifying one of the assigned geographic areas in the North American direct assistance dialing
numbering plan.


*+ %

Area Exchange is a geopolitical area setup for the administration of local telephone service,
usually a single metropolitan area or collection of towns and villages sharing a common area of
community interest.

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Arithmetic Shift refers to a shift, applied to the representation of a number in a fixed-radix
numeration system and in a fixed-point representation system, and in which only the characters
representing the fixed-point part of the number are moved. An arithmetic shift is usually
equivalent to multiplying the number by a positive or a negative integral power of the radix,
except for the effect of any rounding; compare the logical shift with the arithmetic shift,
especially in the case of floating-point representation.
$4 
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$ 5 
Automatic Repeat-reQuest (ARQ) is an error control method for data transmission in which the
receiver detects transmission errors in a message and automatically requests a retransmission
from the transmitter. Usually, when the transmitter receives the ARQ, the transmitter retransmits
the message until it is either correctly received or the error persists beyond a predetermined
number of retransmissions. A few types of ARQ protocols are Stop-and-wait ARQ, Go-Back-N
ARQ and Selective Repeat ARQ.

  

 
Articulation Score (AS) is a subjective measure of the intelligibility of a voice system in terms of
the percentage of words correctly understood over a channel perturbed by interference.
Articulation scores have been experimentally obtained as functions of varying word content,
bandwidth, audio signal-to-noise ratio and the experience of the talkers and listeners involved.

  
 " !1 
Average Speed of Answer (ASA), also called Average Seconds to Answer or Average Time to
Answer (ATA), is the average answer waiting time for all calls to a service in a given period
(e.g. the last 15 minutes, today, this month). It is the total amount of time all calls waited to be
answered divided by the total number of calls. It is often expressed in seconds.

    

 
Accredited Standards Committees (ASC) is an IEEE committee accredited to develop standards.
The committee consists of members and a Secretariat. The membership is generally composed of
organizations, companies, government agencies, individuals, etc. having a direct and material
interest in the activities of the committee. A balance of the various interest groups must be
maintained, i.e., no one interest group can dominate the committee. The Secretariat is an
organization that has oversight responsibilities over the ASC. The Secretariat organizes the
committee, applies for its accreditation, oversees the committees' compliance to procedures,
maintains the roster, submits standards for approval, publishes the standards, etc.

* ""

  *
 
Application Service Element (ASE) is the function that allows applications to communicate with
one another in a SS7 system. Examples of an ASE include TCAP (Transaction Capabilities
Application Part) and MAP (Mobile Application Part).

6 "
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Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) is a modulation process which imparts to a carrier wave
(sinusoid) two or more discrete amplitude levels. These are related to the number of levels
adopted by the digital message

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AT&T Switched Network (ASN) refers to the former AT&T Global Network which was the
most sophisticated communications network in the world. On an average business day, it had
delivered more combined data, voice and internet traffic to more locations, more reliably, than
any other network. It had handled more than 3.8 Petabytes (Peta = Quadrillion) of data every 7.5
minutes-as well as 410 million voice calls.
' ""

  ' 
Application Service Provider (ASP) refers to the business which provides software service based
on network especially over the Web. It's a new way to sell and distribute software services in the
Internet age. The ASP model can be appealing to businesses -- especially small businesses and
startups -- because it can drastically lower the costs of software and services.

 
 
Associated Mode refers to one of the three common channel signaling modes. In the Associated
Mode, messages for signaling functions (which involve adjacent signaling points) are transported
over a direct interconnecting link.

 
 

Associative Storage is a storage device or process that the storage locations are identified by
their contents, or by a part of their contents, rather than by their names or positions. This is also
known as content-addressable storage.

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Asynchronous Operation refers to operations which are executed in computer out of time
coincidence with any event. An operation that occurs without a regular or predictable time
relationship to a specified event; e.g., the calling of an error diagnostic routine that may receive
control at any time during the execution of a computer program.

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Access Tandem (AT) refers to a telephone switch that interconnects with CO (Central Office)
switches and other access tandem switches to form the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone
Network). It is often called a "class 4" switch, a reference to the original AT&T hierarchal
network structure.

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Analog Terminal Adapter (ATA) is a device that allows a normal PSTN telephone to connect to
the Internet in order to make or place telephone calls. An ATA device may work in conjunction
with a computer, such as a USB ATA device, or it may be a stand-alone device that
communicates with a service provider over the Internet. The latter types of devices are common
with many broadband VoIP service providers.

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Average Time to Answer (ATA), also called Average Speed of Answer (ASA) or Average
Seconds to Answer is the average answer wait time for all calls to a service in a given period
(e.g. the last 15 minutes, today, this month). It is the total amount of time all calls waited to be
answered divided by the total number of calls. It is often expressed in seconds.

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All Trunks Busy (ATB) is the state of a trunk group when all trunks are in use. The trunk group
cannot accept any new inbound or outbound calls in this state.
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Asynchronous time-division multiplexing (ATDM) is a method of sending information that
resembles normal TDM, except that time slots are allocated as needed dynamically rather than
preassigned to specific transmitters. ATDM is more intelligent and has better bandwidth
efficiency than TDM.

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Alliance for Telecom Industry Solutions (ATIS) is a standards body that developing
telecommunications standards, operating procedures and guidelines through its sponsored
committees and forums. ATIS member companies are North American providers of
telecommunications services, and including wireline and wireless service providers, competitive
local carriers, inter-exchange companies, local exchange companies, manufacturers, software
developers, resellers, enhanced service providers, and providers of operations support.


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Attack Time is the time between (a) the instant that a signal at the input of a device or circuit
exceeds the activation threshold of the device or circuit and (b) the instant that the device or
circuit reacts in a specified manner, or to a specified degree, to the input. Attack time occurs in
devices such as clippers, peak limiters, compressors, and voxes.

 "
Attempt, in telecommunication context, refers to a call offered to a telecommunications system,
whether or not it is completed.

 


Attenuation Constant refers to the following definition:
1. The real part of the propagation constant in any electromagnetic propagation medium. The
attenuation constant is usually expressed as a numerical value per unit length and may be
calculated or experimentally determined for each medium.
2. For a particular propagation mode in an optical fiber, the real part of the axial propagation
constant.

 
 



Attenuation to crosstalk ratio is the difference between attenuation and crosstalk at a given
frequency along a cable. Measured in decibels, ACR is a calculation used in networking
transmission to assure that a signal transmitted across a twisted-pair cable is stronger at the
receiving end than any interference signals imposed on that same pair by crosstalk from adjacent
pairs.

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ADSL Transmission Unit-Central Office (ATU-C) refers to the modem of the central office that
is a component of the ADSL network. It terminates the ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber
Line) local loop at the central office premises.
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ADSL Transmission Unit-Remote (ATU-R) refers to the modem at the customer premises which
is a component of the ADSL network. It provides local loop termination on the customer side


c

Audible busy tone is one of the audible tones in telephone system to signal a busy status. The
"Precise" busy signal (Real Audio) / "Precise" busy signal (WAV): 480 and 620 Hz at -24
dBm0/frequency, is generated at telephone exchange, interrupted at 60 interruptions per minute
(0.5 sec. on, 0.5 sec. off).


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Audible Ring Tone is a ringing indication which is intercepted by the calling party to mean that
the called line has been reached and that the ringing has started. It is also used on calls to
operators (special service, long distance, intercepting, etc) during the "awaiting-operator-answer"
interval. Audible Ring Tone is 440 Hz and 480 Hz for 2 seconds on and 4 seconds off at -13
dBm0/frequency.


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Audible tones refer to the audible signal used in the telephone system to indicate the progress or
disposition of a call. These include dial tone, busy tone, reorder tone, ring back and call waiting.
It could be generated by either the called-party servicing switch or by the calling-party servicing
switch.


Audit refers to the following actions in telecommunication system: 1. To conduct an independent
review and examination of system records and activities in order to test the adequacy and
effectiveness of data security and data integrity procedures, to ensure compliance with
established policy and operational procedures, and to recommend any necessary changes.2.
Independent review and examination of records and activities to assess the adequacy of system
controls, to ensure compliance with established policies and operational procedures, and to
recommend necessary changes in controls, policies, or procedures.


 


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Automatic Call Reconnect is a feature permitting automatic call rerouting away from a failed
trunk line.


 
Automatic sounding is the testing of selected channels or paths by providing a very brief beacon-
like identifying broadcast that may be used by other stations to evaluate connectivity,
propagation, and availability, and to identify known working channels for possible later use for
communications or calling. Automatic soundings are primarily intended to increase the
efficiency of the automatic link establishment (ALE) function, thereby the system throughput.
Sounding information is used for identifying the specific channel to be used for a particular ALE
connectivity attempt.

 1 % 
Automatic Switching System refers to: 1. a telephony system in which all the operations required
to set up, supervise, and release connections required for calls are automatically performed in
response to signals from a calling device. 2. a data communication switching system in which all
the operations required to execute the three phases of information-transfer transactions are
automatically executed in response to signals from a user-end instrument. In an automatic
switching system, the information-transfer transaction is performed without human intervention,
except for initiation of the access phase and the disengagement phase by a user.

+

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Auxiliary Service Trunk Groups is a category of trunk groups that provide selected services for
customers or operators and terminate at announcement systems, cord switch boards, or desks.
Typical applications commonly employ the following types of trunk groups: Direct Assistance,
Intercept, Official, Public Announcement, Rate-and-Route, Repair Service, Timeo Weather.






Available Line is a circuit between two points that is ready for service, but is in the idle state. In
facsimile transmission, available Line is the portion of the scanning line that can be specifically
used for image signals.

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Advanced Voice Busyout(AVBO) is the local voice busy-out feature in a PBX or other Customer
Premises Equipment (CPE). AVBO provides a way to busy out a voice port or a time slot if a
state change is detected in a monitored network interface. When a monitored interface changes to
a specified state, to out-of-service, or to in-service, the voice port presents a seized/busy-out
condition to the attached PBX or other CPE. The PBX or other CPE can then attempt to select an
alternate route. AVBO adds the following functionality to the local voice busy-out feature: 1)
For Voice over IP (VoIP), monitoring of links to remote, IP-addressable interfaces by the use of
a real time reporter (RTR). 2) Configuration by voice class to simplify and speed up the
configuration of voice busy-out on multiple voice ports. 3) Local voice busy-out is supported on
analog and digital voice ports using channel-associated signalling (CAS).

 
 

Average Load is the load obtained by averaging a series of hourly loads; may be further defined
as average carried load, average offered load. This term is not to be confused with load, which is
inherently an average of all the instantaneous loads over a basic time interval, such as an hour.

.*
AXE is an Ericsson⼌s communications platform, a system for computer-controlled digital
exchanges in large public telecommunications networks. This is the basis for Ericsson't wireline
and mobile systems.

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Bipolar 3 Zero Substitution (B3ZS) is a T-carrier line code in which bipolar violations are
deliberately inserted if the stream of user data contains a string of 3 or more consecutive
zeros.B3ZS is used to ensure a sufficient number of transitions to maintain system
synchronization when the user data stream contains an insufficient number of "ones" to do so.

:9 "

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Bipolar 6 Zero Substitution (B6ZS) refers to a T-carrier Line Code in which bipolar violations
are deliberately inserted if user data contains a string of 6 or more consecutive zeros. B6ZS is
used to ensure a sufficient number of transitions to maintain system synchronization when the
user data stream contains an insufficient number of "1s" to do so.

;9 "

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Bipolar 8 Zero Substitution (B8ZS) is a method of line coding used in the T-carrier system which
allows full 64 Kbit/s per second per channel. On a T1, ones are sent by applying voltage to the
wire, where a zero is sent by having no voltage on the wire. Sending eight zeros in a row could
cause T1 equipment to lose synchronization with the sending equipment, it is important that that
pattern is not sent.




Babble refers to noise or confusion, which is the aggregate crosstalk from interfering channels.


 


Backbone Cabling refers to a portion of premises telecommunications cabling that provides
connections between telecommunications closets, equipment rooms and entrance facilities. It
consists of the transmission media (optical fiber cable), main and intermediate cross-connects,
and terminations for the horizontal cross-connect, equipment rooms, and entrance facilities.
Backbone cabling, sometimes called backbone wiring, can further be classified as inter-building
backbone (cabling between buildings), or intrabuilding backbone (cabling within a building).


%


Back-channel is, in an asymmetric telecommunications system, typically a low-speed or less-
than-optimal transmission channel opposite to the main channel's direction. An example of this is
in ADSL where "A" stands for "asymmetric", and the channel from the subscriber to the supplier
is slower and may be of less capacity than the channel from the supplier to the subscriber.



Background Noise is the random signals that can be attributed to the unpredictable movement of
free elections in a communication channel.


0


Back-Haul is a communications path which takes traffic farther than the ultimate destination,
then routes it back. This is done because the cost of transmission to the more remote location is
much lower than a more direct route.


 
Back-to-back connection is: 1. A direct connection between the output of a transmitting device
and the input of an associated receiving device. When used for equipment measurements or
testing purposes, such a back-to-back connection eliminates the effects of the transmission
channel or medium. 2 . A direct connection between the output of a receiving device and the
input to a transmitting device. The term "direct," as used in both definitions, may be construed as
permitting a passive device such as a pad (attenuator) to accommodate power level constraints.


1
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Backward Channel is the channel in a data circuit that passes data in a direction opposite to that
of its associated forward channel. The backward channel is usually used for transmission of
request, supervisory, acknowledgement, or error-control signals. The direction of flow of these
signals is opposite to that in which user information is being transferred. The backward-channel
bandwidth is usually less than that of the primary channel, that is, the forward (user information)
channel. For example, ADSL's upstream channel, considered a backward channel for some types
of analysis, typically has a bandwidth less than one-fourth of the downstream channel.
In data transmission, it is a secondary channel in which the direction of transmission is
constrained to be opposite to that of the primary, i.e., the forward (user-information) channel.
The direction of transmission in the backward channel is restricted by the control interchange
circuit that controls the direction of transmission in the primary channel.


1



Backward signal is a signal sent from the called to the calling station, i.e., from the original data
sink to the original data source. Backward signals are usually sent via a backward channel and
may consist of supervisory, acknowledgment, or control signals.

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Bellcore AMA Format (BAF) is a system of abstract syntax and semantics that supports coding
of Automatic Message Accounting (AMA) data into records.




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Balance Return Loss refers to the following two definitions in telecmmunication: (1) A measure
of the degree of balance between two impedances connected to two conjugate sides of a hybrid
set ( a functional unit in which more than two different technologies are combined to satisfy a
given requirement ), coil, network, or junction. (2) A measure of the effectiveness with which a
balancing network simulates the impedance of a two-wire circuit at a hybrid coil ( a single
transformer that effectively has three windings, and which is designed to be configured as a
circuit having four branches, e.g., ports, that are conjugare in pairs).




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Balanced Impedance is the state of impedance on a two-wire line when the impedance to ground
as measured from one wire is equal to the impedance to ground as measured from the other wire.
A balancing network is a combination of electronic components which stimulate the impedance
of a uniform cable or open-wire circuit over a band of frequencies.



 
Balanced Line is a transmission line consisting of two conductors in the presence of ground,
capable of being operated in such a way that when the voltages of the two conductors at all
transverse planes are equal in magnitude and opposite in polarity with respect to ground, the
currents in the two conductors are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.





Ballot, also know as a Letter Of Agency(LOA), is a release form in telecommunication system
used to authorizes a customer's long-distance phone service to be switched to (another) long-
distance carrier, or reseller.

 

  

Billing Account Number (BAN) is an account number used by telephone companies to designate
a customer or customer location that will be billed. A single customer may have multiple billing
accounts.



Band in telecommunication refers to the following definitions: 1. The range of frequencies
between two defined limits which are used for a specific purpose. 2. One of the geopolitical
boundaries established to define a WATS (wide-area telephone service) serving area.


*

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Band Elimination Filter is an electrical device which blinds a receiving unit from recognizing a
specific range of frequencies.


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Banded Rates is tariffed rates that may be changed by the telecom carrier within a specified
range. Frequently, state commissions require notice to the commission prior to each change.
Banded rates are being used less frequently today.


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"
Bandwidth Cap refers to a bandwidth limitation, which is administered by an Internet service
provider (ISP), that limits the transfer of a specified amount of data over a period of time. If a
user exceeds the bandwidth cap, the ISP restricts connection speed or other services. The ISP
may offer the purchase of additional bandwidth. Another type of bandwidth cap, also
administrated by an ISP, is one which limits the speed of data transfer on a broadband Internet
connection. Though the term is used in some cases and not on others, a bandwidth cap is not
correctly considered a limit of speed.


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Bandwidth Compression is: 1. the reduction of the bandwidth needed to transmit a given amount
of data in a given time. 2. the reduction of the time needed to transmit a given amount of data in
a given bandwidth.


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Bandwidth Limited Operation refers to the condition of telecommunication system under which
the limitation on performance is imposed by the system bandwidth. The condition is reached
when modal dispersion distorts the shape of the waveform beyond specified limits.


1%c%

Bandwidth throttling is a method of ensuring a bandwidth intensive device, such as a server, to
limit ("throttle") the number of requests it will respond to within a specified period of time.
Bandwidth throttling helps providing quality of service (QoS) by limiting network congestion
and server crashes.


  
Basic Service refers to the minimum set of capabilities which are necessary for use of the public
telecommunications network. Current basic service includes an access line, with access to local
and long distance calling, to emergency calling (911), and to voice/non-voice relay service.

 
 % %

 
Block Check Character (BCC) is a character added to a telecommunication transmission block to
facilitate error detection. In longitudinal redundancy checking and cyclic redundancy checking,
block check characters are computed for, and added to, each message block transmitted. This
block check character is compared with a second block check character computed by the receiver
to determine whether the transmission is error free

 
  


Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) refers to a binary equivalent of the decimal system which also
occupies a nibble. In BCD, the binary patterns 1010 through 1111 do not represent valid BCD
number, and cannot be used.

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Bose, Ray-Chaudhuri, Hocquenghem (BCH) Code is a multilevel, cyclic, error-correcting,
variable-length digital code used to correct errors up to approximately 25% of the total number
of digits. BCH codes are not limited to binary codes, but may be used with multilevel phase-shift
keying whenever the number of levels is a prime number or a power of a prime number. A BCH
code in 11 levels has been used to represent the 10 decimal digits plus a sign digit. BCH codes
make use of field theory and polynomials over that field. The way the check polynomial is
constructed provides the key to indicating that an error has occurred.

%



B-Channel Bundling, also known as bearer channel bundling, refers to a technique used to
squeeze more voice conversations onto a single line in ISDN. The B channel, one of the
fundamental components of the ISDN interface, is circuit-switched and can carry 64,000 bps of
voice or data in either direction. B-channel bundling is based on Digital Speed Interpolation
(DSI), in which speech is sliced up so that bits are transmitted only when someone is speaking.

 



  
Broadband Digital Cross-Connect System (BDCS) is a SONET DCS capable of cross-
connecting DS-3, STS-1 and STS-3c signals.


 
Bell Customer Code is a three-digit numeric code, appended to the end of the Main Billing
Telephone Number, that is used by Local Exchange Carriers to provide unique identification of
customers.




Bellcore, now called Telcodia, was established by the former AT&T divestiture, representing
and funded by the Regional Bell Carriers RBOCs. The organization establishes telephone-
network standards, training materials and quality procedures.

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Bit Error Rate (BER) is the ratio of received bits that contain errors. BER is usually expressed as
ten to a negative power. For example, a transmission might have a BER of 10 to the minus 9,
which indicates that, out of a billion bits transmitted, one bit was in error. Typically, the bits in
error need to be re-transmitted, which may slow down communications.

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Bit Error Rate Tester (BERT) is the device that determines the Bit Error Rate (BER) on a given
communications channel.

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Bent Pipe Technology refers to satellite technology to transmit calls from one point on Earth to a
satellite and back down to another point on Earth.

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 "
Busy Hour call Attempt (BHCA) is the number of times a telephone call is attempted during the
busiest hour of the day.

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)

Backward Indicator Bit (BIB), a one-bit field in the SS7 Message Signaling Unit (MSU),
indicates a negative acknowledgment by the remote signaling point when toggled.

 

1 %
Bidirectional Switch is a switch in which a moving contact level travels in two directions to
connect to a desired fixed contact. While the most common combination is a vertical motion
followed by an angular motion, other combinations are possible.

!
 
Bifurcated, in a telecommunication network, refers to a two-pronged connector. A "bifurcated
wire wrap" terminal block is one that has an "H" shape, which forms one electrical connection
pair with two connection terminals.




 

Billboard Antenna is an array of parallel dipole antennas with flat reflectors, usually positioned
in a line or plane. The spacing and dimensions of the dipoles depend on the wavelength. The
main lobe of a fixed billboard antenna may, within limits, be steered by appropriate phasing of
the respective signals to individual elements of the array.



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Bill-To-Room is a billing option associated with Operator Assisted calls that allows the calling
party to bill a call to their hotel room. With this option, the carrier is required to notify the hotel,
upon completion of the call, of the time and charges.





Binary Golay Code refers to two so-called closely related error-correcting codes. One is called
extended binary Golay code which is an error-correcting code that encodes 12 bits of data in a
24-bit word in such a way that any triple-bit error can be corrected and any quadruple-bit error
can be detected. The other is called perfect binary Golay Code which has odewords of length 23
and is obtained from the extended binary Golay code by deleting one coordinate position.
Conversely, the extended binary Golay code can be obtained from the perfect binary Golay Code
by adding a parity bit.





Binary Signal is a signal that may assume either of two polarities, neither of which is zero. A
bipolar signal may have a two-state non-return-to-zero (NRZ) or a three-state return-to-zero (RZ)
binary coding scheme. A bipolar signal is usually symmetrical with respect to zero amplitude,
i.e., the absolute values of the positive and negative signal states are nominally equal.


1 %
Binary Switch is a switch that must exist in one of only two states: on/off, zero/one, etc.

"%
 

Biphase Mark Code is a type of encoding for binary data streams. If a binary data stream is sent
without any modification via any channel, if there are long series of logical ones or zeros without
any change, this can cause problems in synchronization. Streams encoded in NRZ are affected by
the same problem. Using Biphase Mark Code makes synchronization easier.

"


Bipolar is a code or transmission scheme incorporating both negative and positive polarity
pulses. In AT&T's DDS bipolar transmission scheme, a negative-positive pulse and the absence
of pulses indicates a binary zero. In this code, bipolar violation occurs when the alternating
negative-positive pulsating pattern of the bipolar code is not followed.

"

* 
Bipolar encoding is a type of line code (a method of encoding digital information to make it
resistant to certain forms of signal loss during transmission). A binary 0 is encoded as zero volts
as in unipolar encoding. A binary 1 is encoded alternately as a positive voltage and a negative
voltage. This prevents a significant build-up of DC, as the positive and negative pulses average
to zero volts. Little or no DC-component is considered an advantage because the cable may then
be used for longer distances and to carry power for intermediate equipment such as line
repeaters. The DC-component can be easily and cheaply removed before the signal reaches the
decoding circuitry.

"




Bipolar Signal is a baseband method of sending binary data over wire or cable. It is also called
bipolar transmission. There are two logic states, low and high, represented by the digits 0 and 1
respectively.

"

7


Bipolar violation refers to an error occurred during the transmission of a T1 signal where two
pulses of the same polarity take places without an intervening pulse of the opposite polarity.

)= 
 %

Binary Synchronous Communications (BISYNC) is a character (byte)-oriented form of
communication developed by IBM in the 1960s. It was originally designed for batch
transmissions between the IBM S/360 mainframe family and IBM 2780 and 3780 terminals. It
supports online and RJE (remote job entry) terminals in the CICS/VSE (Customer Information
Control System/Virtual Storage Extended) environment.

'

Bit Pairing refers to the practice of establishing, within a code set, a number of subsets that have
an identical bit representation except for the state of a specified bit. An example of bit pairing
takes place in the International Alphabet No. 5 and the American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII), where the upper case letters are related to their respective lower case letters
by the state of bit six.


"
Bit Slip refers to the loss of a bit or bits caused by variations in the respective clock rates of the
transmitting and receiving devices. One cause of bit slippage is overflow of a receive buffer that
occurs when the transmitter's clock rate exceeds that of the receiver. This causes one or more bits
to be dropped for lack of storage capacity.

!!
Bit Stuffing refers to the the practice of inserting non-information of bits to a stream of data. Bit
stuffing is required by many network and communications protocols for the following reasons:
1. To prevent data being interpreted as control information. For instance, many frame-based
protocols, such as X.25, signal the beginning and end of a frame with six consecutive 1 bits.
Therefore, if the actual data being transmitted has six 1-bits in a row, a zero is inserted after the
first 5 so that the dat is not interpreted as a frame delimiter. Of course, on the receiving end, the
stuffed bits must be discarded.
2. For protocols that require a fixed-size frame, bits are sometimes inserted to make the frame
size equal to this set size.
3. For protocols that required a continuous stream of data, zero bits are sometimes inserted to
ensure that the stream is not broken.
 %
Bit Synchronous is a data transmission technique in which each bit is synchronized against an
accurate clock. In asynchronous transmission, this synchronization is held for one character. In
synchronous transmission, this synchronization is held for a block of characters.

) 
Bit-count integrity, in telecommunication, has the following meanings: 2. In message
communications, the preservation of the exact number of bits that are in the original message. 2.
In connection-oriented services, preservation of the number of bits per unit time.

 
c

Biternary Transmission refers to the digital transmission in which two binary pulse trains are
combined for transmission over a channel in which the available bandwidth is sufficient for
transmission of only one of the two pulse trains at a time if they remain in binary form.

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 c""

Building Integrated Timing Supply (BITS) is a clock in a central office that supplies DS1 and/or
composite clock timing references to all synchronous network elements in that office.




Black noise refers to noise that has a frequency spectrum of predominantly zero power level over
all frequencies except for a few narrow bands or spikes. An example of black noise in a facsimile
transmission system is the spectrum that might be obtained when scanning a black area in which
there are a few random white spots. Thus, in the time domain, a few random pulses occur while
scanning.



$ 
Black recording refers to the following definition in facsimile system of telecommunication: 1. if
it uses amplitude modulation, recording in which the maximum received power corresponds to
the maximum density of the record medium. 2. if it uses frequency modulation, recording in
which the lowest received frequency corresponds to the maximum density of the record medium.


c

Blind Transmission refers to the transmission without obtaining a receiving acknowledgement of
reception from the intended receiving station. Blind transmission may occur or be necessary
when security constraints, such as radio silence, are imposed, when technical difficulties with a
sender's receiver or receiver's transmitter occur, or when lack of time precludes the delay caused
by waiting for receipts.

  

SS7 Bridge-link(B-link) connects a STP to another STP. Typically, a quad of B-links
interconnect peer (or primary) STPs (e.g., the STPs from one network to the STPs of another
network). The distinction between a "B" link and a "D" link is rather arbitrary. For this reason,
such links may be referred to as "B/D" links.

   "
Blocked Attempt refers to an attempt that cannot be further advanced toward its destination due
to an equipment shortage or failure in the network.


 
Blocking in telecommunication refers to the inability of the calling party to be connected to the
called party be cause either: 1. All permitted trunk paths are busy. 2. A path between a given
inlet and any permitted free outlet of the switching network of a switching system is unavailable


 '



Blocking probability is the statistical probability that a telephone connection cannot be
established due to insufficient transmission resources in the network. Blocking probability is
usually expressed as a percentage or decimal equivalent of calls blocked by network congestion
during the busy hour.

( 

(" 
"

Bell Operating Company (BOC ) refers to any of the 22 original companies (or their successors)
that were created when AT&T was broken up in 1983 and given the right to provide local
telephone service in a given geographic area. The companies had previously existed as
subsidiaries of AT&T and were called the "Bell System." The purpose of the breakup was to
create competition at both the local and long-distance service levels. BOCs compete with other
independent companies to sell local phone service. In certain areas, long-distance companies,
including AT&T, can now compete for local service. Collectively, companies offering local
phone service are referred to as local exchange carriers.

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'
 ("  1
Broadband Passive Optic Network (BPON), originally called ATM Passive Optic Network
(APON), is the initial PON specifications defined by the FSAN committee used ATM as their
layer 2 signaling protocol. Use of the term APON led users to believe that only ATM services
could be provided to end-users, so the FSAN decided to broaden the name to Broadband PON
(BPON). BPON systems offer numerous broadband services including Ethernet access and video
distribution.

'7 "

7


Bipolar Violation (BPV) is a Error Event in the DS1/T1 interface for an AMI-coded signal is the
occurrence of a pulse of the same polarity as the previous pulse. A BPV error event for a B8ZS-
or HDB3-coded signal is the occurrence of a pulse of the same polarity as the previous pulse
without being a part of the zero substitution code.

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$     
Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS) is the aggregation point for the subscriber traffic. It
provides aggregation capabilities (e.g. IP, PPP, ATM) between the Regional/Access Network
and the NSP or ASP. Beyond aggregation it is also the injection point for policy management
and IP QoS in the Regional/Access Networks.
$) 
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 ) !

Basic Rate Interface (BRI) is an ITU-T ISDN multipurpose user interface standard for
simultaneous voice and data services provided over two 64-kb/s bearer channels and one 16-kb/s
data channel (2B+D) access arrangement to each user location. The B channels are used for
voice or user data, and the D channel is used for any combination of: data, control/signalling and
X.25 packet networking. The two B channels can be bonded together giving a total data rate of
128 kbit/s. BRI is the kind of ISDN interface most likely to be found in residential service.

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 )
Basic Rate ISDN (BR-ISDN or BRI) refers to one of the two levels of services in ISDN called
Basic Rate Interface which is intended for the home and small enterprise, while the other service
is called Primary Rate Interface (PRI), for larger users. Both rates include a number of B-
channels and a D-channel. Each B-channel carries data, voice, and other services. The D-channel
carries control and signaling information. The Basic Rate Interface consists of two 64 Kbps B-
channels and one 16 Kbps D-channel. Thus, a Basic Rate Interface user can have up to 128 Kbps
service. The Primary Rate Interface consists of 23 B-channels and one 64 Kpbs D-channel in the
United States or 30 B-channels and 1 D-channel in Europe.



)   
Broadband Internet Access is a high data-transmission rate Internet connection. DSL, ADSL,
Wireless WAN and cable modem, all popular consumer broadband technologies, are typically
capable of transmitting 256 kilobits per second or more, starting at approximately four times the
speed of a modem using a standard digital telephone line.



("  
Broadband open access refers to the policy in broadband Internet access, which means that the
owner of a network must make it available to all users under the same terms and conditions. The
network owner cannot interfere with the content that travels over the network. By contrast, in a
closed network, the network owner can prevent anyone it wants to from using the network, can
determine what traffic it will or won't carry, and can set priorities based on where the traffic
comes from or to whom it's going (or for any other reason).
The telephone network is an "open access" or "open" network. As a result of this openness the
Internet grew and flourished. Any internet service provider (ISP) who wants to offer service can
do so, despite the fact that the phone companies that own the lines offer competing services.
The FCC itself has acknowledged the importance of an open network in the development and
growth of Internet.



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Broadband Telephony refers to the utilization of broadband data connections to deliver voice
calls. Typically, services are hosted that means customers enjoy traditional phone functionality
without the need to purchase a phone system. Calls are transmitted as IP Packets to the host
company, where they either 'break out' to the public networks, or continue as IP calls across the
Internet.

* 
   *
 
Basic Service Element(BSE) refers to 1. an optional unbundled feature, generally associated with
the basic serving arrangement (BSA), that an enhanced-service provider (ESP) may require or
find useful in configuring an enhanced service. 2. a fundamental communication network
service; an optional network capability associated with a BSA. BSEs constitute optional
capabilities to which the customer may subscribe or decline to subscribe.

 
1
 5   
Backward Sequence Number (BSN) is a 7 bits field in the SS7 Message Signaling Unit (MSU)
that acknowledges the receipt of signal units by the remote signalling point. It contains the
sequence number of the signal unit being acknowledged.

c"
BT Group refers to British Telecommunications pls which is the privatized UK state
telecommunications operator. It is the dominant fixed line telecommunications provider in the
UK.

0
Busy Hour refers to a consecutive 6-minute interval with the highest levels of measurement or
derived load used in traffic engineering. A busy hour may also be identified by the period of the
day, the class of service of the traffic, and so on, e.g., morning busy hour, coin busy hour.




Busy Signal is a signal that is used in Public Switched Telephone Networks to indicate that the
called party is already taking another call. In most switching systems, the busy signal will be
emitted until the caller goes on-hook

c
Busy Tone is a single tone that is repeated at a 60ipm (impulse per minute) rate to indicate that a
call's terminating location is already in use.

7 !
c
Busy Verification Tone is a Centrex feature that allows the attendant to call and be connected to
a busy Centrex station within the attendant's customer group. The busy verification tone is
applied to both parties of the connection to inform them of the intrusion by the attendant. No
tone is applied if the station called for busy verification is idle.

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c"
Bypass Trunk Group is a trunk group, in a hierarchical network, (usually high usage) that
circumvents one or more tandems in its routing ladder.

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Cabling Administration is a process in telecommunication system engineering for premise wiring
that includes all aspects of premise wiring related to documenting and managing, testing the
system as well as the architectural plans for the system.

   



Connection Admission Control (CAC), also known as Call Admission Control, refers to the set
of actions taken by the network during the call set-up phase (or during call re-negotiation phase)
in order to determine whether a connection request can be accepted or should be rejected. In the
voice over IP communications, the CACs prevent an IP network from becoming clogged with
traffic to the point of being unusable. When a network's capacity is consumed, admissions
control mechanisms prevent new traffic from being added to the network. When calls traverse
the WAN, admissions control assumes paramount importance. Within the LAN in which
bandwidth is not a problem, CAC is less critical. CAC could also be a set of actions taken by
each ATM switch during connection setup to determine whether a connection's requested QoS
will violate the QoS guarantees for established connections. CAC also is used when routing a
connection request through an ATM network.

* 

 !
1*!   
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) is a US law established in 1994
that defines obligations of telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing
electronic surveillance (or wiretapping) pursuant to court order or other lawful authorization. The
purpose of CALEA is to preserve the ability of law enforcement to conduct electronic
surveillance in the face of rapid advances in telecommunications technology.





A call, also knowns as phone call in telecommunication, is the attemted connection to establish a
voice conversation between two people.




  
Call Accounting System is the software that is essential to telecom cost management typically
for business or organizations. It usually provides services like phone call tracking, telephone
usage monitoring, corporate bill back, telephone usage bulling to, and etc.




  
Call Center is a functional area within an organization, business or an outsourced, separate
facility that exists solely to answer inbound or place outbound telephone calls; usually a
sophisticated voice operations center that provides a full range of high-volume, inbound or
outbound call-handling services, including customer support, operator services, directory
assistance, multilingual customer support, credit services, card services, inbound and outbound
telemarketing, interactive voice response and web-based.







Call Collision is the contention that occurs when a terminal and data circuit-terminating
equipment (DCE) specify the same channel at the same time to transfer a call request and handle
an incoming call. When call collision occurs, the DCE proceeds with the call request and cancels
the incoming call. Call collision also refers to the condition that occurs when a trunk or channel
is seized at both ends simultaneously, thereby blocking a call.



 !

Call Deflection is a feature of voice over IP (VoIP) that automatically redirects a call from the
called endpoint to another endpoint (usually a voice mailbox) when the called endpoint is busy.
Call deflection is one of several forms of call diversion (also known as call forwarding) defined
under the H.450.3 specification.






Call Duration is 1. the time between (a) the instant a connection, i.e., off-hook condition at each
end, is established between the call originator and the call receiver and (b) the instant the call
originator or the call receiver terminates the call. 2. In data transmission, the duration of the
information transfer phase of an information transfer transaction.




&
 
Call Filter is a feature in an ISDN moden that is performed by the port monitor to determine if
the caller has authorization to run the type of service requested. The caller ID (telephone number
of the calling system) must be listed in the Call Filter file, together with a list of service types
which that caller is authorized to use.






  
Call Management refers to the following functions in telecommunication system: 1. In
telegraphy, it's about route selection, signaling, and circuit usage and availability for a call. 2. In
universal personal telecommunications, it is about the ability of a user to inform the network how
to handle incoming calls in accord with certain parameters, such as the call originator, the time of
day, and the nature of the call.




(

Call Originator is an entity, such as a person, equipment, or program that originates a call.




'
Call Priority is the priority assigned to each origination port in circuit-switched systems. This
priority defines the order in which calls are reconnected. Call priority also defines which calls
can or cannot be placed during a bandwidth reservation.




' 


Call Process Signals refer to signals for call processing. Examples of Call Process Signals are
various audible tones (such as dial tone, ringing tone, audible ringing tone, audible busy tone,
and congestion tones) or announcements that inform the subscriber of the call progress status.




 "
Call Set-up is one of the many states of call processing. The call Set-up state establishes a
communications path: (1) between the calling party and the called party, and (2) between the
calling party and the network entities.




 "c
In telecommunication world, Call Setup Time is the time required to establish a switched call
between users. For data communication, Call Setup Time refers to the the overall length of time
required to establish a circuit-switched call between terminals, i.e., the time from the initiation of
a call request to the beginning of the call message.




2
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Call Waiting Tone is a special service that allows a busy line to answer an incoming call by
flashing the switch-hook. Audible ring (instead of line busy) is applied to the calling line, and the
Call Waiting Tone is applied to the called line. (So that only the called party hears the tone, the
connection is momentarily broken, and the other party to that connection experiences a moment
of silence.) Flashing the switch-hook places the existing connection on hold and connects the
customer to the waiting call. Call Waiting Tone is two bursts of 440 Hz at -13 dBm0/frequency
for 0.3 seconds plus or minus ten percent every ten seconds.




'

Called Party refers to a end user (person or his device) that receives a telephone call initiated by
a calling part.




)
Caller ID is, also known as calling number delivery (CND), a telephone service intended for
residential and small business customers. It allows the called Customer Premises Equipment
(CPE) to receive a calling party's directory number and the date and time of the call during the
first 4 second silent interval in the ringing cycle.






Calling Card refers to a physical object, often in the form of a wallet-sized card made of plastic
or paper, which contains contractual information as to using postpaid or prepaid long distance
services from the calling card provider. Calling card based long distance phone call is a form of
dial-around, which is a two-step method for selecting a long distance service provider on a call-
by-call basis.





  '"c
Calling Card Service Prompt Tone is used to inform the customer that his/her credit card
information must be keyed in. The first 60 milliseconds of this composite tone is 941 Hz and
1477 Hz which is the DTMF '#'. This tone will release and DTMF to dial pulse converter in the
connection. Calling Card Service Prompt Tone is 941 Hz and 1477 Hz at -10 dBm0/frequency at
-3 Transmission Level Point for 60 milliseconds and then 440 Hz and 350 Hz at -7 dBm0 for
0.940 seconds exponentially decayed from -10 dBm per frequency at -3 Transmission Level
Point at time constant of 0.2 seconds.




'

Calling Party is a user (person or his device) that initiates a telephone call over the public
siwiched telephone network. It is also refered as Call Originator.

 
 
"
 


Carrierless Amplitude Modulation (CAM) refers to the original approach for modulation of a
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) signal. Currently, Discrete multitone (DMT) is the preferred
modulation alternative over CAP
  

> 
  
  
Centralized Automatic Message Accounting (CAMA) refers to an automatic message accounting
system that serves more than one switch from a central location. When using CAMA, human
intervention may be required.


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Camp-On, also referred as Called-party Camp-on, is a telecommunication system feature that
enables the system to complete an access attempt in spite of issuance of a user blocking signal.
The system constantly monitors the busy user until the user blocking signal ends, and then
proceed to complete the requested access.

' 
 
"
 '%
 


Carrierless Amplitude Phase (CAP) modulation is a viable alternative for the Digital Subscriber
Loop (DSL) systems such as the HDSL, ADSL and VDSL. The conventional two-dimensional
CAP-16 line code is extended to a three-dimensional scheme. The three-dimensional system is
designed so that the new overall transfer matrix maintains perfect reconstruction of the
transmitted information. The system is designed by solving a minimax optimization problem by
using the sequential

' "   ' 

Competitive Access Provider (CAP) is a type telecommunication service providers that provide
local telecommunications services mainly to business customers in competition with a local Bell
Operating Company (BOC). Teleport and MFS are the two major CAPs operating in major
metropolitan areas in the United States.


""
Capping refers to the activity of ISPs (Internet Service Provider) to limit (capping) the accessing
speed of cable modem so that cable modem ISPs can easily distribute bandwidth among users.
The upload cap in particular is intended to discourage users to run big servers. In general, these
caps are also put in place to make the system more robust. At slower speeds, packet loss is
usually lower and the system can handle worse signal quality.


 
Carrier refers to the following definitions: 1. in telecommunication service, it refers a company
which provides physical media circuit for telecommunication service. 2. in telecommunication
technology, it refers to an physical signal (optical, electrical, infrared and etc.) at a continuous
frequency capable of being modulated to variation of physical format in order to carry
information. 3. in networking, some physical media for transmitting signal like wideband
circuits. T1 line for instance, is also called carrier which means that telecommunication signal is
being carried and transmitted by them.


 & 5  
Carrier Frequency refers to the nominal frequency of a carrier wave, the frequency of the
unmodulated electrical wave at the output of an amplitude modulated, the center frequency of a
frequency modulation signal, frequency modulated, or phase modulated transmitter of the output
of a transmitter when the modulation is zero.

 0

Carrier Hotel refers to a type of data center where multiple telecommunications network or
service providers, such as tacos or internet service providers, site their connections to one
another's networks (points of presence).


   ' 
Carrier service provider is a company offering telecommunication (voice or data) service
between points in a state or in one or more countries. Examples of Carrier service provider are
AT&T, British Telecom etc.


  
Carrier system refers to, in the telecommunication system, a system utilizing a method of
providing several communications channels over a single path by modulating the data, voice or
video transmissions onto a higher frequency carrier wave for transmission between nodes of a
network. Loosely, in the transmission context of telecommunication system, it is sometimes a
synonym with carrier.


 2

Carrier wave is the wave form that transports the signal wave, and is a sinusoidal component of a
complex wave form of much higher frequency than the modulating signal which contains the
information.



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Carson bandwidth rule refers to a rule that defines the approximate bandwidth requirements of
communications system components for a carrier signal. The signal is frequency modulated by a
continuous or broad spectrum of frequencies rather than a single frequency.

 %

 
 


Channel Associated Signaling (CAS), one of two types of telecom signaling technologies, is the
transmission of signaling information within the information band, or in-band signaling. This
means that voice signals travel on the same circuits as line status, address, and alerting signals.
As there are twenty-four DS0 channels on a full T1 line, CAS interleaves signaling packets
within voice packets. Various types of CAS signaling are available in the T1 world. The most
common forms of CAS signaling are loopstart, groundstart, and E&M signaling. The biggest
disadvantage of CAS signaling is that the network uses bits from information IP packets, such as
voice packets, to perform signaling functions. CAS signaling is often referred to as robbed-bit
signaling. The other type of signaling is the common channel signaling (CCS), which is an out of
band signaling technology. SS7/C7 and ISDN are based on the CCS.








Casual Calling is a feature that allows a customer to place a long distance call using an ANI
(Automatic Number Identification) (including undefined ANIs) to access a given carrier, other
than the default long distance provider. Customers can place casual calls by dialing a special
access code (a "CIC" code) before the area code and telephone number. For example, if the
originator is calling from a non-coin phone, they may dial 1010555+destination number and have
the call routed through WorldCom and billed to the originating phone number.



 
Casual Customer refers to any person or organization (not necessary to pre-subscribe to the
carrier.) that dials any CIC (Carrier Identification Code) code to place a long distance call.


  
Cause Codes indicate the reason for ISDN-call failure or completion. Typically, cause codes are
ranged from 0 to 127. Cause code values of 128 and higher aren't sent over the network.

 

%


Clear Channel (CC) refers to the following definitions in the telecommunications system: 1.
Channel in which the full bandwidth (e.g., 64 kbps) is used for transmission; no portion of the
channel is set aside for control, framing or signaling. 2. a channel through which non-encrypted
traffic can flow. Clear channels place no security restrictions on transmitted data. 3.a line that
connects two points which is wholly dedicated to traffic between those two points. This is in
contrast with a shared line, such as a frame relay, in which a user must share the frame network
with other subscribers.

 
Country Code (CC), part of a telephony numbering plan, indicates the country for which the
telephone number is serviced. For example, the country code of the US is 001 and for P. R.
China, is it 086.

 "
!

  
Completion of Call to Busy Subscriber (CCBS) is a feature in telephony system. It works like
this when a called party is busy, this supplementary service enables the calling party to be
connected to a called party after they have completed their call.

0  "  0

Connections per Circuit Hour (CCH) refers to the following meanings: 1. A unit of traffic
measurement expressed as the number of connections established per hour at a switching point.
2. A unit of traffic measurement represents the rate at which circuits are established at a switch.

)cc 

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Consultative Committee for International Telegraph and Telephone (CCITT) was an
international organization responsible for the development of communications standards. CCITT
now became the International Telecommunications Union Telecommunication Standardization
Sector (ITU-T).

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"%
c
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CCITT is the abreviation of the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee
in France. CCITT is standards body based in Geneva that publishes "recommendations" on
standards used throughout the world communication industry.

  


 
Centi-Call Seconds is a unit used (in North America) to quantify the aggregate of traffic running
in a network, which is one hundred call seconds or one hundred seconds of telephone
conversation. That means 1 CCS could be 2 calls of 50 seconds duration or 20 calls of 5 seconds
duration.

 %




Common Channel Signaling (CCS) is a signaling method used in telephone networks that
separates signaling information from user data. In CCS, one channel of a communications link is
exclusively used for the sole purpose of carrying signaling for establishment and teardown of
calls. The remaining channels are used entirely for the transmission of voice or data. In most
cases, a single 64kbit/s channel is sufficient to handle the call setup and teardown traffic for
numerous voice and data channels. The most common CCS signalling methods in use today are
ISDN and SS7.

3 %



 3
Common Channel Signaling System 7, abreviated CCSS7 or CCS7, CCIS7, or C7, is the
signaling method used in countries other than the North America where the signaling system is
called Signaling System #7 (SS7). Both CCSS7 and SS7 are based on the same common channel
signaling technology and are interoperable across the network.

c % c

  
Continuity Check Transceiver (CCT) is a device in the switch system that verifies outgoing trunk
continuity for a common-channel signaling call and reports the results as well.

 


 


 
Call Detail Block (CDB) consists of several Call Data Elements. The CDB is generated at a
Certain Point in Call (PIC). For example, a CDB is generated when the call is answered,
released, and so on.

* 


 

*
 
Call Detail Element (CDE) is a data element that includes a basic information field within a
billing record of telephone calls. Examples of a CDE are the calling number, the called number,
and so on.

$ 


 

$ 
Call Detail Record (CDR), a term used in both PSTN and VOIP systems, is the telephone call
record written to a database for use in post-processing activities. A typical CDR includes the
origination and destination addresses of the call, the time the call started and ended, the duration
of the call, the time of day the call was made and any toll charges that were added through the
network or charges for operator services, among other details of the call. CDRs are primiarily
used for billing and network analysis.

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$ "
Call Detail Reporting (CDR) is a feature in both PSTN and VOIP systems that provides a
database of information about each call, including date, time, duration, called number, calling
number, call direction, service type, and associated inverse multiplexing session and port.
Because the network carrier bills for bandwidth on an as-used basis, and bills each connection in
an inverse multiplexed call independently, CDR is used to understand and manage bandwidth
usage and the cost of each inverse multiplexed session.

* 


*  
Caller-entered Digits (CED) are the digits entered by a caller on a touch-tone phone in response
to prompts. Either a peripheral (ACD, PBX, or VRU) or the carrier network can prompt for
CEDs.

*'  *+  

'  
Code Excited Linear Prediction (CELP), also known as Code-Book Excited Linear Predictive, is
a loss compression algorithm used for low bit rate (e.g.,4800 bps in U.S. Fed-Std-1016) speech
coding. CELP coding, at 4800 bps, breaks the performance barrier of most Government
standards, providing Consortium ratings of "very good" intelligibility and "excellent" quality,
comparable to 32,000 bps (CVSD). CELP is used in ITU-T Recommendations G.728, G.729,
G.723.1.

  & 5  
Center Frequency refers to the middle frequency of the bandwidth of a channel.

 

  
Central Member is the center component of a fiber cable. It serves as an anti-buckling element to
resist temperature-induced stresses. Sometimes serving as a strength element, the central member
is composed of steel, fiberglass, or glass-reinforced plastic.

 

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Centralized Intercept Bureau Order Tone is a 0.5 second burst of 1850 Hz at -17
dBm0/frequency that tells the centralized intercept bureau operator that a call has reached the
position.

  +
Centrex is central office exchange service, a type of PBX service in which switching occurs at a
local telephone station instead of at the company premises. Typically, the telephone company
owns and manages all the communications equipment necessary to implement the PBX and then
sells various services to the company. With Centrex, there is no onsite switching at the customer
premise and all customer connections go back to the Centrial Office of the service provider.

*'c !   !*"

'
c


Conference of European Posts and Telecommunications (CEPT), also known as Committee of
European Posts & Telephones, is a collaborative organization for telecommunications regulators
in 43 European countries. The organization deals with questions regarding harmonization and
radio/telecommunications. For example, CEPT defines the 2.048Mbps European E1 signal made
up of 32 voice-frequency DS0 channels.

& 


&1

Call Forwarding (CF) is a phone service feature that allows the customer to forward their phone
to another phone number (for example, you can forward your home phone number to your cell
number if you know you are going to be away from home).

& 


&1

Call Forwarding Busy (CFB) is a service that enables your incoming calls that encounter a busy
condition or are not answered, after a customer-designated interval, to be automatically
forwarded to another local or long distance phone number where network facilities permit.

&$ 


&1
$ "

Call Forward No Reply (CFNR) is a service feature that forwards all calls to another extension
number or an outside number automatically if it is not answered after 6 rings:

&- 


&1
- 


Call Forward Unconditional (CFU) is a service feature that always forwards all calls (or only
outside calls) to another extension number (or an outside number).

%
 

Change-back is the inverse function of change-over. It is the procedure for transferring signaling
information (traffic) from one or more alternate signaling links to a signaling link that has
become available.

%
 ( 
Change-over is the procedure for transferring signaling information from a signaling link (which
is experiencing failure or is required to be cleared of traffic) to one or more alternate (different)
signaling links.

%


Channel refers to a one-way telecommunications link or transmission medium through which
information or signal is transmitted from a sender (or transmitter) to a receiver. They may be
either physical or logical depending on the application. A Radio Frequency (RF) channel is a
physical channel, whereas control and traffic channels within the RF channel would be
considered logical channels.

%

 
 


Channel Associated Signaling is a form of digital communication signaling. As with most
telecommunication signaling methods, it uses routing information to direct the payload of voice
or data to its destination. With CAS signaling, this routing information is encoded and
transmitted along the same link as the payload itself. This results in lower available bandwidth
for the payload, normally reducing a 64 Kbit/s DS0 to 54 kbit/s.

%

  

Channel Noise Level refers to the following definitions depending the context: 1. the ratio of the
channel noise at any point in a transmission system to an arbitrary level chosen as a reference. 2.
the noise power density spectrum in the frequency range of interest. 3. the average noise power
in the frequency range of interest
%

> 
Channelized, in a telecommunications environment, means that the line that communications
have been transmitted over contains more than one message thread, separated in some fashion.
Typical channelization methods include packetizing, frequency differentiation, time division
multiplexing (TDM). For example, Channelized T1 sub-divides the 1.44 Mbps bandwidth into
24 channels of 64 Kbps each.

%

> *?
Channelized E1 refers to that an E1 access link of at 2.048 Mbps is subdivided into 30 B-
channels and 1 D-channel of 64 Kbps each. Channelized T1 and channelized E1 can be
configured for ISDN PRI, synchronous serial, and asynchronous serial communications.

%

> c?
Channelized T1, also known as fractional T1, refers to that an access link operating at 1.544
Mbps is subdivided into 24 channels (23 B-channels and 1D-channel) of 64 Kbps each. The
individual channels or groups of channels connect to different destinations. Channelized T1 and
channelized E1 can be configured for ISDN PRI, synchronous serial, and asynchronous serial
communications.

% 
Check Bit refers to the following definitions: 1. A bit, such as a parity bit, derived from and
appended to a bit string for later use in error detection and possibly error correction. 2. A data bit
associated with a character or block for the purpose of checking the absence of error within the
character or block.

% 
Check Digit is a form of redundancy check used for error detection in telecommunication
system. It's the decimal equivalent of a binary checksum. It consists of a single digit computed
from the other digits in the message.

%
Churn refers to the situation that many subscriber additions and then un-subscription. If the
churn ratio is high for a service provider, it is not good, because that the cost is typically high to
get a customer to sign in a service and the service provider has a problem to keep customers.

) 
 ) !

Carrier Identification Code (CIC) refers to the following definitions: 1. a numeric code assigned
by the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) Administrator for the provisioning of selected
switched services. The numeric code is unique to each entity and is used by the telephone
company to route the call to the trunk group designated by the entity to which the code was
assigned. 2. a 4-digit code that controls the routing applied to a call by the originating switch.

)  ) !


Circuit Identification Code (CIC) is information identifying a circuit between a pair of
exchanges, for which signaling is being performed (14 bits in the ISDN user part)
)$  )!
$

Committed Information Rate (CIR), one of parameters in a Service Level Agreement (SLA), is
the data transfer rate for an individual virtual circuit (VC) in an ATM or Frame Relay network,
for which the provider commits to deliver. The provider may send any data in excess of this rate
for this VC if its network has capacity at the time. This choice typically affects the price of each
VC.

 
A circuit is a communications path between two or more points among a network. A physical
circuit is actually a wire or a part of a wire which connects two computer or network devices for
permanently dedicated communications. A virtual circuit may be a temporarily established logic
connection between two network devices for communications within certain time limit.

   

Circuit Noise Level is the ratio of the circuit noise at any point in a transmission media of
telecommunications system to a nominal reference point; this ratio is either expressed in decibels
(above the reference noise, dbrn) or in adjusted decibels (dba, which reflects a specified
adjustment due to external interference).

 1 %

Circuit Switching is a technology in which a dedicated physical circuit path must exist between
sender and receiver for the duration of the "call." Used heavily in the telephone company
network, circuit switching can be contrasted with contention and token passing as a channel-
access method, and with message switching and packet switching as a switching technique.

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! 
Circuit Transfer Mode is an telecommunications term that refers to an ISDN transfer mode
through permanent bandwidth allocation.

 

)  
"
+

Circuit-level Inverse Multiplexing is a method of inverse multiplexing in which the inverse
multiplexer slices the data stream into equal portions, and transmits each portion over an
available circuit. The receiving end adjusts for network-induced delay and reassembles the data
packets into their proper order. The AIM and BONDING protocols define how circuit-level
inverse multiplexing works. Applications that require transparent digital circuits, such as
videoconferencing, nailed-up backup and overflow, and bulk file transfer applications, use
circuit-level multiplexing.

 


A circulator is a passive device with three or more ports in which the ports can be accessed in
such an order that when a signal is fed into any port it is transferred to the next port, the first port
being counted as following the last in order. There are circulators both for electronic signals and
for light, the latter being used in optical fiber networks.

2 

  +
City Wide Digital Centrex is a capability to serve multiple business locations within a single
NXX (exchange code as in xxx-xxx-xxxx telephone number), using multiple LEC central office
Centrex switches. Outside callers are unaware that multiple business locations are involved.




Cladding is the material, usually glass, that surrounds the core of the optical fiber. Light bounces
off the interface between the cladding and fiber and returns to the fiber.



@1 %
Class 4 Switch, also called tandem switch, is used for long distance communications in the
PSTN. A class switch 4 is an intermediate switch or connection between an originating telephone
call or location and the final destination of the call.



A1 %
Class 5 Switches provide telecommunication services using TDM (Time Division Multiplex)
technology from basic dial-tone to advanced voice services and data network access to
subscribers within a defined locality or local loop. Class 5 switches are deployed at a central
office (CO) by service providers for both local and long distance telephony services, vs. the
Class 4 switches are only for long distance and trunking services.



!  c
Class of Service Tone is the Class of Service signal that is used at a toll board operating as an 'A"
board to identify the class or service of the calling customer. The indication may be high, low, or
no tone. Class of Service is a single burst of either High Tone or Low Tone for 0.05 to 1 seconds.

 




 
Custom Local Area Signaling Service (CLASS) is one of an identified group of network-
provided enhanced services. A CLASS group for a given network usually includes several
enhanced service offerings, such as incoming-call identification, call trace, call blocking,
automatic return of the most recent incoming call, call redial, and selective forwarding and
programming to permit distinctive ringing for incoming calls.



'1 
Clean Power refers to electrical power which has been conditioned and/or regulated to remove
electrical noise from the output power.




 

Clear-back Message is a signal (message) sent in the backward direction to indicate that the
called party is no longer "off-hook".



&1
 

Clear-forward Message is a signal sent in the forward direction to terminate a call (or a call
attempt) so that the associated circuits can be released. This signal is normally originated when
the calling party hangs-up the phone.

* "  

*+ %
 
 
Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) is a company which provides local telephone
service - other than the incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (LEC). Much like a LEC, a CLEC
provides telephone service within a LATA. To handle InterLATA long distance calls, the CLEC
will connect to an IXC. Most CLEC's will use the local loop (UNE-L) belonging to the
incumbent Local Exchange Carrier. The telecommunication act of 1996 forced the incumbent
LEC's to lease access to their local loop (UNE-L) to CLEC's at wholesale prices. Between 1996
and 2004, the FCC also required LEX's to lease other network elements (UNE-P) to the CLEX's.

) 


 ) !

Calling Line Identification (CLID), also known as Caller ID, refers to the following definitions
in the telecommunications system: 1. A service available on digital phone networks that tells the
person being called which number is calling them. The central office equipment identifies the
phone number of the caller, enabling information about the caller to be sent along with the call
itself. Synonymous with ANI (Automatic Number Identification). 2. A facility provided by a
switched network which can notify a called terminal of the telephone number of the line from
which a call originated.


 

SS7 Cross Link (C-link) connects STPs performing identical functions into a mated pair. A C-
link is used only when an STP has no other route available to a destination signaling point due to
link failure(s). Note that SCPs may also be deployed in pairs to improve reliability; unlike STPs,
however, mated SCPs are not interconnected by signaling links.


""
Clipping is a distortion of voice signals in which the beginnings of final sounds are cut off.

) 


 
) !

Common Language Location Identification (CLLI) Code is an eleven character alphanumeric
descriptor used to identify switches, points of interconnection, and other categories of telephone
network elements and their locations. All CLLI Codes are stored in a national database
maintained by Telcordia.

 


Communications Module (CM) is a component of 5ESS switch by Lucent/AT&T which is the
interface between the Administrative Module (AM) and Switching Modules (SMs). The main
function of a CM is to provide a message interface between the AM and the SMs to control
digital space switching. It has four main functional elements: 1. Message Switch (MS). 2.
Communications Module Control Unit (CMCU). 3. Time Multiplex Switch (TMS). 4. Network,
Control and Timing (NCT) links.

- 


-
Communications Module Control Unit (CMCU) refers to one of the functional elements of the
Communications Module of 5ESS switch (see "CM"). It contains the network clock, and the
metallic interface to the Time Multiplex Switch (TMS) and the Network, Control and Timing
(NCT) links. The CMCU controls the operation of the message switch by interfacing the MMPs
and the TMS.
 

C-message, also called C-curve or C-message wight, refers to the shape of the curve that
represents the sensitivities to different tones to humans ear.

)  
) 
Coded Mark Inversion (CMI) refers to an encoding algorithm specified for STS-3c transmissions
and DS-1 systems which doubles the data rate. A zero [0] is sent as a low to high [1] transition,
while a one is sent as wither a one [1] or zero [0] depending on the previous state. If the previous
state was high the one is sent as zero [0], it sent as one [1] otherwise.

 




   
Call Management System (CMS) is a reporting package used on ACDs and PBXs made by
Avaya. Avaya CMS is an optional database, administration and reporting application designed
for enterprises that receive a large volume of telephone calls and have complex contact center
operations. Avaya CMS provides an administrative interface to the automatic call distribution
(ACD) feature of the DEFINITY Server, enabling your contact center managers to generate
reports, administer ACD parameters and monitor call activities to help determine the most
efficient service possible for your customers.

   1


  
Customer Network Management (CNM) refers to a feature of ATM network which allows
customers of ATM public networks to monitor and manage their portion of the carrier's circuits
by providing the function and ability in the user interface to monitor physical ports, virtual paths,
usage parameters, and quality of service parameters.

(  

(!!
Central Office (CO) is the local switching facility of a telephone company to which telephones
are connected. Central Office is a common carrier switching center in which trunks and loops are
terminated and switched. Synonyms exchange, local central office, local exchange, local office,
switching center, telephone exchange.



c

Coin Collect Tone is an audible tone of telephone system over a coin recording-completing trunk
informs the originating toll operator that the local operator or coin control circuit has collected
the charge. Coin Collect Tone is a steady Low Tone.

 
c
Coin Denomination tones is audible tone of telephone system which enables the operator to
determine the amount deposited in coin telephones. Coin Denomination Tones for the old 3 slot
payphones were: Nickel - One tap of 1050 Hz and 1100 Hz (bell) Dime - Two taps of 1050 Hz
and 1100 Hz (bell) Quarter - One tap at 800 Hz (gong).

'%
Coin Phone is the public phone accepting coins from caller as payment.
$ c
Coin Return Tone is audible tone of telephone system over a coin recording-completing trunk
informs the originating toll operator that the local operator or coin control circuit has returned the
change when the connection is not completed (also called coin-refund tone). Coin Return Tone is
a single 5 to 1 second burst of High Tone.


 
Common Carrier is a licensed, private utility company that supplies local or long distance
communication services to the public at regulated prices. The term differs from private carrier,
which operates solely for the benefit of one entity and does not offer services to the general
public.


 
Communication Security refers to measures and controls used in telecommunication systems for
security purposes. It may include crypto security, transmission security, emission security,
traffic-flow security and physical security of equipments.



Communication Source refers to sources that encode message data and transmit the information
via a telecommunication channel to one or more receivers.


 
Communications Subsystem, a general term in telecommunications systems, describes a
functional entity or operational assembly that is smaller than the larger assembly under
consideration.


 
Communications System refers to a set of all the individual telecommunications networks
components including switches, transmission systems, relay stations, etc. to perform a
telecommunications task.


 "
Communications Deception refers to a scheme in telecommunications system that can
deliberately transmit, retransmit or alternate information of communications to mislead an
adversary's interpretation of the communications.



Communications Line refers to the physical link (such as wire or a telephone circuit) that
connects one or more devices to one or more other devices.


' 
Communications Protection refers to the application of communications security measures to
telecommunications systems in order to: 1. deny unauthorized users access to sensitive
unclassified information of value; 2. prevent disruptions of telecommunications services; 3.
ensure the authenticity of information handled by telecommunications system.
"

Companding, also known as compansion, comes from the combination of compressing and
expanding, which is a method of reducing the effects of a channel with limited dynamic range.
The use of companding allows signals with a large dynamic range to be transmitted over
facilities that have a smaller dynamic range capability. Companding reduces the noise and
crosstalk levels at the receiver.

"

Compandor is the combination of a compressor and expandor used in telecommunication
channels to improve transmission performance. It reduces the dynamic range of the transmitted
signal at the transmitter (compressor) and recover this signal to the original dynamic range at the
receiver (expander).

"
 


Completed Signaling is one of several signaling methods. In Completed Signaling, after one
signal message (or element) has been sent, a second signal message cannot be sent in the same
direction until the first signal message has been acknowledged (by a response in the opposite
direction).

" 
Compressor conducts the process or function of amplifying small signals while extremely large
signals are compressed (at the transmitter).

 

Concentrator, a type of multiplexor, combines multiple channels onto a single transmission
channel. A concentrator usually provides communication capability between many low-speed,
usually asynchronous channels and one or more high-speed, usually synchronous channels.
Usually different speeds, codes, and protocols can be accommodated on the low-speed side.

  ) !  
Conducted Interference refers to interference resulting from noise or unwanted signals entering a
device by conductive coupling in the circuit.

!   (" 

Conference Operation refers to an operation in the telecommunications system that a telephone
call can be established in such a way that three or more stations can communicate directly with
all the other stations. A three way call is one of the example.

!
c
Confirmation Tone is one of the audible tones generated in the telephone system that is used to
acknowledge receipt by automatic equipment of information necessary for special services. It is
currently used for:
â¼¢ Speed Calling - dialed number has been recorded.
â¼¢ Call Forwarding - dialed number has been recorded and service is activated.
â¼¢ Call Forwarding - service is deactivated.
Confirmation Tone is 350 Hz and 440 Hz at -13 dBm0/frequency on for 0.1 second, off for 0.1
second and then on for 0.3 seconds.


c
!!
Contract Tariffs refers to services and rates based on contracts negotiated with individual
customers, but theoretically available to all customers. Former AT&T has filed several hundred
contract tariffs.


'


Control refers to one of the three entities in the ATM reference model. The control plane
addresses all signaling and control related issues such as session setup and tear-down, and for
network parameter changes during a session. The other two entities are user plane for the actual
data transmission and the management plane for network management issues. The concept and
model of user plane, control plane and management plane has been extended to other
telecommunication technology groups beyond the ATM technology.




Control Signal refers to a signal in telecommunication used for auxiliary functions with
equipment connections to the Point of Termination (POT) or to the demarcation point. Examples
are the toll connection restriction and the party identification functions.



$ $

Controlled Re-routing is a scheme in signaling. Using a controlled methodology, the signaling
information (traffic) is transferred from an alternate signaling route to the normal signaling route,
when it becomes available.

(- (- 

 
CONtiguous United States (CONUS) refers to the 48 contiguous U.S. states. It is used primarily
to designate the operating range or authorization of a satellite or radio facility.





Convolutional code is a type of forward error correction code using a shift register containing a
number of stages to shift the input bits one at a time to produce a coded output. With the
convolutional code, (a) each m-bit information symbol (each m-bit string) to be encoded is
transformed into an n-bit symbol, where m/n is the code rate (n >= m) and (b) the transformation
is a function of the last k information symbols, where k is the constraint length of the code.

(c  

(!! c 


Central Office Terminal (COT) refers to one of the UDLCs (Universal Digital Loop Carrier)
terminals (the other one is called remote terminal). Both remote terminal and central office
terminal interface with analog signals, convert it to digital signals, and transport them to the
other side where the reverse is performed.


Country Code refers to the two or three digit codes used for International calls outside of the
North American Numbering Plan area codes. Dial: 011 + country code + city code + local phone
number) (e.g. in "011 + 86 + 10 + 1234- 5678", 86 = China, 10 = Beijing).

' 


'

 
Calling Party Category(CPC), defined in the SS7 ISUP by ITU-T, characterizes the station used
to originate a call and carries other important state that can describe the originating party. Based
on the CPC parameter from the calling network, the called network can do some special
processes related to the calling party category, just like overriding the Do Not Disturb (DND) list
and some other barring services.

'*  '  *5" 

Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) is a type of terminating equipment, such as terminals,
telephones, and modems, supplied by the telephone company, installed at customer sites, and
connected to the telephone company network. CPEs may also refer to any telephone equipment
residing on the customer site regardless who supplied them.

' 


' 
Call ProGress (CPG) refers to the status of the telephone line. It can be busy, ringing, not
ringing, etc

')* 


'
 )!
*
 
Called Party Number Information Element (CPNIE) is a type of Information Elements in the
ISDN messages defined in ITU-T Q.931.

')* 


'

 )!
*
 
Called Party Subaddress Information Element is a type of Information Element in the ISDN
messages defined in ITU-T Q.931.



Cramming refers to the unauthorized addition of services or features to your telephone service by
service providers. These services may be such things as voice mail, caller ID, special service
packages or fee-for-service charges such as 900 calls.

 
Cross Connect is a method of connecting the various elements in a cabling system.

 
Cross-Connection refers to a connection scheme between terminal blocks on the two sides of a
distribution frame, or between terminals on a terminal block.

(!! % 
Cross-office Check refers to the activity in call processing procedure which is a check on the
circuits between two or more exchanges to verify an acceptable transmission path exists.
$'  $'
Customer Routing Point (CRP) is an AT&T's terminology for third-party processors that accept
routing requests from the CCSS7 network.

$7 


$ !   7


Call Reference Value (CRV) is the number carried in all Q.931 (I.451) messages that provides an
identifier for each ISDN call. Call Reference Value is a scheme to distinguish call-legs signaled
between two entities.

 


"

Controlled Slip (CS) is an Error Event in DS1/T1 interface, which is the replication or deletion
of the payload bits of a DS1 frame. A Controlled Slip may be performed when there is a
difference between the timing of a synchronous receiving terminal and the received signal. A
Controlled Slip does not cause an Out of Frame defect.

 
  

Carrier Serving Area (CSA) is a geographic customer area that is consolidated into a single
digital transmission by the telephone company. Each carrier serving area (CSA) is served by a
digital loop carrier (DLC), which multiplexes hundreds of analog lines into one high-speed
digital trunk. The physical size of a CSA is based on the number of lines the DLC supports and
the population density

*' /
   
 
  *+  
'  
Conjugate Structure Algebraic Code Excited Linear Prediction (CS-ACELP) is the CELP voice
compression algorithm providing 8 kbps, or 8:1 compression, standardized in ITU-T
Recommendation G.729.

 " 

 
Component Sub-layer (CSL) is the upper layer of TCAP (Transaction Capabilities Application
Part). The CSL defines the actual messages, or components, that are contained in the TSL
(Transaction Sub-layer Messages).

-#- %

  -#

  -
Channel Service Unit (CSU)/Data Service Unit (DSU), two units often combined into one, is a
digital interface device that connects end-user equipment to the local digital telephone loop. The
Channel Service Unit (CSU) is a device that connects a terminal to a digital line. The DSU
component is a device used in digital transmission that adapts the physical interface on a data
terminal equipment (DTE) device to a transmission facility, such as T1 or E1.

- %

  -
Channel Service Unit (CSU) is a device that connects a terminal to a digital line. This is a digital
interface device installed on end-user premises that directly connects end-user equipment
(terminal) to the local digital telephone loop. Typically, Channel Service Unit (CSU) and the
data service unit (DSU) devices are packaged as a single unit called CSU/DSU.
c 


c
! 
Call Transfer (CT) is a service feature of telecommunications which allows customers to transfer
a call to any other number.

c) " c
"%) 


Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) is the technology that links the computer, telephone and
other services such as voice messaging and fax. CTI improves the handling of the customer
relationship. For example, customer details can be on screen while an agent answers the call.

c 

 
Clear To Send (CTS) is a signalling message transmitted from the data communications
equipment (DCE) indicating to the data terminal equipment (DTE) that it may begin data
transmission. For example, a networking equipment such as IEEE 802.11 wireless station may
send a CTS in response to an RTS (Request to Send) message. The CTS message silences all
wireless stations in its vicinity to avoid collision and enables the sender of the RTS message to
begin data transfer.

 (
 c

Customer-Originated Trace is one of group features made possible by Local Area Signaling
Service. It lets the terminating party request an automatic trace of the last call received. The trace
includes the calling line directory number and time and data of the call. This information is
transmitted to a designated agency, such as the telephone company or law enforcement agency.

 
Cutover is the physical switch of telephone lines from one telephone system to another, or a
replacement of old telephone equipment like switches by a totally new switches, or the
installation of a new system. It's usually performed over the weekend and midnight.

c%%


Cut-Through Dialing refers to a call that the number dialed is "10"+CIC+" #" followed by an
Authorization Code for IntraLATA calls.

2 


2

Call Waiting (CW) is 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 make the
first call remains on hold.

c

 c
c 



 

%


D Channel, an ISDN term, refers to the channel that carries control and signaling information.
(The "D" stands for "delta" channel.) The B-channel ("B" for "bearer") carries the main data. The
D-channel carries control and signaling information.
c" %



D type Channel Bank refers to the terms used in T1 technology. Channel Bank defines the type
of formatting that is required for transmission on T1 trunk. The purpose of a Channel Bank in the
telephone company is to form the foundation of multiplexing and demultiplexing the 24 voice
channels (DS0). D type Channel Bank is one of the type of Channel Bank which is used for
digital signals. There are five kinds of Channel Banks that are used in the System: D1, D2, D3,
D4, and DCT (Digital Carrier Trunk)

  


Directory Assistance (DA) is a telephone service in which a customer will be connected to an
operator at a DA bureau by dialing the proper service code or number and shall be told the
directory number of the customer whom he/she desired to call, provided that the customer's
number is, or will be, published (listed) in the telephone directory.

 

 
  
Digital access and cross-connect system (DACS, DCS or DCCS) is a digital switching device in
telecommunications for routing T1 lines. The DACS can cross-connect any T1 line in the system
with any other T1 line also in the system. DACS is a simple form of channel switch which works
at the DS0, DS1(T1/E1) and DS3(T3/E3), as well as STS-level.

  
  
Dedicated Access Line (DAL) refers to a direct connection between customer location and
telecommunication service facility to eliminate all local switching aspects of interexchange
calling to/from this specific customer location


& 
Dark fiber refers to unused fiber-optic cables that have been laid out in the field. Oftentimes
companies lay more lines than what's needed in order to curb costs of having to do it again and
again. The dark strands can be leased to others who want to establish optical connections among
their own locations.



 1 
c
Data Set Answer Back Tone is one of telephone system audible tones that it will be heard when
manually initiating a data call. It normally occurs shortly after the start of audible ringing and
means that the remote data set has answered. The data set at the calling end should then be put
into the data mode. Data Set Answer Back Tone is 2025 Hz steady at -13 dBm/frequency.



 * 
Data Strobe Encoding is a coding scheme for transmitting data in digital circuits which uses two
signal lines, Data and Strobe. These have the property that either Data or Strobe changes its
logical value in one clock cycle, but never both. This allows for easy clock recovery with a good
jitter tolerance by XORing the two signal line values.




Datakit is proprietary packet switching system similar to X.25 widely deployed by the RBOCs.
Datakit supports host-to-host connections and EIA-232 connections for terminals, printers, and
hosts.





Datacasting is broadcast of digital information over networks to receivers and players.
Datacasting is sometimes used as an alternative to traditional video broadcasting, because the
receivers and player units can have the "intelligence" to customize their playback programming
for the location and intended audience. The system of receivers set up to receive messages from
a particular datacasting is known as Datacasting Networks, which are a venue for advertisers.

c-   c -

Direct Access Test Unit (DATU) is a loop conditioning system which is installed in the Metallic
Facility Terminal (MFT) frame and connected through a No-Test trunk to a switching facility.
DATU is then accessed by dialing a telephone number and following the voice prompts.

 

%



Digital Channel Bank (DCS) is a device at a telephone company central office (public exchange)
that converts analog signals from home and business users into digital signals to be carried over
higher-speed lines between the central office and other exchanges. The analog signal is
converted into a digital signal that transmits at a rate of 64 thousand bits per second (Kbps). This
64 Kbps signal is a standard known as a DS0 signal. The signal is multiplexed with other DS0
signals on the same line using time-division multiplexing (TDM) . Usually, the digital
information is put on each DS0 signal using pulse code modulation (PCM). The channel bank is
the foundation for all digital telecommunication transmissions. It is the part of a carrier-multiplex
terminal that multiplexes a group of channels into a higher bit-rate digital channel and
demultiplexes these aggregates back into individual channels. A channel bank changes analog
voice and data signals into a digital format. It is called a "bank" because it can contain enough
processing power to convert a bank of up to 24/32 individual channels to a digital format, and
then back to analog again.

* 

 c 
*5" 
Data Circuit-terminating Equipment (DCE) is a device that establishes, maintains and terminates
a session on a network. It may also convert signals for transmission. DCE is typically the
modem, contrast with DTE which is a terminal or computer.

& " " 

& 
Dispersion Compensating Fiber (DCF) is a type optical fiber installed in a network which is a
good way to compensate for dispersion. What is not widely known, however, is that to achieve
adequate results with DCF, highly precise dispersion test must be carried out several times, at
various levels.

 

  
Digital Cross Connect System (DCS) is a digital system in which: (a) access is performed by T-1
hardware architecture in private and public networks with centralized switching, and (b) cross-
connection is performed by D3/D4 framing for switching digital-signal-0 (DS-0) channels to
other DS-0 channels. Modern digital access and cross-connect systems are not limited to the T-
carrier system, and may accommodate high data rates such as those of SONET.

  

 


Direct Distance Dialing (DDD) is a telecommunications service feature in North American
Numbering Plan, in which a call originator may call any other user outside the local calling area
without any operator assistance. It requires more digits in the dialing than are required for calling
within the local area. DDD also extends beyond the boundaries of national public telephone
networks.

)  

)
Direct Dialing In (DDI), also known as Direct Inward Dialing (DID), is the ability or service
feature for a caller outside a company to call an internal extension without having to pass
through an operator or attendant. In large PBX systems, the dialed digits are passed down the
line from the CO (central office). The PBX then completes the call. Direct Inward Dialing is
often proposed as Centrex's major feature. But automated attendants (a specialized form of
interactive voice response systems) also provide a similar service.

 
Decode is the process of interpreting previously coded information back into the usable form in
which it existed before the coding process.

  
Decoder, in telecommunication, refers to a device in some telephone switching for translating
dial digits into control signals.

 
 
Dedicated Line is a communications cable in telecommunications that is dedicated to a specific
application, in contrast with a shared resource such as the telephone network. Practically,
Dedicated Line may not be implemented by using a single, discrete, end-to-end cable, but they
do provide guarantees of constant bandwidth availability and near-constant latency, properties
that cannot be guarantied for more public systems. Such properties add a considerable premium
to the price charged.

  !
"
Degree of start-stop distortion refers to the following definitions: 1. In asynchronous data
transmission, the ratio of a) the absolute value of the maximum measured difference between the
actual and theoretical intervals separating any significant instant of modulation or demodulation
from the significant instant of the start element immediately preceding it to, b) the unit interval.
2. The highest absolute value of individual distortion affecting the significant instants of a start-
stop modulation.
The degree of distortion of a start-stop modulation (or demodulation) is usually expressed as a
percentage.
Distinction can be made between the degree of late ( positive) distortion and the degree of early (
negative) distortion.







Delay Dial Signaling is one of the Start Dial Supervision Protocol. The Originating switch and
trunk circuit will go off-hook. After a timing interval (75 to 300 mS), the Originating switch will
look at the status of the incoming signaling from the Remote switch. If the supervision is on-
hook, the Originating office will output digits to the Remote switch. If the supervision is off-
hook, the Originating office will wait for the supervision to return to an on-hook state, then
output digits. There is no minimum time to wait for a delay-dial pulse from the Remote switch.
In fact, if the remote switch was in an on-hook state, there is no waiting at all prior to output of
digits. If the Remote switch was not ready to receive digits, improper call completions can result.




Delay Distortion is the signal distortion caused by the differing transmission delays of signals of
different frequencies to pass through a telecommunications transmission line.



*5

> 
Delay Equalizer is a device used to equalize the signal distortion caused by the differing
frequency delay characteristics of a transmission line. The delay equalizer operates by adding
delay to the faster transmitting frequencies.






Delta Modulation is a method of sampling and converting analog signals such as voice to digital
signals. It is based on encoding the direction of signal change, indicating the direction of signal
change with a single bit.

 


Demodulation is the process of recovering the original modulating signal from a modulated
carrier. The original modulating signal is usually the information being transmitted, typically
voice or data.

 


Demodulator is a device for assembling signals after they have been received by an antenna. A
demodulator is typically the first major device downstream from an antenna receiving system.
The corresponding device on the transmission side of a system is a modulator.

 "c

Deposit Coin Tone is one of the audible tone in telephone system. It is sent from a Community
Dial Office to a post-pay coin telephone, informs the calling party that the called party has
answered and that the coin should be deposited. Deposit Coin Tone is a steady Low Tone.




Dial Around is a telephone service feature which allows customers to dial a toll-free number
before entering the destination number for long-distance calling. Dial around is especially
convenient for residential customers and cellular users who wish to bypass their primary long-
distance provider and take advantage of discounted calling rates.


B
c
Dial Jack Tone is used as a start-dial signal to tell a DSA operator that the connection reached
through a dial jack is ready to receive dialing. Dial Jack Tone is a steady Low Tone.




Dial Long Line is an equipment (usually located in a central office) that extends the dialing,
supervision and other signaling range of a loop.



(!!

c
Dial Off-Normal Tone is a steady Low Tone. It is returned to an operator after he/she has
completed a call into a step-by-step office and after the calling party has answered to remind
him/her to restore the dial key



'
 
Dial Pulse is regular, momentary interruption of signaling current used to transmit numerical
information either into a register or to control a switch directly. There are different ways of
generating Dial Pulses. When end-users pick up the receiver on a telephone, an electrical
connection is made to the lines leading to the central office. When end-users replace the receiver
on the cradle the connection is broken or interrupted. This applies to both push-button and rotary
dial telephones. By periodically breaking the connections leading to the central office, a number
can be dialed. The number of interruptions is equal to the digit dialed, with the exception that ten
interruptions correspond to zero. These pulses may be generated at the rate of ten times per
second and there should be a 1/2 second delay between each two digits. The rotary dial on the
telephone is a mechanical device which periodically breaks the connection leading to the central
office.



'

Dial Pulsing is a means of signaling consisting of regular momentary interruption of a direct or
alternating current path at the sending end in which the number of interruptions corresponds to
the value of a digit or character. The interruptions are usually produced by a rotary telephone
dial, but may be produced by a sender in a switching system.



c
Dial Tone is sent to a calling customer or operator to indicate that the receiving end is ready to
receive dial pulses or DTMF signals. It is used in all types of dial offices when dial pulses are
produced by the customer's or operator's dials. Normally dial tone means that the entire wanted
number may be dialed; however, there are some cases where the calling party must await a
second dial tone or where an operator, after dialing an initial group of digits, must wait for a
second dial tone before the rest of the number can be dialed. Some dialing switchboards are
arranged to permit listening for dial tone between certain digits. Dial Tone is 350 Hz and 440 Hz
held steady at -13 dBm0/frequency.



c 


Dial Tone Delay is a measure of time required to provide dial tone to customers. This measures
one aspect of the performance of a switching system


c 
 
Dial Tone Marker is the common control equipment used to control call-operating operations in
a Number 5 Crossbar System.



c

Dial Train is the series of pulses or tones that is sent from the originating station and the
switching equipment in order to specify the destination of the desired call.



'

Dialing Parity is equal dialing access provided to consumers. No additional codes or numbers are
necessary to access a different telephone service provider.





c



Dial-Normal Transmission Signal is a second dial tone returned to an operator between digits
indicating that he/she may dial the remainder of the number. For example, when an operator
reaches a link-type Community Dial Office via a step-by-step office after dialing a routing code,
he/she must pause until an idle link at the Community Dial Office returns dial tone. This method
of operation is not recommended or considered standard. Dial-Normal Transmission Signal is a
steady Low Tone.



"
Dialup is the technique of initiating and routing a call by means of dial signals from the
originating station.



" 
Dial-up Access refers to the method of accessing a telecommunications system via dialup.



"
Dial-up Line is a communications circuit that is established by a switched-circuit connection
using the telephone company network.


"%

Diaphragm is a thin, flexible sheet that can be vibrated by sound waves as in a microphone, or by
magnetic waves as in a telephone receiver.

)  )!



Directory Information Base (DIB) is the complete set of information to which the directory
provides access, and which includes all of the pieces of information which can be read or
manipulated using the operations of the directory

)#)  )1



#

 ) !
 
Direct Inward Dialing/Dialed Number Identification Service (DID/DNIS) refers to a service
when a call arrives at an ACD or PBX, the carrier sends a digital code on the trunk line. The
switch can read this code to determine how it should dispatch the call. Typically, this value is the
specific number dialed by the user. By mapping each possible code with an internal extension,
the switch can provide direct inward dialing (DID).
)  )1



Direct-Inward-Dial (DID), also known as Direct Dialing In (DDI), is a service offered by
telephone companies that enables callers to dial directly into an extension on a PBX and not use
an auto-attendant. Direct-inward-dial (DID) is the call in which the gateway uses the number
initially dialed (DNIS) to make the call, as opposed to a prompt to dial additional digits.

!!  




Differential Signaling is a method of digital data transmission using two wires for each electrical
path for high immunity to noise and crosstalk. The signals are sent down one wire as positive and
the other as negative, and the circuit at the receiving end derives the signal from the difference
between the two. It is superior to single-ended signaling, where the reference voltage is ground
and can vary over long distances. In differential signaling, the reference voltage is controlled.
Typically, twisted pairs are used so that external radiation impacts both wires at the same place,
and the noise can be detected more easily.




Digital refers to, in telecommunications system, a means for encoding information of
communication signals through the use of bits (binary digits). Digital transmission is
increasingly replacing analog transmission because it provides more efficiency and flexibility for
networking.




  
Digital Carrier System is a carrier system for digital signals that uses regenerative versus linear
repeaters and time division multiplexing.



c

Digital Transmission is the transmission of a digital signal between two or more points. The
usual definition applies to the manner in which the transmission carrier is modified to carry the
transmitted information. For example, in digital microwave systems, the radio frequency carrier
is an analog signal, but its information modulation is derived from the digital signal.

>
Digitize is the process of converting any information from its base states to a digital form; i.e., a
form in which only a limited number of states exist. It should be noted that a digital form does
not necessarily imply a character encoded form of information.

 ) 


 c"
Direct Interlata Connecting Trunk Groups refer to those trunk groups used for switched LATA
access that interconnect an IC's POP directly with a BOC end office switching systems.

 '   

Direct Progressive System is a switching system in which the switches are at least partially under
the direct control of a customer's dial and in which the path through the switching office is
selected progressively one step at a time.
  

Directive Gain, usually expressed in dB, refers to the following definitions: 1. Of an antenna, the
ratio of (a) 4ϼ times the radiance, i.e., power radiated per unit solid angle (watts per steradian),
in a given direction to (b) the total power, i.e., the power radiated to 4ϼ steradians. 2. Of an
antenna, for a given direction, the ratio of the radiance produced in the given direction to the
average value of the radiance in all directions. If the direction is not specified, the direction of
maximum radiance is assumed.

 

 c"
Directory Assistance Trunk Group is a trunk group that provides the means for customers or
operators to obtain listed directory numbers and newly connected numbers. Applications
commonly employ the following types of trunk groups: End Office to Trunk, Concentrator, End
Office to Desk, Tandem to Trunk Concentrator, Tandem to Desk, Cord Switchboard to Trunk
Concentrator, End Office to Automatic Call Distributor, and Tandem to Automatic Call
Distributor.

  

Directory Number is the telephone numbers assigned to subscribers' main stations, which is
typically listed in the phone book or directory.

"

Disparity refers to the digital algebraic sum of set of signal elements in Pulse-code modulation
(PCM). The disparity will be zero and there will be no cumulative or drifting polarization if there
are many positive elements ("1s") as there are negative elements ("0s").

"  (" 


Dispersion-limited operation is operation of a communications link in which signal waveform
degradation attributable to the dispersive effects of the communications medium is the dominant
mechanism that limits link performance. Dispersion is the filter-like effect that a link has on the
signal, due to the different propagation speeds of the eigenmodes of the link. Practically, this
means that the waveform at the input will be different from the waveform at the output of the
link.

  


2
c
Distinctive Call Waiting Tone is a feature in telecommunication system that enable a customer
who has call waiting feature to hear a distinctive call waiting tone for those incoming calls from
a preselected number while they are talking. This feature is sometimes called VIP Alert or Call
Selector.





Distribution Cable is a hierarchical level of cable plant usually referring to that cable which is
installed between the trunk or feeder cable and the drop cable to a customer's premises.

 
Diversity, in telecommunications system, refers to the technique of using one, two, or more
separate transmission channels. These channels may be along the same paths, in which case the
diversity is that of frequency or polarization. The channels may be along separate physical paths,
in which case there is a space diversity.

 

"
 
Digital Loop Carrier (DLC) is an equipment that combines a number of individual phone line
signals into a single multiplexed digital signal for local traffic between a central office (of a
telephone company) and a business complex or other outlying service area. Typically, up to 24
analog voice calls are combined into a single signal and transmitted over a single copper T-
carrier system or E-carrier line, an optical fiber cable, or a wireless connection. In a home,
business, or other installations using digital loop carrier, the analog phone lines of individual
users are connected to a local DLC box which then converts the analog signals into digital and
combines (multiplexes) them into one signal that it sent to the phone company's central office on
the single line. At the central office, the combined signal is separated back into the original
signals. Digital loop carrier can carry traffic for regular phone calls (so-called plain old telephone
service) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) service. Approaches have been
developed for using DLC to handle the higher bandwidth of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
service. Digital loop carrier is typically used as an efficient way to provide service to an office
building or complex and to extend service to new areas outside the current local loop. DLC is
also used to set up telephone services in emergency situations.

 



SS7 Diagonal Link (D-Link) connects a secondary (e.g., local or regional) STP pair to a primary
(e.g., inter-network gateway) STP pair in a quad-link configuration. Secondary STPs within the
same network are connected via a quad of D-links. The distinction between a "B" link and a "D"
link is rather arbitrary. For this reason, such links may be referred to as "B/D" links.

c- 

 
c-
Digital Line and Trunk Unit (DLTU) is a Lucent term which refers to a telecommunication
device or component of 5ESS switch that provides the interface to digital trunks and lines.

 




Delta Modulation (DM) is a method of sampling and converting analog signals to digital signals.
It is based on encoding the direction of signal change, indicating the direction of signal change
with a single bit.

 


"
+ 
Digital Multiplex System (DMS) refers to a family of switching systems made by Nortel
Networks that provides digital circuit-switched service for voice and data transmission, and
packet switched service for data transmission. DMS is characterized by the use of pulse code
modulation (PCM) and time division multiplexing (TDM) throughout the switched network. The
system allows the direct switching of PCM signals used in transmission systems without their
conversion to analogue format

?C

1 % 
DMS-10 Digital Switching System is a family of time division multiplexed digital switching
systems for local, tandem, and toll applications, by the Nortel Networks (formerly Northern
Telecom). DMS-lOE digital switching system is a small Class 5 digital switch that can satisfy the
need as a Community Dial Office (CDO) replacement vehicle. This system can be expanded to
8000 subscriber lines. The DMS-lOE digital switching system offers Custom Calling Features,
CAMA, LAMA (Local Automatic Message Accounting), Integrated Business Services (IBS),
Equal Access, and Operations Support System (OSS) interfaces.

?CC

1 % 
DMS-100 Digital Switching System is a large local Class 5 digital switching system that can be
expanded up to 100,000 subscriber lines. Major features offered include LAMA, Integrated
Business Network (IBN), Equal Access and OSS interfaces. The DMS-100 digital switching
system is manufactured by Northern Telecom Ltd., now called Nortel Networks.

DCC

1 % 
DMS-200 digital switching system is a large toll/tandem digital switching system that can be
expanded up to 60,000 trunk circuits. Major features offered include CAMA, Traffic Operator
Position Service (TOPS), CCIS, Equal Access, and OSS interfaces. The DMS-200 digital
switching system is manufactured by Northern Telecom Ltd., now called Nortel Networks.

c    


Discrete Multitone (DMT) is a method of separating a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) signal so
that the usable frequency range is separated into 256 frequency bands (or channels) of 4.3125
kHz each. Discrete multitone uses the fast Fourier transform algorithm for modulation and
demodulation. Dividing the frequency spectrum into multiple channels allows DMT to work
better when AM radio transmitters are present. Within each channel, modulation uses quadratude
amplitude modulation (QAM). By varying the number of bits per symbol within a channel, the
modem can be rate-adaptive.

) 

 ) !
 
Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS) is a telephone service that identifies for the
receiver of a call the number that the caller dialed. It's a common feature of 800 and 900 lines. If
you have multiple 800 or 900 numbers to the same destination, DNIS tells which number was
called. DNIS works by passing the touch tone digits (dual tone multi-frequency or MF digits) to
the destination where a special facility can read and display them or make them available for call
center programming.

( 
 ( 



Dynamic Overload Control (DOC) is a control application that is automatically activated by
switching systems to speed up call processing and limit attempts from connected offices.

(
 
DOD communication system, the US Department Of Defense (DOD) communication system, is
one of the most advanced communication systems in the world. DOD communication systems
are used not only for the administration of the Department, but, most critically, for the command
and control of force structures. To this end, the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) strives
to ensure that the Department's missions are carried out with state-of-the-art communications
systems.
(  (1



Direct Outward Dialing (DOD) is a service of a local exchange carrier that allows subscribers
within a company's private branch exchange (PBX) system to connect to outside lines directly.
Using DOD, a company can offer each person or workstation within the company the ability to
dial numbers directly, without the need to go through an operator or dial other numbers first.
DOD is often used together with Direct Inward Dialing (DID).


( c

Double Order Tone is one of the Order Tones. For the double-order tone, the signal is two short
spurts of High Tone in quick succession, and means that the operator should pass only the
desired number.


   %>


Double-ended Synchronization is a synchronization control scheme used in two connected
exchanges in a telecommunications network. In Double-ended synchronization, the phase error
signals used to control the clock at one telephone exchange are derived by comparison with the
phase of the incoming digital signal and phase of the internal clocks at both exchanges.

' 

'

Dial Pulse (DP) is a short, direct current signal which is produced by, or simulated to look like,
the opening and closing of contacts in a rotary-dial telephone when numbers are dialed. Dial
pulses control the action of telephone switching equipment.

'  
'
Destination Point Code (DPC) refers to the scheme in SS7 signaling to identify the receiving
signaling point. In SS7 network, the point codes are numeric addresses which uniquely identify
each signaling point.

' !!  

'
  


Differential Pulse-Code Modulation (DPCM) is a PCM technique that codes the difference
between sample points to compress the digital data. Because audio waves propagate in
predictable patterns, DPCM predicts the next sample and codes the difference between the
prediction and the actual point. The differences are smaller numbers than the numerical value of
each sample on the full scale and thereby reduce the resulting bitstream

'6 !!  

'%
 %!6 
Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK) is a digital modulation format where information is
conveyed in phase difference of a carrier signal between consecutive symbols.

$*  

$  
(!*5" 
Directional Reservation Of Equipment (DRE) is a control application that reserves trunk capacity
for incoming traffic.

!
Drift is a term in telecommunication system that is a comparatively long-term change in an
attribute or value of a system or equipment operational parameter. Drift is usually undesirable
and unidirectional, but may be bidirectional, cyclic, or of such a long-term duration and low
excursion rate as to be negligible. The drift can be characterized as "diurnal frequency drift" and
"output level drift".

"
Drop refers to the following meanings in telecommunications: 1. the portion of a device directly
connected to the internal station facilities, such as toward a switchboard or toward a switching
center. 2. a wire or cable between a building and a pole or cable terminus. 3. test jacks on the
central office side.

D 



D
Digital Signal 2 (DS2) refers to a higher level digital frame made of four T1 frames and
transmitted at 6.312 Mbps.

$ 
 

$  
 
Double-SideBand Reduced Carrier (DSB-RC) is a transmission scheme in which (a) the
frequencies produced by amplitude modulation are symmetrically spaced above and below the
carrier and (b) the carrier level is reduced for transmission at a fixed level below that which is
provided to the modulator.

 
 

""  
 
Double-SideBand Suppressed Carrier (DSB-SC) is a transmission scheme in which (a)
frequencies produced by amplitude modulation are symmetrically spaced above and below the
carrier frequency and (b) the carrier level is reduced to the lowest practical level, ideally
completely suppressed.

& " %!& 

Dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) is a type of single-mode fiber designed to have zero dispersion
near 1550 nm. Dispersion Shift Fiber (DSF) is specified in ITU-T G.653. It has had dopants
added which shift the zero-dispersion wavelength from the natural 1300 nm in silica-glass fibers
to the minimum-loss window at 1550 nm.

) 

" %) "


Digital Speech Interpolation (DSI) is a technique of sharing voice communication paths among a
larger number of users by means of allocating the silent periods inherent in human speech to
active uses. An earlier technology was called Time Assignment Speech Interpolation or TASI.
The technique is somewhat analogous to that of the statistical multiplexing of data transmission.

  !  1 %  1

Defense Switched Network (DSN) is a worldwide private-line telephone network. Multilevel
precedence and preemption (MLPP) capabilities on the DSN are utilized by command and
control users to ensure that the highest-priority calls achieve connection quickly, especially
during a crisis situation. The DSN also provides global data and video services using dial-up
switched 56 kbps or 64 kbps Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) services.
$ 



$

Data Signaling Rate (DSR) refers to the aggregate signaling rate at which data pass a point in the
transmission path in a data transmission system.

& " %! 
 & 

Dispersion-Shifted Single Mode Fiber (DS-SMF) is a type of optical fiber in a
telecommunications transmission system using single-mode fiber that is best designed for longer
transmission distances, making it suitable for long-distance telephony and multichannel
television broadcast systems.

- 

  -
Data Service Unit(DSU), often referred to together with CSU as CSU/DSU, is the device used in
digital transmission that adapts the physical interface on a Data Terminal Equipment(DTE)
device to a transmission facility, such as T1 or E1. The DSU also is responsible for such
functions as signal timing.

. 



 
Digital Signal Cross-connect (DSX) is a cross-connection point for DS-1 signals.

.?
Digital Signal Cross-connect Level 1(DSX-1) is a standard that defines the voltage, pulse width
and plug and socket for connecting DS-1 (T1) signals.

c& 

c 
! 5  
Dual Tone Multifrequency(DTMF), also known as Touch Tone or Tone Dialing, is used for
telephone signaling over the line in the voice frequency band to the call-switching center. DTMF
is the tones generated when a button is pressed on a telephone, primarily used in the U.S. and
Canada. DTMF is an example of a multifrequency shift keying (MFSK) system and is
standardised by ITU-T Recommendation Q.23.

c' 

c
! ' 
Data Transfer Process (DTP) refers to the process in telecommunications system that establishes
and manages the data connection. The DTP can be passive or active.



 
Dual Access refers to the following meanings in telecommunication system 1. The connection of
a user to two switching centers by separate access lines using a single message routing indicator
or telephone number. 2. In satellite communications, the transmission of two carriers
simultaneously through a single communication satellite repeater.



 >
Dual seizure refers to the condition when two exchanges attempt to seize the same circuit at
approximately the same time (kin to a two-way operation mode).
"
+
Duplex refers to a channel or a device which can communicate in both directions simultaneously.
There are varous forms of duplex such as full duplex and half duplex.

.


DX Signaling is a signaling process used on long metallic circuits. The process uses a bridge
circuit to detect the small current signals. The term DX is an old term used to refer to distant
transmission.

c

 c
c 



 
*
*%

* %%


Echo Channel (E Channel) refers to the 64-Kbps ISDN circuit-switching control channel. The E
channel was dropped in the 1988 ITU-TISDN specification. Now ISDN has only B channel, D
channel, and H channel.

*



E&M Leads Signaling is a type of signaling in telecommunications industry. It indicates the use
of a handset that corresponds to the ear (receiving) and mouth (transmitting) component of a
telephone.

*


E&M Signaling is a signaling method on a DS0 timeslot such that the signaling bits are used to
indicate call states, such as on-hook, off-hook, alerting, and dial pulsing.

*  * 


recEive and transMit (E&M), also known as Ear and Mouth, is the trunking arrangement
generally used for two-way switch-to-switch or switch-to-network connections. E&M also is
available on E1 and T1 digital interfaces.

*E?D8
E.123 refers to the ITU-R recommendation which is the notation for national and international
telephone numbers recommendation. E.123 defines a standard way to write telephone numbers,
email addresses, and web addresses.

*E?:@
E.164 refers to an ITU- recommendation that defines the international telecommunication
numbering plan and telephone number format used for the PSTN and some other data networks.
E.164 numbers can have a maximum of 15 digits. It is an evolution of standard telephone
numbers.

*D
E-2 refers to the European Digital Signal 2 which is the European standard for digital physical
interface at 8.448 Mbps.
*@
E-4 refers to the European Digital Signal 4 which is the European standard for digital physical
interface at 139.264 Mbps.

*F?? 
E911 Service, short for Enhanced 911 Service, is a North American telephone network (NANP)
feature of the 911 (or basic 911) emergency calling system which can automatically report the
telephone number and location of 911 calls made from wireline phones.

*& *+  

 &


Extended Bellcore AMA Format (EBAF), also known as Enhanced BAF, is an update to the
BAF, which is a system of abstract syntax and semantics that supports coding of Automatic
Message Accounting (AMA) data into records. The main difference between the BAF and EBAF
is that EBAF is more flexible and can be used easier, as the BAF uses a defined structure for
storing data. The EBAF can append other information to the end of an AMA record, and this
makes it more flexible.

* * %


Echo Canceler (EC) is a device in telephony system for connection to a two-way telephone
circuit to attenuate echo signals in one direction caused by signals in the other direction.

* %




Echo Cancellation is a method for removing unwanted signals from the main transmitted
telephone voice signal.

* *+ %
 
 

 

Exchange Carriers Standards Association (ECSA), now called ATIS (Alliance for
Telecommunications Industry Solutions), is a standards body that developing
telecommunications standards, operating procedures and guidelines through its sponsored
committees and forums.

*& *" & "
! 

Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA), also called optical amplifier or an erbium amplifier, is
an optical or IR repeater that amplifies a modulated laser beam directly, without opto-electronic
and electro-optical conversion. The device uses a short length of optical fiber doped with the
rare-earth element erbium. When the signal-carrying laser beams pass through this fiber, external
energy is applied, usually at IR wavelengths. This so-called pumping excites the atoms in the
erbium-doped section of optical fiber, increasing the intensity of the laser beams passing
through. The beams emerging from the EDFA retain all of their original modulation
characteristics, but are brighter than the input beams.

*' *   '

Event Detection Point (EDP), a term in Intelligent Network (IN), is a dynamically armed
detection point. This will be armed by the SCF (Service Control Function) within the context of
an IN service. EDP has two modes: 1) EDP-N (Event Detection Point-Notification) - this is
dynamically armed and when triggered, the event is reported, however, processing is not
suspended.
2) EDP-R (Event Detection Point - Request) - this is dynamically armed and when triggered, will
suspend call processing. The SSF then waits for instructions from the SCF.

*!!  )" c " 


Effective input noise temperature is the source noise temperature in a two-port network or
amplifier that will result in the same output noise power, when connected to a noise-free network
or amplifier, as that of the actual network of amplifier connected to a noise-free source.

*)#c)D8D
EIA/TIA-232, formerly called RS-232, is the common physical layer interface standard,
developed by EIA and TIA. EIA/TIA-232 supports unbalanced circuits at signal speeds of up to
64 kbps, which closely resembles the V.24 specification.

*)#c)@@F
EIA/TIA-449, formerly called RS-449, is a popular physical layer interface developed by EIA
and TIA. EIA/TIA-449, essentially, is a faster (up to 2 Mbps) version of EIA/TIA-232 capable of
longer cable runs.

*)#c)A;:
EIA/TIA-586 is a standard developed by EIA and TIA that describes the characteristics and
applications for various grades of UTP cabling.

*)D8D
EIA-232, a popular physical layer interface also known as RS-232 or TIA-232, is a standard for
serial binary data interconnection between a DTE (Data terminal equipment) and a DCE (Data
communication equipment). It is commonly used in computer serial ports. A similar ITU-T
standard is V.24.

*)@DD
EIA-422, also known as RS-422 or TIA-422, is the balanced electrical implementation of
EIA/TIA-449 for high-speed data transmission. Now referred to collectively with EIA-423 as
EIA-530, it provides for data transmission, using balanced or differential signaling, with
unidirectional/non-reversible, terminated or non-terminated transmission lines, point-to-point, or
multi-drop.

*)@D8
EIA-423, also known as RS-423 or TIA-423, is the unbalanced electrical implementation of
EIA/TIA-449 for EIA/TIA-232 compatibility.

*)@@F
EIA-449, also known as RS-449 or TIA-449, specifiecs the functional and mechanical
characteristics of the interface between data terminal equipment and data communications
equipment. The electrical signalling standards intended for use with RS 449 are RS-422 for
balanced signals, and RS-423 for the unbalanced signals, with data rates up to 2,000,000 bits per
second. The standard specified two D-subminiature connectors with 37 and 9 pins for the
primary and secondary data circuits.

*)@;A
EIA-485, formerly known as RS-485 or RS485, is a physical layer electrical specification of a
two-wire, half-duplex, multipoint serial connection. The standard specifies a differential form of
signalling. The difference between the wires⼌ voltages is what conveys the data. One polarity
of voltage indicates a logic 1 level, the reverse polarity indicates logic 0.

*)A8C
EIA-530, also known as RS-530 or TIA-530, is a balanced serial interface standard that generally
uses a 25-pin connector. The specification defines the cable between the DTE and DCE devices.
It is a replacement for EIA-449, which uses 37-pin connector. EIA-530 refers to two electrical
implementations of EIA/TIA-449: RS-422 for balanced transmission and RS-423 for unbalanced
transmission.

*)-' *+  )-'
Extended-ISUP, originally a subset of Q.761 ISUP, is expanding in to a superset of ITU and
ANSI ISUP. In addition, it supports the delivery of SDP parameters via generic digits. E-ISUP
runs over IP and therefore uses IP addresses instead of point codes.

*

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Eligible telecommunications carrier refers to the company that provides telecommunication
services in the United State.

* *+  
SS7 Extended link (E-link) connects an SSP to an alternate STP. E-links provide an alternate
signaling path if an SSP's "home" STP cannot be reached via an "A" link. "E" links are not
usually provisioned unless the benefit of a marginally higher degree of reliability justifies the
added expense.

*  (" 
%


Embedded Operations Channel refers to a channel provided on telecommunications facilities to
support administration and maintenance

*
 


En-block Signaling is the method in which the address digits are encoded into blocks for onward
transmission. Note that the blocks of code contain all the address information required to route
the call to its destination.

*!'
 


End-of-pulse Signal is an address signal sent in the forward direction to indicate there are no
more address signals to follow.

*!


End-of-selection signal is a signal sent in the backward direction to indicate the successful
completion of the call set-up process. It can also be used to indicate an unsuccessful termination
of the call set-up process, and that may contain information on the called party's line condition.

*'( *%  '
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 1
Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) is a point to multipoint network topology
implemented with passive optical splitters, along with optical fiber PMDs that support this
topology. EPON is based upon a mechanism named MPCP (Multi-Point Control Protocol),
which uses messages, state machines, and timers, to control access to a P2MP topology. At the
basis of the EPON/MPCP protocol lies the P2P Emulation Sublayer, which makes an underlying
P2MP network appear as a collection of point to point links to the higher protocol layers (at and
above the MAC Client). It achieves this by prepending a Logical Link Identification (LLID) to
the beginning of each packet, replacing two octets of the preamble. In addition, a mechanism for
network Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) is included to facilitate network
operation and troubleshooting.

*5

 
Equal Access refers to the AT&T Divestiture - 1982 Modified Final Judgement (MFJ), which is
the provision of one-plus capability to interLATA competitors of AT&T. The MFJ and the FCC
require local exchange carriers to provide equal access and customers should be able to reach the
carrier of their choice by dialing 1 + the long-distance number. Equal Access may also refer to a
more generic concept under which the BOCs must provide access services to AT&T's
competitors that are equivalent to those provided to AT&T.

*5" $
Equipment Room is the facility that houses building telecommunications systems such as
Servers, PBXs, and mechanical terminations of the telecomm wiring system. In most of the
cases, it is different than a wiring closet due to the complexity of the components it contains. But
equipment Room nonetheless may take the place of a building's wiring closet or it may be a
separate entity.

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$ >


Easily Recognizable Code (ERC) is a part of a North American telephone number in the area
code position that has the pattern NXX, where N=2...9 and XX = 00, 22, 33, ... 88, For example,
800, 877, 900 and 700.

*


Erlang is a measure of traffic load on a telephone line in 60 minutes blocks. The figure is
calculated as a rate at which calls arrive divided by the rate at which they are completed.

*

-
Erlang Unit is a statistical measure of telecommunications traffic used in telephony. It is named
after the Danish telephone engineer A. K. Erlang, the originator of queueing theory.

*& *+  " &


Extended Super Frame (ESF), sometimes called D5 framing, is a T1 framing standard that
consists of 24 frames of 192 bits each, with the 193rd bit providing timing and other functions.
Preferred over its predecessor, Super Frame, because it includes a Cyclic Redundancy Check and
bandwidth for a data link channel (used to pass out-of-band data between equipment).

* *
 1 %  1

Electronic Switched Network (ESN) refers to a network that uses electronic switches to direct
telecommunications traffic.

* *
 1 % 

Electronics Switching System (ESS), an AT&T/Lucent term, refers to switching systems using
stored programs to electronically switch telecommunication information. A 5ESS is a digital
central office for end office applications. A 4ESS is its digital central office for toll center
applications.

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 %

 
End of Transmission Block Character (ETB) refers to a transmission control character used to
indicate the end of a transmission block of data when data is divided into such blocks for
transmission purposes.

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c


European Institute for Research and Strategic Studies in Telecommunications (EURESCOM) is
the leading organization for collaborative R&D in telecommunications. EURESCOM provides
efficient management of research projects and programmes for member companies and other
clients.

*


Eutelsat is inter-governmental organization founded in 1983 with the launch of Eutelsat 1.
Eutelsat aims to provide and operate a space segment for public intra-European international
telecommunications services. The segment is also used to meet domestic needs by offering
leased capacity, primarily for television. UK and France are the main shareholders.

* '

Even Parity is one of the parity processes for error checking, which indicates that the total
number of ones in the information data stream plus the parity bit equals to an even number.

*+ %

Exchange refers to a component of telecommunications network that is equivalent to the
following terms: "office", "Central Office", "telephone switch", "telephone exchange", or "wire
center". An exchange can be used as (1) Local exchange, (2) toll (trunk) exchange, or (3)
gateway exchange.

*+ %
 
 
Exchange Carrier, also known as local exchange carrier(LEC), refers to a local telephone
company that provides the telephone services to residents and business. In the United States, as
the result of 1984 divestiture of then regulated monopoly carrier AT&T, wireline telephone
companies are divided into two categories: long distance, also called inter-exchange carrier, or
IXCs, and local carrier, also called local exchange carrier, or LECs. According to the Federal
Communications Commission, local phone calls are defined as calls originating and terminating
within a LATA (local access and transport area).

*+"

Expandor is the function or process to perform the inverse function of a compressor ( at the
receiver).

*.9 *+  9 

Excessive Zeros (EXZ or EZ) is a type of error event in DS1(T1)/E1 and DS3(T3)/E3 interfaces
when an AMI-coded signal is the occurrence of more than fifteen contiguous zeroes. For a B8ZS
coded signal, the defect occurs when more than seven contiguous zeroes are detected.

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Facility Accepted (FAA) is one of the message type codes in BICC protocol. It indicates that the
FAR is accepted and the use of the facility or operation towards the other side is accepted.

&

 
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Facilities Based Private Switched Network Services refers to the services provided by so called
Facilities Based Carriers, a long-distance service provider that owns its own physical facilities as
opposed to the bulk of the long-distance companies who are resellers.

&

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Facility Loopback refers to signal looped back toward the incoming facility. This technique is
often used in T1 testing.

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Facility-based Carriers refers to a local or long-distance service provider that owns its own
physical facilities.

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Fax, also called Facsimile Transmission, is a system of communication or delivery for paper
documents or other graphics material in which a special digital image scanner scans the pages of
the document, compresses the scanned image using CCITT Group Compression, and transmits
the digital signals by wire or radio to a FAX receiver at a remote point.

& & 


Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) is a short length of optical fiber that filters out a particular
wavelength. Periodically spaced zones in the fiber core are altered to have different refractive
indexes slightly higher than the core. This structure selectively reflects a very narrow range of
wavelengths while transmitting others. Fiber Bragg gratings are used to stabilize the output of a
laser and to filter out wavelengths in a WDM system.
& &  



Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the regulatory body governing communications
technologies in the US. established by the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and
regulates interstate communications (wire, radio, telephone, telegraph and telecommunications)
originating in the United States.

& &




Facility Data Link (FDL) is a 4-kbps channel provided by the Extended Superframe (ESF) T1
framing format. The FDL performs outside the payload capacity and allows a service provider to
check error statistics on terminating equipment without intrusion.

&
 

Feature Boards are modular system cards that perform specific functionality, for example, DSC
cards or modem cards.

&* &1
* 
Forward Error Correction (FEC) is a technique for controlling errors in a one-way
communication system. FEC sends extra information along with the data, which can be used by
the receiver to check and correct the data. Using FEC, a receiver can correct errors incurred in
transmission over a communications channel without requiring retransmission of any
information by the transmitter, which typically involves a convolution of the transmitted bits and
the appending of extra bits by both the receiver and transmitter using a common algorithm.

&*$ &
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Frame Erasure/Error Rate is a measure of the number of frames of data that contained errors and
could not be processed. FER is usually expressed as a percentage or exponent.

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Far-End Crosstalk (FEXT) refers to crosstalk that is measured at the opposite end of the cable
from which it is being disturbed.

& &
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Feature Groups (FG), also called access feature groups, are the standard interconnections (paths)
between telecommunications carriers (e.g., local exchange and inter-exchange carriers).
Currently, there are four common feature categories: FGA, FGB, FGC, FGD.

& &
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Feature Group A (FGA) is the arrangement that the user has to dial a local telephone number,
following by the desired long-distance number.

& &
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Feature Group B (FGB) is the arrangement that is associated with 950-xxxx calling; the user
enters 950 and 4 additional digits, followed by the long-distance number.

& &
 "
Feature Group C (FGC) services, replaced by FGD (Feature Group D) now, allows the end user
to have the same dialing plan (1 plus the telephone number) to reach any predetermined long
distance phone companies of their choice.

& &
 "
Feature Group D is a local exchange carrier network service that, among other things, lets
public-safety dispatch offices receive a 10-digit data stream, including the full call-back number,
alongside wireless 911 calls. FGD is offered as a way by which wireless carriers can meet FCC
enhanced 911 rules and dispatch offices can overcome their current bandwidth limits. This
access group is associated with equal access arrangements, which allows the end user to have the
same dialing plan (1 plus the telephone number) to reach any predetermined long distance phone
companies of their choice.

&*
Feature Group-D (FGD) of type Exchange Access North American (EANA) is a type signalling
protocol that provides certain call services, such as emergency (USA-911) calls. The command
calling number outbound is used only for FGD-EANA signalling to generate ANI digits for
outgoing calls.

&( & ("  

Fiber Optic Service (FiOS) is a data communications service provided by Verizon that uses fiber
optic cables to transfer data. FiOS is called a "Fiber to the Premises," or FTTP service, since it
brings fiber optic data transmission to residential homes as well as businesses. Since fiber optic
technology sends data via pulses of light, it is the fastest method of transferring data.

&)- &

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Fill-In Signal Unit (FISU) is an SS7 message that is sent in both directions whenever other signal
units are not present. FISU provides a CRC checksum for use by both signalling endpoints.

&+  
Fixed access refers to a terminal access to the network in PCS ( personal communications
service) that uses wired technology.

& & % 


Fiber Link Around the Globe (FLAG) refers to an undersea fiber optic cable which connects
England, Japan, and many places in between.

&
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F-link refers to the SS7 fully associated link, which is an SS7 signaling link directly associated
with a link carrying traffic. F-link connects two signaling end points (i.e., SSPs and SCPs). F-
links are not usually used in networks with STPs. In networks without STPs, F-links directly
connect signaling points.

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Frame synchronization is the process in the telecommunications transmission system to align the
digital channel (time slot) at the receiving end with the corresponding time slot at the
transmission end as it occurs.
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$ B 
Facility ReJect (FRJ) is one of the message type code in BICC (Bearer independent Call Control)
protocol (which, in turn, is part of SS7 protocol suite). Facility ReJect message indicates that the
request to use the facility (an operation) towards the other side is denied. An example of such
operations or facilities could be coin phones.

&" &

    1"

The Full Service Access Network (FSAN) Group is a forum for the world's leading
telecommunications services providers and equipment suppliers to work towards a common goal
of truly broadband access networks. The Mission of FSAN is to drive applicable standards,
where they already exist, into the services and products in the industry, while simultaneously
advanced its own specifications, such as Gigabit rate G-PON and ATM-based B-PON Passive
Optical Networking, into the appropriate standards bodies to provide further definition to the Full
Service Access Network.

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Forward Sequence Number (FSN) is part of an SS7 MSU that contains the sequence number of
the signal unit.

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Fiber-To-The-Curb (FTTC) refers to the installation and use of optical fiber cables directly to the
curbs near homes or any business environment as a replacement for "plain old telephone service"
(POTS). Think of removing all the telephone lines you see in your neighborhood and replacing
them with optical fiber lines. Such wiring would give us extremely high bandwidth and make
possible movies-on-demand and online multimedia presentations arriving without noticeable
delay.

&cc0 & cc% 0

Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH), also known as Fiber to the Premises (FTTP), refers to a broadband
telecommunications system based on fiber-optic cables and associated optical electronics for
delivery of multiple advanced services such as the triple play of telephone, broadband Internet
and television to homes and businesses.

&cc & %  %%

Fiber-To-The-Neighborhood (FTTN) refers to installing optical fiber from the telephone
company central office to all curbs or buildings in a neighborhood.

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Fiber-To-The-Office (FTTO) refers to installing optical fiber from the telephone company
central office to a specific office in a building such as a business or apartment house.

&cc' & % '  

Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP), also known as Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH), refers to a
broadband telecommunications system based on fiber-optic cables and associated optical
electronics for delivery of multiple advanced services such as the triple play of telephone,
broadband Internet and television to homes and businesses.
&cc & cc% 
Fiber-To-The-Subdivision (FTTS) refers to the installing optical fiber from the telephone
company central office to a subdivision of residential area.

&

 
  
Fully Dedicated Access refers to an Internet access service that is fully owned and operated by a
company providing and ensuring high reliability, low latency, flexible, robust, and more quality
services.

&. & *+ %


Foreign Exchange (FX), in telecommunication, refers to a service that provides local telephone
service from a central office located outside the subscriber's exchange area ( "foreign to" this
area). A sample scenario of such service is the following: a user pick up the phone in one area
and the dial tone is provided from another area (so called foreign area).

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E3C8
G.703, a standard based on Pulse-code modulation (PCM) standard, specifies voice over digital
networks. Voice to digital conversion according to PCM requires a bandwidth of 64 kbps (+/-
100 ppm), resulting in the basic unit for G.703. G.703 specifies the physical and electrical
characteristics of hierarchical digital interfaces at a rate up to 140Mbit/s.

E3C@
G.704 defines the synchronous frame structure used at primary and secondary hierarchy levels
on G.703 interfaces up to 45Mbit/s. The conventional use of G.704 on a 2Mbit/s primary rate
circuit provides 30 discrete 64kbit/s channels, with a further 64kbit/s channel available for
common channel signalling.

E3C3
G.707 defines the Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) Bit Rates.

E3C;
G.708 defines the Network Node Interface (NNI) for Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH).

E3CF
G.709 defines the Synchronous Multiplexing Structure.

E3??
G.711 is an ITU-T standard for audio companding released in 1972. It is primarily used in
telephony. G.711 represents 8-bit compressed pulse code modulation (PCM) samples for signals
of voice frequencies, sampled at the rate of 8000 samples/second. G.711 encoder will create a 64
kbit/s bitstream. There are two main algorithms defined in the standard: mu-law algorithm (used
in North America & Japan) and a-law algorithm (used in Europe and other countries).
E3D?
G.721 is a 32 kbps Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM) speech compression
algorithm. The sampling rate is 8 KHz. G.721 produces toll quality speech. With transmission
error rates higher than 10.4, the perceived quality of G.721 is better than G.711. G.721 is the first
ADPCM standard. Later came the standards of G.726 and G.727 for 40, 32, 24 and 16 kbps.

E3DD
G.722 is a wideband speech coding algorithm supporting bit rates of 64, 56 and 48 kbps. In
G.722, the speech signal is sampled at 16000 samples/second. G.722 can handle speech and
audio signal bandwidth upto 7 kHz, compared with 3.6 kHz in narrow band speech coders.
G.722 coder is based on the principle of Sub Band - Adaptive Differential Pulse Code
Modulation (SB-ADPCM). The signal is split into two sub-bands and samples from both bands
are coded using ADPCM techniques.

E3DDE?
G.722.1 is an ITU-T standard for speech codecs that compresses 50Hz -7KHz audio signals into
one of two bit rates, 24 or 32 Kbps.

E3D8E3D8E?
G.723, also known as G.723.1 in more precise terms, is a standard-based voice codec providing
voice quality (300 Hz to 3400 Hz) at 5.3 / 6.3 kbps. It was designed for video
conferencing/telephony over standard phone lines, and is optimized for real-time encoding &
decoding. G.723.1 is part of the H.323 (IP) and H.324 (POTS) standards for video conferencing.

E3D:
G.726 is a ITU-T speech codec based on ADPCM operating at bit rates of 16-40 kbit/s. The most
commonly used mode is 32 kbit/s, since this is half the rate of G.711, thus increasing the usable
network capacity by 100%. G.726 specifies how a 64 kbps A-law or µ-law PCM signal can be
converted to 40, 32, 24 or 16 kbps ADPCM channels where the 24 and 16 kbps channels are
used for voice in Digital Circuit Multiplication Equiment (DCME) and the 40 kbps is for data
modem signals (especially modems doing 4800 kbps or higher) in DCME.

E3D3
G.727 is an embedded Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM) algorithms at
rates of 40, 32, 24 and 16 kbit/s. G.727 defines the transcoding law when the source signal is a
pulse-code modulation signal at a pulse rate of 64 kbit/s developed from voice frequency analog
signals as fully specified by G.711.

E3D;
G.728, based on the Low-Delay Code Excited Linear Prediction (LD-CELP) compression
principles, is a 16 kbps compression standard. G.728 has an algorithmic coding delay of 0.625
ms. G.728 normally compresses toll quality speech at 8000 samples/second. G.728 Annex G
(G.728 G) is a fixed point specification of the coder working at a bit rate of 16000 bits/second.
G.728 Annex I (G.728 I) is the packet loss concealment (PLC) technique used along with G.728
G. G.728 coders are widely used for applications of telephony over packet networks, especially
voice over cable and VoIP, where low delay is required.
E3DF
G.729 is an audio data compression algorithm for voice that compresses voice audio in chunks of
10 milliseconds. G.729 does coding of speech at 8 kbit/s using Conjugate-Structure Algebraic-
Code-Excited Linear-Prediction(CS-ACELP). G.729 is mostly used in Voice over IP (VoIP)
applications for its low bandwidth requirement. Standard G.729 operates at 8 kbit/s, but there are
extensions, which provide also 6.4 kbit/s and 11.8 kbit/s rates for marginally worse and better
speech quality respectively. Also very common is G.729a which is compatible with G.729, but
requires less computation.

E3DF#
G.729 A/B is an ITU-T standard for speech codecs that provides near-toll quality audio at 8
Kbps. G.729 Annex A is a reduced complexity codec and G.729 Annex B supports silence
suppression and comfort noise generation.

E3;C
G.780 defines the terms for SDH Networks and Equipment.

E3;?
G.781 defines the structure of Recommendations on Equipment for the Synchronous Digital
Hierarchy (SDH).

E3;D
G.782 defines types and characteristics of Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) Equipment

E3;8
G.783 defines characteristics of Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) Equipment Functional
Blocks.

E3++
G.7xx is a suite of ITU-T standards for audio compressions and de-commpressions. It is
primarily used in telephony. In telephony, there are 2 main algorithms defined in the standard,
mu-law algorithm (used in America) and a-law algorithm (used in Europe and the rest of the
world). Both are logarithmic, but the later a-law was specifically designed to be simpler for a
computer to process. G.7xx codec suite includes G.712, G.721, G.722, G.723, G.726, G.727,
G.728, G.729 etc.

E;C8
G.803: Architecture of Transport Networks Based on the Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)

E;C@
G.804 is the ITU-T framing standard that defines the mapping of ATM cells into the physical
medium.

E;8D
G.832: Transport of SDH Elements on PDH Networks: Frame and Multiplexing Structures
Ec
G.DMT, another name for ITU G.992.1, is an ITU standard for ADSL using discrete multitone
modulation.

E
G.Lite, also known as ADSL Lite and Splitterless ADSL, is one of the Digital Subscriber Line
technologies that allows broadband data access over normal phone lines (twisted pair cables, also
called POTS). G.Lite offers a maximum of 1.5 Mbit/s downstream and 512 kbit/s upstream and
does not require the use of phone line splitters.


 1
$ 
 
Gateway Redundancy refers to a feature that enables the Gatekeeper to request that other
Gatekeepers search their zones to locate a Gateway when Line Hunting fails to find a suitable
service provider. If there is no service provider available, the Gateway Redundancy policy
reables the Gatekeeper to complete the call by referring the call to other Gatekeepers.


 1
"" ' !+ 
Gateway Supported Prefixes refers to some features in standard of H.323 version 2. It enables a
Gateway to specify prefixes that the user should dial before the WAN number in order to make a
call using a certain medium.


 1
1 % *+ %

Gateway switched exchange is the exchange that on top of trunk exchanges for international
calls. The international gateway switch provides connections between different countries that
have a wide range of operating parameters. Specifically, a gateway switch must support
conversions between different signaling formats. Another issue for international calls is voice
quality and echo control.

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Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) is a White House-directed
emergency phone service provided by a division of the Department of Homeland Security. GETS
uses enhancements based on existing commercial telecom technologies.

)  
"%

)!
 
Geographical Information System (GIS) refers to a computer system capable of capturing,
storing, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced information, that is, data identified
according to location. Practitioners also define a GIS as including the procedures, operating
personnel, and spatial data that go into the system.






Globalstar is a low earth orbit satellite system that deploys a network of 48 satellites to create a
global voice and data service. This system is backed by Qualcomm, Loral, and Alcatel.




GloBanD is an European Switched Nx64 data service consisting of a single circuit whose
bandwidth is a multiple of 64 kbps. This circuit consists of one or more B channels. For example,
if a caller requests 512 kbps service, the line uses 8 B channels to supply the requested
bandwidth. This service is available over T1 PRI lines only, and follows the CCITT Q.931
recommendation. It differs from MultiRate in being an overlay network, rather than an integral
part of the worldwide switched digital infrastructure.

* 
 1
 1*
 
Gateway Network Element (GNE) refers to a Network Element (NE) that provides connections
to other Network Element in most telecommunication and network systems, such as
SONET/SDH/DLC, etc. GNE has a list of nests connected to it and their TIDs in the form of a
route table. Whenever an input message comes to the GNE, it will route it to the appropriate NE
using the TID in the route table.

( 
 (! 
Grade of Service (GOS) is a measure of the success a subscriber is expected to have in accessing
a network to complete a call. The grade of service is usually expressed as percentage of calls
attempted by the subscriber during the busy-hour that are blocked due to insufficient network
resources. The other measures for service quality is called Quality of Service (QoS) for the
quality of voice service.

()'   ("  )   '!

Government Open System Interconnection Profile (GOSIP) is a subset of OSI standards specific
to US Government procurements, designed to maximize interoperability in areas where plain
OSI standards are ambiguous or allow options.

'( 
'(
Gigabit PON (GPON) is a Passive Optic Network (PON) technology operating at bitrates of
above 1 Gb/s. Apart from the need to support higher bitrates, the overall protocol has been
opened for re-consideration and the sought solution should be the most optimal and efficient in
terms of support for multiple services, OAM&P functionality and scalability.



Ground Start is a method of signaling used primarily on Central Office (CO) trunk lines to
PBXs. A ground is placed on one side of the two-wire line to indicate that it is in use so the other
side of the two-wire interface does not attempt to use the line.





Ground-start signaling is a type of analog voice grade access line signaling in the telephone
system that requires the customer interface to provide a ground on the ring conductor at the
network interface to initiate service requests.


c
Ground-start Trunk is a phone line that uses a ground instead of a short (loop-start trunks use a
short between tip and ring) to signal the central office for a dial tone.

"8
Group 3 is an ITU-T standard relating to fax devices. A Group 3 fax device is a digital machine
containing a 14400 baud modem that can transmit an 8 1/2 by 11 inch page in approximately 20
seconds with a resolution of either 203 by 98 dots per inch (dpi) or 203 by 196 dpi (fine), using
Huffman code to compress fax data. Group 3 faxes use a standard dial-up telephone line for
transmission.

"c

Group Busy Tone is audible tone of telephone system that is indicated by low tone on the sleeve
of trunk jacks at cord switchboards. Absence of the tone tells the operator that there is at least
one idle trunk in a group. Group Busy Tone is a steady Low Tone.

cc 


c
c



Global Title Translation (GTT) is a function usually performed in a Signal Transfer Point (STP).
GTT is the procedure by which the destination signaling point and the subsystem number (SSN)
is determined from digits (that is, the global title) present in the signaling message.

c

 c
c 



 
0
0EDDA
H.225, a key protocol in the H.323 VOIP architecture defined by ITU-T, is a standard to cover
narrow-band visual telephone services defined in H.200/AV.120-Series Recommendations. It
specifically deals with those situations where the transmission path includes one or more packet-
based networks, each of which is configured and managed to provide a non-guaranteed QoS,
which is not equivalent to that of N-ISDN, such that additional protection or recovery
mechanisms beyond those mandated by Rec.

0EDDAEC
H.225.0 is the specific document number for RAS, use of Q.931, and use of RTP under the
H.323 VOIP architecture. It is also called as H.225.

0ED8A
H.235 is the security recommendation for the H.3xx series systems. In particular, H.235 provides
security procedures for H.323-, H.225.0-, H.245- and H.460-based systems. H.235 is applicable
to both simple point-to-point and multipoint conferences for any terminals which utilize H.245 as
a control protocol.

0ED@A
H.245, a control signaling protocol in the H.323 multimedia communication architecture, is for
the exchange of end-to-end H.245 messages between communicating H.323 endpoints/terminals.
The H.245 control messages are carried over H.245 control channels. The H.245 control channel
is the logical channel 0 and is permanently open, unlike the media channels. The messages
carried include messages to exchange capabilities of terminals and to open and close logical
channels.
0ED@;
H.248, also known as Media Gateway Control protocol (Megaco), is for the control of elements
in a physically decomposed multimedia gateway, enabling the separation of call control from
media conversion. Megaco is a result of joint efforts of the IETF and the ITU-T Study Group 16.
Therefore, the IETF defined Megaco is the same as ITU-T Recommendation H.248.

0ED:?
H.261 is the video coding standard of the ITU. It was designed for data rates which are multiples
of 64Kbit/s and is sometimes called p x 64Kbit/s (p is in the range 1-30). These data rates suit
ISDN lines, for which this video codec was originally designed. H.261 transports a video stream
using the real-time transport protocol, RTP, with any of the underlying protocols that carry RTP.

0ED:8
The H.263, by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), supports video compression
(coding) for video-conferencing and video-telephony applications. H.263 was developed to
stream video at bandwidths as low as 20K to 24K bit/sec and was based on the H.261 codec. As
a general rule, H.263 requires half the bandwidth to achieve the same video quality as in the
H.261. As a result, H.263 has largely replaced H.261. H.263 uses RTP to transport video
streams.

0ED:@
The H.264, also named Advanced Video Coding (AVC), is the MPEG-4 Part 10. H.264 is jointly
developed by ITU and ISO. H.264 supports video compression (coding) for video-conferencing
and video-telephony applications. The H.264 video codec has a very broad rang of applications
that covers all forms of digital compressed video from, low bit-rate Internet streaming
applications to HDTV broadcast and Digital Cinema applications with nearly lossless coding.
H.264 is designed as a simple and straightforward video coding with enhanced compression
performance, to provide a ⼜network-friendly⼠video representation.

0E8D8
H.323, a protocol suite defined by ITU-T, is for voice transmission over internet (Voice over IP
or VOIP). In addition to voice applications, H.323 provides mechanisms for video
communication and data collaboration, in combination with the ITU-T T.120 series standards.
H.323 is one of the major VOIP standards, on a par with Megaco and SIP.

0E@ACED
H.450.2 is the call transfer supplementary service in the H.323 VOIP architecture.

0E@ACE8
H.450.3 is the call diversion supplementary service in the H.323 VOIP architecture.

0%

0%" %


High-speed channel (H-Channel) is the full-duplex ISDN primary rate channel operating at 384
kbps.
0


 
Hagelbarger code is a convolutional code that enables error bursts to be corrected as long as
there are relatively long error-free intervals between the error bursts.

0

! %

 
Halftone characteristic refers to the following definitions in telecommunication: (1) in facsimile
system, the relationship between the density of the recorded copy and the density of the original.
(2) in facsimile system, the relationship between the amplitude of the facsimile signal to either
the density of the original or the density of the recorded copy when only a portion of the system
is under consideration.

0

Hamming code, sometimes referred to as an Error Correction Code (ECC), is an algorithm that
can be used to detect errors in individual bits of transmitted data, and sometimes (dependent on
the exact code used) correct that error. Although not particularly powerful, they are one of the
"perfect" codes in that its standard array has all of the error patterns that can exist for single
errors.

0
 
Handset refers to any of the various forms of manual telephone instruments held in hands that
can receive and send voice.

0
1 
Hardwired refers to: (1) equipment which is wired together so that its function if fixed as
compared to equipment in which plug-in components may be varied to change the function. (2)
equipment units which are permanently cabled together as compared to those which may be
flexibly interconnected at a distributing frame.

0( 0

( 
Hearing Carry Over (HCO) refers to a method for using TTYs (Teletypewriter). HCO allows a
person with a speech disability to hear a response from their party directly. HCO is often used in
conjucntion with a Relay Service.

0 0
 %  5 
Header Check Sequence (HCS) is a 16-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) check sequence (CS)
that is derived from bits from the first 8 octets (excluding flags) of a UIH format packet.

0 0% !

High Definition (HD) is a video format consisting of withering 720p (active lines of progressive
) or 1080 which could be either active lines of progressive, 1080p, or interlaced, 1080i.

0 0%

$
 
High Data Bit Rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL), also known as High Speed DSL or High
data-rate DSL, provides equal bandwidth for both downloads and uploads. HDSL is one of oldest
DSL technologies. HDSL can carry as much on a single wire of twisted-pair cable as can be
carried on a T1 line (up to 1.544 Mbps) in North America or an E1 line (up to 2.048 Mbps) in
Europe over a somewhat longer range and is considered an alternative to a T1 or E1 connection.

0D D  
0
HDSL2, the 2nd generation HDSL (High Data Bit Rate Digital Subscriber Line), is a variant of
HDSL which delivers 1.5 Mbps service each way, supporting voice, data, and video using either
ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), private-line service or frame relay over a single copper pair.
This ATIS standard (T1.418) for this symmetric service gives a fixed 1.5 Mbps rate both up and
downstream. HDSL2 does not provide standard voice telephone service on the same wire pair.
HSDL2 differs from HDSL in that HDSL2 uses one pair of wires to convey 1.5 Mbps whereas
ANSI HDSL uses two wire pairs.

0@ @%  
0
HDSL4, the 4th generation HDSL (High Data Bit Rate Digital Subscriber Line), is an enhanced
version of HDSL2 which achieves about 30% greater distance than HDSL or HDSL2 by using
two pairs of wire (thus, 4 conductors), whereas HDSL2 uses one pair of wires.

08 0% "

8
High Density Bipolar 3 (HDB3) refers to a bipolar signaling technique. It relies on the
transmission of both positive and negative pulses. High Density Bipolar 3 is based on Alternate
Mark Inversion (AMI), but extends this by inserting violation codes whenever there is a run of 4
or more 0's.

0c 0

c 


Host Digital Terminal (HDT) is the interface between a cable distribution system and the
telephony switch, where the HDT acts as a digital multiplexer. It provides T1/E1 links to the
telephony switch at 1.544 Mb/s and accepts 64 kb/s digital signals from lines on the subscriber
side, usually in a T1/E1 format. Most vendors have designed the HDTs with an open interface to
the telephony switch, allowing the service provider to choose different vendors for the switch
and the HDT. On the subscriber side, however, the connection to the Network Interface Unit
(NIU) is proprietary, requiring the cable operator to purchase both the HDTs and NIUs from the
same vendor. Having an open interface to the switch also enables a cable operator to obtain
telephony switching from another company through alliances or leasing agreements, so the
operator doesn't need its own digital switch in the early stages of telephony offerings.

0
 
Headset refers to a voice communicatins sending and receiving device worn on the head.

0 
 %

 1
Hierarchical Network is a network that includes two or more different classes of switching
systems in a defined arrangement.

0%c
High Tone is a generic tone used with various interruption patterns for the specific tones. High
Tone is 4800 Hz at - 17dBm0. On some systems manufactured before 1974, High Tone was 400
Hz or 500 Hz at 61 - 71 dBmC. The following are a list of some specific High Tones: Partial
Dial Tone, Permanent Signal, Coin Return (test) Tone, Coin Return Tone, Number Checking
Tone, Interception Loopback Tone, Warning Tone, Order Tone, Station Ringer Test and Class of
Service.

0%2
 

High Water Mark in telecom refers to a counter that reports the highest number of DS0s that
were in use at one time.

0%'*     



High-priority emergency service call is a call identified as receiving emergency service
treatment, which has been marked as requiring special treatment by the emergency service
administration. The call has an associated CESID and transfer number.

0%-
 "
High-Usage Group refers to a trunk group that is the primary direct route between two switching
systems. The group is provided with an alternate route for overflow traffic in order to provide an
acceptable level of blocking.

0
Hit, in telecommunication, refers to a random and momentary disturbance in a transmission path
which could result in a transmission error.

0
c
Holding Time is the length of time an attempt, call, or message occupies a component of the
network that is normally expressed in seconds or minutes.

0 c
 
Home Tandem is a tandem of a higher office class to which another tandem of an end office has
a final trunk group. It may exist for all or defined subsets of tandem switched traffic.

0
  
Homing Arrangement refers to the last-choice trunk group(s) between switching systems in a
specific routing ladder.

0!

%
Hookflash, a type of signaling, is a brief interruption in the loop current on loopstart trunks that
the attached system does not interpret as a call disconnect. Once the PBX or PSTN senses the
hookflash, it generally puts the current call on hold and provides a secondary dial tone or access
to other features such as transfer or call waiting access. A hookflash is done by momentarily
pressing down the cradle on a telephone. Some telephone handsets have a button called 'flash' or
'recall' that sends a 'timed loop break', or 'calibrated flash' which is a hookflash that has a precise
timing.

0"(!!
In traditional telecom, Hop Off refers to a point at which a signal or call leaves a network and
moves to another network. For example, a call made on a phone set can hop off the local
telephone network to long distance network. Conversely, a call coming through a major network
can hop off that network to a smaller local network or private branch exchange (PBX). In voice
over IP (VoIP), Hop Off is a point or gateway at which a call moves from an H.323 network to a
network that uses some other protocol, typically at a gateway.

0>

2
Horizontal Wiring is the wiring scheme that encompasses all cables from a work-area wallplate
or network connection to the telecommunications closet. The outlets, cable, and cross-connects
in the closet are all part of the horizontal wiring, which gets its name because the cable typically
runs horizontally above ceilings or along the floors.

01
c
Howler Tone is one of the telephone system audible tones that is used in older offices to inform a
customer that their receiver is off-hook. It has been superseded by the Receiver Off-Hook Tone.
The Howler Tone was a 480 Hz tone incremented in volume every second for ten seconds until it
reaches +40 VU.

0'& 0%'

&
 
High Pass Filter (HPF), sometimes called a low-cut filter, is a filter that high frequencies can be
transmitted well and frequencies lower than the cutoff frequency are attenuated or reduced. The
actual amount of attenuation for a particular frequency varies from filter to filter.

0'') 0%' !

 '




) !

High Performance Parallel Interface (HPPI) is a standard point-to-point protocol for transmitting
large amounts of data at up to billions of bits per second over relatively short distances, mainly
on local area networks (LANs). The proponents of HIPPI believe that its use can make
computers, interconnected storage devices, and other resources on a local area network function
as though they were all within a single supercomputer.

0 


 
Hundred Call Seconds is a measure of traffic intensity. It is one traffic path occupied for 100
seconds per hour. 36 hundred call seconds equal to one Erlang.

0
Hunt is a term that describes the automatic process by which a switch progresses from contact to
contact, usually seeking an idle path.

0



Hybrid balance is an expression of the degree of electrical symmetry between two impedances
connected to two conjugate sides of a hybrid set or resistance hybrid. It is usually denoted in dB.

0

Bybrid Coil is a transformer-like device which is designed to provide the interface between a
two-wire and four-wire circuit. It has four ports designed such that a signal input to one port will
be split evenly to the two adjacent ports with no signal coupled to the opposite port. One port is
connected to the two-wire line. The two adjacent ports are connected to the four-wire line. The
opposite port is connected to a balanced network to cancel any stray signals.

0& 
+

 1
Hybrid Fiber Coaxial Network is a telecommunication technology using optical fiber cable and
coaxial cable in different portions of a network to carry broadband content.

c

 c
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)
)EE )

  1
The Intelligent Network (I.N. or IN) is a network architecture for both fixed and mobile
telecommunication networks. It allows operators to to differentiate themselves by providing
value-added services in addition to the standard telecoms services such as GSM services on
mobile phones. It can also be regarded as an overlay on the core network.

) )


 

Initial Alignment Control (IAC) is an SS7 MTP 2 function that provides the link alignment
processing.

) ) 
   
An Integrated Access Device (IAD) is an access device that can simultaneously deliver
traditional PSTN voice services, packet voice services, and data services (via LAN ports) over a
single WAN link. It aggregates multiple channels of information including voice and data across
a single shared access link to a carrier or service provider PoP (Point of Presence). The access
link may be a T1 line, a DSL connection, a cable (CATV) network, a broadband wireless link, or
a metro-Ethernet connection.

) )

  

Initial Address Message (IAM) is defined in SS7 (Signaling System No. 7). It is part of the ISUP
(Integrated Services Digital Network User Part) call setup. The message is used to seize a circuit
and transfer addressing and call handling or routing information. The IAM includes the address
and other information relating to routing and handling a call.

)')& 



 '

)"
 &

#

% %

Calculated Planning Impairment Factor loss/delay busyout threshold (ICPIF) is an ITU-T G.113
standard for measuring quality of service. ICPIF replaces the old QDU (Quantisation Distortion
Units) which were a subjective measurement. ICPIF represents predefined combinations of loss
and delay in a VOIP network call. Packet loss and delay determine the threshold for initiating the
busyout state. Gateways generate ICPIF values for each VoIP call, and these calculations can be
stored for each VoIP call record.

) ) 
 

 1
Integrated Digital Network (IDN) refers to a network that uses both digital transmission and
digital switching.
)* ) 


*
 %


International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) is the authoritative worldwide body
responsible for developing consensus global standards in the electrotechnical field. IEC is
dedicated to the harmonization and voluntary adoption of these standards, supporting the transfer
of electrotechnology, assisting certification and promoting international trade. Since 1906, IEC
has served the world's electrical industry, developing international standards to promote quality,
safety, performance, reproducibility, and environmental compatibility of materials, products, and
systems. It has also published standards for the electronics and telecommunications industries.
The IEC's present membership of 51 countries includes most major trading nations.

)* )  

*+ %
 
 
Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) is a telephone company that was providing local
service when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted. Compare with CLEC, a
company that competes with the already-established local telephone business. In most part of the
world, ILECs are the Post, Telephone, and Telegraphs (PTTs), government-managed
monopolies.

) 
 

Immediate Start is a method of E&M (ear & mouth) signaling. When the signaling leads indicate
a change to an off-hook state, the interface is immediately ready to send signaling information.

) 
 



Immediate Start Signaling is the most basic of Start Dial Supervision. The originating side goes
off-hook, waits for a finite period of time (200ms, for example), then sends the dial digits
without regard to the far end. The Immediate Start Signaling method is less reliable than Wink
Start. In Immediate Start, there is no wink from the end that receives the call to signify that that
is ready to accept digits.

)c ) 
% c
Inter-Machine Trunk (IMT) is a connecting circuit between two automatic switching centers,
both owned by the same company. For example, the trunk between two 4ESS machines of the
same ILEC is an IMT.

) )



Install Busy (INB) is a status of operation in many systems. For example, INB may indicate a
maintenance operation of the signaling channel during which, apart from this channel not being
available for signaling, the configuration parameters (mostly ds0 characteristics of this interface)
can be changed. The implementor may chose to just use the busy state as a superset state instead
of inB in which case this state will be rendered redundant.

)



Inband (In-Band) Signalling, also known as robbed-bit signalling, is a type of signalling in which
metadata and control information is sent in the same channel used for data. For example, a line
uses 8 kbps of each 64 kbps channel for WAN synchronization and signalling. The remaining 56
kbps handle the transmission of user data. T1 access lines containing one or more switched
channels, and Switched-56 lines use inband signalling.
)
!
"(
Indication of Camp-On is an audible tone generated by the telephone system. Attendant camp-on
service allows an electronic switching system Centrex attendant to hold incoming calls to busy
lines. Each time the attendant releases his/her talking connection from the loop involved in the
camped-on call, the indication of camp-on tone is heard by the called customer if the customer
has subscribed to the indication of camp-on option. The customer may get this tone several times
as the attendant reconnects and releases from the loop in response to timed reminders from the
console. Indication of Camp On tone is at 440 Hz and -13 dBm0/frequency for one second every
time the attendant releases from the loop.

)* )

  1*
 

Intelligent Network Element (INE) is a network element that can be provisioned from a remote
Operation Support System (OSS).

)* )  
  1*
 
Intermediate Network Element (INE) refers to a line-unit-line termination (LULT) or a line-unit-
network termination (LUNT)

)) )  1) !

Inter-Network Interface (INI) refers to the point of demarcation in the network where two sub-
networks meet when service is provided across multiple sub-networks.

)



In-slot Signaling is a signaling information periodically sent (in a digital time slot) that is
permanently allocated in the (voice or data) channel time slot.

) 


Intensity modulation refers to the form of modulation in optical communications in which the
optical power output of a source is varied in accordance with some characteristics of the
modulating signal.

) 
  

Interactive media refers to a newly designed telecommunications systems that permit two-way
communications between televisions or computers in one location with software stored on a
central computer. It's also possible to allow individuals in distant location to communicate, teach,
or learn from one another.

)  ""

c
Intercepting Loopback Tone is a steady High Tone sent from an intercept operator to the 'A'
board operator in manual offices indicates that an intercept operator has completed the call and
that the 'A' should disconnect from the circuit. The completion of intercepted calls in this manner
is no longer recommended.

)  %
  
Interchange circuit refers to the circuit that facilitates the exchange of data and signaling
information between DTE (data terminal equipment) and DCE (Data circuit-terminating
equipment).

)  
Intercom, short for intercommunicating telephone, refers to an in-building electronic
communications system. This communication system links different rooms within a building or
ship etc.

) *+ %
 c
Inter-exchange trunk is the trunk between IECs which typically contains a 4ESS toll switch.

) !



Interface standard refers to a standard in telecommunications that defines one or more functional
and/or physical characteristics necessary to allow the exchange of information between two or
more systems or equipments. An interface standard may include operational specifications and
acceptable levels of performance.

) c  
Inter-LATA Services refers to revenues, functions, etc. that relate to telecommunications
originating in one LATA and terminating outside that LATA.

)  
  
Intermediate Cross Connects refers to cross-connects located telecommunications closets within
a premises distribution system.

) !! 



Interoffice Call is the telephone call that involves only one switching system. The two parties
connected to the same local central office is an example.

) !! %


Interoffice Channel refers to: (1) In LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) tariffs, the channel
connecting two serving wire centers located in two serving COs (Central Office). (2) In IXC
(Interexchange Carrier) tariff, the channel connecting two serving IXC POPs (Point of Presence),
interoffice transmission facilities used to connect LEC switching systems.

) 
) !  
Intersymbol interference refers to following definitions: (1) Destortion of the received
sIntersymbol interference refers to following definitions: (1) Destortion of the received signal in
a digital transmission system which distortion is manifested in the temporal spreading and
consequent overlap of individual pulses to the degree that the receiver can not reliably
distinguish between changes of state (i.e. between individual signal elements). (2) Extraneous
energy from the signal in one or more keying intervals that interferes with the reception of the
signal in another keying interval. (3) The disturbance caused by extraneous energy from the
signal in one or more keying interval that interferes with the reception of the signal in another
keying interval.
)
c
IntraLATA refers to a telephone call or circuit which does not cross a LATA boundary.
IntraLATA communications require the use of an LEC, but not an IXC (intereXchange Carrier).
IntraLATA telephone calls can still be long distance calls. In fact, because intraLATA long
distance in the US is not subject to the same competitive market forces as interLATA long
distance, intraLATA long distance calls normally cost much more than interLATA long distance.

)
(!! c
Intra-Office Trunk is the trunk between two pieces of equipments within the same telephone
central office.

)


Intrastate, in telecommunication, refers to a call that remains entirely within the boundaries of a
single state so that it falls under the jurisdiction of that state's telephone regulatory procedures.

)  
"
+

Inverse multiplexing is one of the multiplexing scheme in telecommunications. Not like the
ordinary multiplexing which combines multiple signals into a single signal, inverse multiplexing
speeds up data transmission by dividing a data stream into multiple concurrent streams that are
transmitted at the same time across separate channels (like a T1 or E1 lines) and are then
reconstructed at the other end back into the original data stream.

)1
c
Inward Trunk is a trunk that is only for incoming calls. In another words, these trunks cannot be
used for dialing out. An example of this is 800 lines.

)2c )1
2 
c
"%  
Inward Wide Area Telephone Service (IN-WATS), similar to the 800 services, refers to service
of interexchange carriers, such as formal AT&T, Sprint, local exchange carriers, independent
phone companies, and long distance resellers in North America which allows subscribers to
receive calls from specified areas and being charged for the call and with no charge to the calling
party.

)( ) "  (" 

"

Independent Operating Company (IOC) refers to the independently-owned company providing
local telephone services to residential and business customers in a geographic area not served by
a Reginal Bell Operating Company (RBOC).

)'  +
IP Centrex is the Central Office Exchange Services (Centrex) for enterprises based on the IP
telephony technologies. The traditional Centrex is a telephone switch service used by enterprises
in which switching occurs at a central (local) office. In IP telephony, voice conversations can be
digitized and packetized for transmission across the network. IP Centrex refers to a number of IP
telephony solutions where Centrex service is offered to a customer who transmits its voice calls
to the network as packetized streams across a broadband access facility.
)''.
The IP-PBX is a telephone switch based on the VoIP technologies which is used by enterprises
and located at the premises of a company and offers easier user administration and advanced
applications. With an IP-PBX, the Local Area Network is the platform for connecting IP phones
over a packet network to the call manager. This unifies the data applications and the voice
network, but places demands on the packet prioritization aspects of the LAN infrastructure to
ensure user satisfaction with the quality of audio.

) ) 


1 %
 
International Switching Carrier (ISC) is an exchange which has the function of switching
telecommunications traffic between the national network and the networks of other countries.

)$)
An ISDN Basic Rate Interface (ISDN BRI) is a type of ISDN interfaces that uses two B channels
for user data, and one 16-kbps D channel for ISDN D-channel signalling. Both B channels can be
switched; both channels can be nailed up; or one channel can be switched and the other nailed
up. A line of this type can connect to standard voice service, Switched-56 data service, or
Switched-64 data service.

)%





ISDN D-channel Signalling is a type of out-of-band signalling in which a D channel handles
WAN synchronization and signalling, and the B channels carry the user data. T1 PRI, E1 PRI,
and ISDN BRI lines use ISDN D-channel signalling.

)0%


ISDN H-Channel is a special, high-speed clear channel. H channels, designed primarily for full-
motion color video, are not yet in common use. There are currently three kinds of H channel: H0
("H-zero"), H11 ("H-one-one"), and H12 ("H-one-two"). An H0 channel operates at 384 Kbps
(roughly one fourth of the North American Primary Rate Access or one fifth of a European
Primary Rate Access). An H1 channel operates at 1.536 Mbps and occupies the whole North
American Primary Rate Access. An H12 channel occupies the entire European Primary Rate
Access.

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ISDN Primary Rate Interface (ISDN PRI) is the ISDN configuration used primarily by large
organizations with intensive communications needs. An ISDN PRI connection supports 23 64
kbps B-channels and one 64 kbps D-channel (or 23B+D) over a high speed DS1 (or T-1) circuit.
The European PRI configuration is slightly different, supporting 30B+D.

) ) 
   

 1
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a system with digitized phone connections. For
decades, telephony has used purely analogue connections. This is the first protocol to define a
digital communications line that allows for the transmission of voice, data, video and graphics, at
high speeds, over standard communication lines. The various media are simultaneously carried
by bearer channels (B channels) occupying a bandwidth of 64 kbits per second (some switches
limit bandwidth to 56 kb/s). A defined data channel (D channel) handles signaling at 16 kb/s or
64 kb/s, depending on the service type.

) %

Isochronous Signal is periodic signals in which the time interval that separates any two
corresponding significant occurrences or level transitions is always equal to some unit interval or
a multiple of that unit interval. For example, in digitized voice signals, ideally voice samples
occur isochronously at precisely the sampling interval or frame rate. Packet data signals are not
isochronous.

)- 3)-'- 

"

 
SS7 ISUP-User Adaptation Layer (ISUA), an integral part of the OpenSS7 SIGTRAN stack, is
an SS7 Signalling User Adaptation Layer for providing ISUP-User signalling over SCTP. ISUA
is intended to be used on a Provider/User basis where ISUP resides on a Signalling Gateway
(SG) and ISUP call control applications reside on an Application Server (AS).

)-' )- '


The ISDN User Part (ISUP), a key protocol in the SS7/C7 signaling system, defines the protocol
and procedures used to set-up, manage and release trunk circuits that carry voice and data calls
over the public switched telephone network (PSTN) between different switches. ISUP is used for
both ISDN and non-ISDN calls.

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Independent Telephone Company (ITC) is a local exchange carrier that is not one of the divested
Bell-operating companies (there were 22 such companies before). ITCs are not generally subject
to the restrictions of the MFJ (Modification of Final Judgment), although some of the large ones
are bound by separate consent decrees. Southern New England Telephone and Cincinnati Bell
are generally considered ITCs from a regulatory point of view.

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Internet Telephone Service Provider(ITSP) refers to the company who provides "voice Over IP"
services.

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International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is an organization established by the United
Nations to set international telecommunications standards and to allocate frequencies for specific
uses.

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International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is
an international body under the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that develops
worldwide standards for telecommunications technologies. The ITU-T carries out the functions
of the former CCITT.
)- )4EFD?- 
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ISDN Q.921-User Adaptation Layer(IUA), a protocol in the SIGTRAN protocol suite, defines a
method for backhauling of ISDN Q.921 User messages over IP using the Stream Control
Transmission Protocol (SCTP). IUA is used between a Signaling Gateway (SG) and Media
Gateway Controller (MGC). It is assumed that the SG receives ISDN signaling over a standard
ISDN interface.

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 7 $ "
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a feature in a telephone system that provides information in
the form of recorded messages over telephone lines in response to user input in the form of
spoken words or, more commonly, DTMF signaling. Examples include banks that allow
customer to check their balance from any telephone, and an automated stock quote system.

). ) *+ %
 
 
Inter-Exchange Carrier (IXC) is a long-distance telephone company. The task of an IXC is to
connect Local Exchange Carrier (LECs) and allow customers to place interLATA telephone
calls.

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B

Jack is a connecting device usually in the wall into which a plug can be plugged to from a
connection such as the telephone jack

B" 
Jumper may refer to the following things: (1) a wire that connects equipment and cable on a
distributing frame in a telephone system. (2) when called as a jumper wire, it is a wire or
connector used to establish a circuit for testing. (3) a metal bridge that connects parts of an
electrical circuit that can be used to configure expansion boards. (4) an electrical switch
consisting of a number of pins and a connector that can be attached to the pins in a variety of
ways.

B 
A junction is a point in the telecommunications network that comprises a switching office or
facility cross-connect and/or ADM hardware, a point of connectivity where multiple fiber links
come together, and/or a source or destination for a wavelength path.

B 
Junctor refers to a connection or circuit, within a switching system, between inlets and outlets of
the same or different switching networks. An interoffice trunk is an example of junctor.

B c"

Junctor Trunk Group is a special-purpose trunk group providing a particular feature such as coin
control, billing supervision, etc.
B 
Jurisdiction refers to, in telecommunication, a geographic area presided over by the same
regulatory body, within the boundary of a single state or an area in which a common carrier is
authorized to provide telephony service.

6 '

Key Pulsing is a method of signaling by depressing keys on a line otherwise arranged for rotary
pulse dialing.

6 

Key Station Line refers to the circuit which extends from the key set to the key system common
equipment.

6  
Key System refers to a group of associated key sets and common equipment located on a
customer's premises and connected to provide various features accessible to a key set.

6 c
"%  
Key Telephone Set refers to a telephone instrument with keys or buttons which are used to select
a specific line from several possible incoming lines. Those buttons usually have lamps and can
provide features such as call holding, line status, signaling, conferencing and intercom.

6 c
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Key Telephone System refers to a multi-line telephone system that is typically adopted and
installed in small business or office environments. Key telephone system is good for its
expandability and the individual line selection buttons for each connected phone line.

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Label, in telecommunication, is one type of information contained in a signaling message that is
used to identify the particular circuit, call, or management transaction to which the message is
related.

 


  
  
Local Automatic Message Accounting (LAMA) refers to a set of automatic message accounting
equipment and automatic number identification equipment in the central office of local telephone
company used for the billing of local phone calls.

'  '  <

 
Link Access Procedure, Balanced (LAPB) is a data link layer protocol used to manage
communication and packet framing between data terminal equipment (DTE) and the data circuit-
terminating equipment (DCE) devices in the X.25 protocol stack. LAPB, a bit-oriented protocol
derived from HDLC, is actually the HDLC in BAC (Balanced Asynchronous Class) mode.
LAPB makes sure that frames are error free and properly sequenced.

'  '  <%



Link Access Procedure, D-Channel (LAP-D), a Layer 2 protocol in the ISDN suite, is used to do
call setup and other signaling over the D Channel. Data transmissions take place on B channels.
LAP-D is almost identical to the X.25 LAP-B protocol. LAPD is defined in the ITU Q.921
protocol.

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Link Access Procedure for Frame Mode Services (LAPF), as defined in ITU Q.922, is an
enhanced LAPD (Q.921) with congestion control capabilities for Frame Mode Services in the
Frame Relay network. LADF is used in the Frame Relay network for end-to-end signaling.
LAPF conveys data link service data units between DL-service users in the User Plane for frame
mode bearer services across the ISDN user-network interface on B-, D- or H-channels.

'0  '  !0%



Link Access Procedure for H-Channel (LAP-H) performs the same function as B-Channel
(LAPB) but operates at rates exceeding DS-0 (64 Kbps). The H-Channel is good for fast
facsimile, video, high-speed data, high-quality audio, and multiple info streams at lower data
rates.

'  '  ! 

Link Access Procedure for Modems (LAP-M) is the data link protocol used by V.32 error-
correcting modems. When two LAPM modems establish a session, they transmit data in frames
using bit-oriented synchronous techniques. An attached computer still sends data to the LAPM
modems as standard asynchronous input, but the modem transmits it as frames.

'  '  0

Link Access Procedure - SDH (LAPS), a variant of the original LAP protocol, is an
encapsulation scheme for Ethernet over SONET/SDH. LAPS includes data link service and
protocol specification used in transporting IP packets over SDH networks. LAPS provides a
point-to-point unacknowledged connectionless service over SONET/SDH. LAPS enables the
encapsulation of IPv6, IPv4, PPP, and other higher-layer protocols. X.86 Defines Ethernet over
LAPS.

 




  
Local Area Signaling Services (LASS) Codes are numbers that customers enter on their
telephone tough-pad to access special features of the telephone system. The most well-known
LASS codes are *67 to toggle Caller-ID blocking and *69, for Last Call Return.

 




 
Local Area Signaling Service (LASS) is a group features provided by virtually all switches of
central offices that uses existing customer lines to provide some extra features to the end user or
business user. Those features are based on delivery of calling party number via the local
signaling network. Local CCS7 (Common Channel Signaling Seven) is required for all
configurations. Typical features of LASS are (1) Automatic Callback, (2) Automatic Recall, (3)
Customer-Originated Trace.


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Last Choice Route refers to the routing algorithm that is the last-choice group trunk group (or a
series of last-choice trunk groups) between two switching systems.




Last Mile, also known as the first mile, refers to the final phase or construction to deliver or
complete connectivity from a communications provider to an end customer. The last mile
communications providers are usually the telecommunications and cable television service
providers. "Last mile" is typically seen as an expensive challenge because that "fanning out" all
the wires and cables is a considerable physical undertaking.



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Last-mile technology refers to the telecommunications technologies that provide connection
services to and from the home or business. The typical last-mile technologies include xDSL,
Cable and cable modem access (DOCSIS), wireless access (802.16), and optic fiber and its
transmission technologies.

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Local Access And Transport Area (LATA) refers to the areas within which the Bell Operating
and independent telephone companies can provide telephony services. Inter-LATA connections
must be provided by Interexchange or long-distance carriers. This was created by the 1984
divestiture and defines a geographic area in which a local exchange carrier, or LEC provides
services or connectivity. Traffic that crosses from one LATA to another is the exclusive domain
of the IXC. The 358 LATA covers the Chicago area from roughly the Wisconsin state line to just
South of Kankakee, and just West of Aurora and Ottawa to Lake Michigan and the Indiana state
line.

7   7


Line Code Violation (LCV) is an error event in the occurrence of either a Bipolar Violation
(BPV) or Excessive Zeroes (EXZ) Error Event on a DS1/T1 interface.

    

Listed Directory Number (LDN) is an organization's main telephone number that appears in the
telephone book.


 
Leased Line is a permanent telephone connection between two points set up by a
telecommunications common carrier. Typically, leased lines are used by businesses to connect
geographically distant offices. Unlike normal dial-up connections, a leased line is always active.
The fee for the connection is a fixed monthly rate. The primary factors affecting the monthly fee
are distance between end points and the speed of the circuit. Because the connection doesn't
carry anybody else's communications, the carrier can assure a given level of quality. For
example, a T-1 channel is a type of leased line that provides a maximum transmission speed of
1.544 Mbps. You can divide the connection into different lines for data and voice
communication or use the channel for one high speed data circuit. Dividing the connection is
called multiplexing. Increasingly, leased lines are being used by companies, and even
individuals, for Internet access because they afford faster data transfer rates and are cost-
effective if the Internet is used heavily.

*


LEC Billing is arrangement whereby the LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) invoices the customer
for some of all telecommunications services.

*

LEC Card (Local Exchange Carrier Card) is the billing arrangement which enables the caller to
bill calls to an authorized calling card issued by a LEC (Local Exchange Carrier)

*%
 
LEC Charges refers to charges that are the responsibility of the LEC (Local Exchange Carrier).

* 

*+ %
 
 
Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) is, as its name reveals, a telephone company providing local
telephone service.

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 $
Local Exchange Routing Guide (LERG) refers to a documents end of offices and their
relationship to Tandem Offices produced by Bellcore Traffic Routing Admin (TRA)

0  0

Line Hunting (LH) is a feature in telephony, also called multi-line hunting, that allows multiple
telephone lines going into a business or promises to all act as a single group, called a hunting
group (or multi-line hunting group). If the line called is busy, the call will be forwarded to the
next available line. Only if all the lines in the group are busy, the calling party will get a busy
signal.

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The Line Busy Tone indicates that the called customer's line has been reached but that it is busy
or being rung or on permanent signal. When a line busy signal is applied by an operator, it is
sometimes called a busy-back tone. Line Busy Tone is Low Tone on and off every 0.5 seconds.

 
Line Code refers to a code in telecommunication that is chosen for use within a communications
system for transmission purposes. A line code will typically reflect technical requirements of the
transmission medium, such as optical fiber or shielded twisted pair. These requirements are
unique for each medium, because each one has different behaviors related to interference,
distortion, capacitance and loss of amplitude.

 *5" 
Line Equipment refers to the telephony equipment located in a central office and associated with
a particular line. This includes a line relay or equivalent that is activated when the customer's
telephone is off-hook.

 & 
Line Finder is a component of a switch which locates an idle line and connects it to the line
requesting service.

 
Line Link refers to the input side of the switching network in the Number 5 Crossbar system.

 


Line Load Control refers to a control process that limits the number of customers who can obtain
dial tone in telephony system.

 
Line Noise refers to a noise originated in a transmission path of telephony system.

  
Line Number refers the 4-digit XXXX number assigned to a North American telephone within a
NXX exchange.

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Line Relay refers to relay equipment associated with a customer's line that is used to alter the
switching of a demand for service for that line. It can also be used to deny incoming access to a
line already in use.

   
Line Segment is the expanse of fiber-optic cable(s) between 2 network locations.

 


Line Signaling is a signaling method for transmitting signaling traffic between equipment to
terminate and continuously monitor part or all of the traffic circuit. For example, supervisory
signaling between exchanges provides the busy, idle, or out-or-service status of circuits.

 " 
Line Speed is the maximum rate of transmission at which signals may be transmitted over a
given channel. It is usually measured in Baud or Bits per second.

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Line Turnaround is the time required to change data transmission direction on a telephone line.



Linear Distortion refers to, in the telecommunications system, the undesirable changes in the
amplitude of a transmitted signal due to imperfections in the transmission path.



Link-by-link Signaling is a signaling scheme, in which signaling messages are transmitted "one
link at a time" in a multi-link connection. The network performs processing at each intermediate
switching point for subsequent transmission. In the SS7 system, Link-by-link Signaling is the
procedure used to exchange signaling messages between two Signaling Points (SPs) that are
either directly connected to each other, or are connected via STPs (Signaling Transfer Point).

- 

"-

Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) is the process used in telecommunication to allow operators to
use the twisted pair telephone connections from the central offices of telephone exchange to the
customer premises. This local loop is owned by the incumbent local exchange carrier.

' 

 '


Local Number Portability(LNP) refers to the feature that was defined in the Telecommunications
Act of 1996 as the "ability of users of telecommunications services to retain, at the same
location, existing telecommunications numbers without impairment of quality, reliability, or
convenience when switching from one telecommunications carrier to another." The
Telecommunications Act mandates that all telecommunications service providers (wireline and
wireless) provide, to the extent technically feasible, number portability in accordance with the
requirements prescribed by the Commission.



Load refers to, in telecommunications system, a volume of traffic that equals the sum of the
holding times for a number of calls or attempts. Loads are normally measured in CCS or
ERLANGS. A statement of load is inherently an average of all of the instantaneous loads over a
basic time interval such as an hour.





 
Load Balancing generally refers to distributing processing and communications activity evenly
across a computer network so that no single device is overwhelmed. In routing, it means the
ability of a router to distribute traffic over all its network ports that are the same distance from
the destination address. Load balancing increases the utilization of computers and network
bandwidth. In Web services, load balancing scheme is also applied by employing two or more
Web servers. If one server starts to get swamped, requests are forwarded to another server with
more capacity.




Load Coil is an inductance coil installed at regular distances along a telecommunications
transmission line to improve the transmission characteristics of the line over the range of voice
frequencies. It's also called Loading Coil.


  
Loaded Lines is a transmission line that has had load coils installed in series with each
conductor, usually at definite spaced intervals. A common plan used in the U.S. is 88 millihenry
coils installed at 6000 foot intervals.


 


Local Access Mileage refers to a recurring charge rate element for dedicated (non-switched)
private lines that are based on mileage to the Central Office.



%


Local Channel is: (1) in LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) tariff, the local loop that connects
customer premises to serving LEC wire centers. (2) in tariff, the network components
(transmission, switching, etc.) used to connect customer premises to serving IXC POPs (Point Of
Presence).



*+ %
 "
Local Exchange Loop refers to the interconnection between customer premises equipment and
telephone central office



"
Local Loop is the line from the premises of a telephone subscriber to the telephone company CO.

0



Long-haul communications refer to the following meanings: (1) Pertaining to circuits that span
large distance, such as the circuits in interLATA, interstate, and international communications.
(2) communications among users on a national or worldwide basis in the military community.
Compared to tactical communication, Long-haul communications are characterized by higher
levels of users, such as the National Command Authority, or more stringent performance
requirements, such as higher quality circuits. etc.



7


Longitudinal voltage refers to a voltage in telecommunications system induced by or appearing
along the length of a transmission medium.

"
Loop, in telecommunications, is a pair of phone numbers, usually consecutive, like 836-9998 and
836-9999. They are used by the phone company for testing.

" %
Loop Length is a complete electrical circuit. In telecommunication, it typically refers to the pair
of wires that winds its way from the central office to the telephone set or system at the
customer's premises.

"



Loop Start Signaling, also known as loop signaling or loop start, is a method of signaling in
telephony where a DC closure is applied to a phone line (loop), and the start of DC current flow
indicates a change from on-hook to off-hook.

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&

 
Loop Transmission Facilities refer to telephony equipment that connects switching systems to
customer premises equipment throughout the serving area.
"
c
Loop-start Trunk, also called POTS line and plain-service line, is a two-wire central-office trunk
or dial-tone line that recognizes off-hook status when a telephone switch hook puts a 1000-ohm
short across the tip and ring as the handset is lifted.

1c
Low Tone is a generic tone used with various interruption patterns for the specific tones. Low
Tone is 4800 Hz and 620 Hz at -24 dBm0/frequency. On some systems manufactured before
1974, Low Tone was 600 Hz modulated at 120, 133, 140 or 160 Hz at 61-71 dBmc. The
following are a list of specific Low Tones: Line Bust Tone, Reorder, Reverting Tone, No Circuit
Tone, No Such Number, Vacant Code, Group Busy Tone, Deposit Coin Tone, Dial Off-Normal
Tone, Trouble Tone, Dial Jack Tone, Dial Test Signal, Class of Service.

1 '

% 
Low-density parity-check code is an error correcting code used in a method of transmitting
information over a noisy transmission path. Low density parity check (LDPC) codes were
introduced along with an iterative probability-based decoding algorithm by Gallager in the early
1960's. These codes were constructed using sparse random parity check matrices and showed
promising distance properties. However, they went largely unnoticed until the advent of turbo
codes, where they were ⼜rediscovered⼠by MacKay, who showed that they perform almost
as close to capacity as turbo codes. More recently, Richardson and Urbanke have developed
irregular LDPC codes that perform even better than turbo codes for very large block lengths
(n>10^5) and can come within 0.1 dB of the Shannon capacity.

' 
'   
Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) is a speech encoding scheme that uses periodic pulses to excite a
filter, similar to the way human voice is produced. The code is predictive in that it uses
knowledge of past data (represented as vectors) to predict future values in a feed forward
manner. It is a speech analysis technique as well as a method for encoding good quality speech at
a low bit rate. It provides accurate estimates of speech parameters, and is relatively efficient for
computation.

'& 1'
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Low-pass Filter (LPF) is a filter that low frequencies can be tranmited well and frequencies
higher than the cutoff frequency is attenuated or reduced. It's sometimes called a high-cut filter
for that reason.

$ 

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 % 
Longitudinal Redundancy Check (LRC) is an error checking method that generates a parity bit
from a specified string of bits on a longitudinal track. In a row and column format, such as on
magnetic tape, LRC is often used with VRC, which creates a parity bit for each character.

$$   

$ $
Loose Source and Record Route (LSRR) is an option that provides a means for the source of an
internet datagram to supply routing information to be used by the gateway in forwarding the
datagram to the destination, and to record the route information.
- 


-
Link Status Signal Unit (LSSU) is an SS7 message that carries one or two octets (8-bit bytes) of
link status information between signalling points at either end of a link. It is used to control link
alignment and to provide the status of a signalling point (such as a local processor outage) to the
remote signalling point.

c cc
 
LATA Tandem (LT) is a BOC (Bell-operating Company) switching system that provides an
intraLATA traffic concentration/distribution point for EO (End Office) switching systems or
other tandems within a LATA.

c 
c
Last Trunk Busy (LTB) refers to a measurement of the number of times the last trunk in a trunk
group was busy during measurement period.

c 
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Last Trunk CCS (LTCCS) refers to the load in CCS carried on the last trunk in a high usage
trunk group.

c*  c 

*5" 
Line Terminating Equipment (LTE) refers to a device in a telecommunication network system
that originate and /or terminate line signals. LTEs can originate, access, modify, or terminate the
transport overhead, or can perform any combination of these actions.

c

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'

 

  '


Management Plane(M Plane) refers to one of the three entities in the ATM reference model. The
M plane addresses the management functions of network elements such as switches for their
Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OA&M). The other two entities are user plane for
the actual data transmission and the control plane for signaling. The concept and model of user
plane, control plane and management plane have been extended to other telecommunication
technology groups beyond the ATM technology.

D' c'D' "  

"

MTP2 Peer-to-peer user Adaptation layer (M2PA), a protocol in the SIGTRAN protocol suite,
enables SS7 signaling messages over IP using Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP).
M2PA is intented to be used on a Peer-to-Peer basis and replace the functionality provided by a
traditional SS7 link. M2PA is for an OpenSS7 Network Device.

D- c'D- 
"


 
MTP2-User Adaptation layer (M2UA), a protocol in the SIGTRAN protocol suite, is for
backhauling of SS7 MTP2-User signaling messages over IP using Stream Control Transmission
Protocol (SCTP). M2UA is intended to be used on a Provider/User basis where MTP Level 2
resides on a Signalling Gateway (SG) and MTP Level 3 resides on an Application Server (AS). It
is not intended for peer-to-peer operation: that is, it is not intended to emulate a signalling link
between two SCTP endpoints

8- c'8- 
"


 
MTP3-User Adaptation layer (M3UA), a protocol in the SIGTRAN protocol suite, supports
transport of SS7 MTP3-User signaling over IP using Stream Control Transmission Protocol
(SCTP). M3UA is intented to be used on a Provider/User basis where MTP Level 3 resides on a
Signalling Gateway (SG) and MTP Users reside on an Application Server (AS).


&  
Main Feeder is the first facility cable coming from the central office. The feeder cable runs to
cross connect points in the network where the second facility cable feeds are connected.


'.
Main PBX refers to the initial PBX that interfaces with the public telephone network via central
office trunk lines.




$1
Manuel Ring-Down Line is a number of phones connected together by a pair of wires and a talk
battery.

' 
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'

The Mobile Application Part (MAP), one of the protocols in the SS7 suite, allows for the
implementation of the mobile network (GSM) signaling infrastructure. The premise behind MAP
is to connect the distributed switching elements, called mobile switching centers (MSCs), with a
master database, called the Home Location Register (HLR). The HLR dynamically stores the
current location and profile of a mobile network subscriber. The HLR is consulted during the
processing of an incoming call.

'( 
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 ' 
 (*c#0

Multiple Access Protocol over SONET/SDH (MAPOS) is a protocol extension to SONET/SDH
that has high performance, supports multiple access, broadcast and multicast transmission.
MAPOS is connection-less, like IP, with simple design and seamless interconnectivity for LAN
and WAN.


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"%
Marine Telephone is a radio telephone manufactured by Tellabs which the FCC gives certain
frequencies. The marine telephone is not cellular; It will broadcast further and with greater
power.


 
Master refers to the side in telecommunications that initiates and controls the session. The
"slave" refers to the other end (side) that responds to the master's commands.

+

$
 
Maximal-ratio Combiner is a diversity combiner in which: (a) the signals from each channel are
added together, (b) the gain of each channel is made proportional to the rms signal level and
inversely proportional to the mean square noise level in that channel, and (c) the same
proportionality constant is used for all channels.

- 
"!   -

Multipoint Conferencing Unit (MCU) is a device that menages a multipoint conference by
connecting the multiple sites and stations in the same videoconference. The MCU can be used in
conjunction with a Gateway to connect H.320 and H.324 videoconference end-points. The MCU
combines video, audio and data streams from multiple conference end-points into one multi-
location, interactive session.

- 
"
-

Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) refers to a device in a telecommunication system that establishes
conference calls between three or more people for converged voice, video and data conferences.
Often referred to as a bridge, an MCU can provide audio-only services or any combination of
audio, video and data, depending on the capabilities of each participant's terminal.

  
 
Mediation Device provides protocol translation and concentration of telemetry information
originating from multiple network elements and transport to an Operations Support System
(OSS).

 !
  
Modification Detection Code (MDC) is synonym for manipulation detection code that is a bit
string, in cryptosystems, that is a function of data to which it is attached for the purpose of
manipulation detection. The resulting message (data plus MDC) may then be encrypted to
achieve secrecy or data authentication. The function used to generate the MDC must be public.

 %


"

Mechanical Splice refers to an alternative fiber-optic splice packaged as a kit, which connects the
ends of fibers.

 
& 
Mediation function refers to a function in telecommunications network management, that routes
or acts on information passing between network elements and network operations such as
communication controls.

*$ 
+* 

$

Maximum Engineering Data Rate (MEDR) is a term primarily used by telephone companies to
refer to the maximum data throughput supportable over targeted copper wire. MEDR is actually
a theoretical measure of the amount of data throughput a line can handle, but does not
necessarily refer to the amount of data available to the customer at the end of said copper wiring.
The data throughput that can actually be presented to the end user is measured by AIDR or As Is
Data Rate.
  % 1
Mesochronous network is a kind of telecommunication network in which the clocks of all nodes
in the network run with the same frequency but unknown phases. Thus, all timing is exactly the
same (truly synchronous).

 !
 
Microfilter is a device that prevents data noice from traveling over the telephone line and
interfering with telephone calls. For example, a microfilter is a small device that plugs into the
normal BT telephone socket and splits the line into both a standard BT telephone socket and a
ADSL broadband socket. Failure to have a microfilter correctly installed on all BT socket you
use may result in interference (buzzing noises etc.) on your telephone and/or reduced
performance and possible loss of service on your broadband access. Also, in a burglar alarm that
uses the telephone line, it is important to use a microfilter to reduce noice in the phone line.

)  ) !
 
Medium Interface Connector (MIC) refers to the connector at the interface point between the bus
interface unit and the terminal, i.e., the medium interface point.

 
Micron is a unit of length measurement that is equal to 1/1000 of one millimeter or 1/25000 of an
inch. Cladding and core of fiber optics are measured with this unit.

"

Mid-Span is a telephone service wire which runs from a pole to a hook attached to a cable strand,
then to a house or building.

 
Mini Connector refers to a physical connector utilized for PC and telecommunication hardware-
interface applications.



" 
Modal Dispersion refers to the behavior of individual light rays taking different paths as they
travel down a fiber optic.




Modal Loss refers to the attenuation of a light signal as it moves through a fiber optic because of
tight bends.

 
Modem, a word constructed from modulator and demodulator, is a device or program that
enables a computer to transmit data over, for example, telephone or cable lines. Computer
information is stored digitally, whereas information transmitted over telephone lines is
transmitted in the form of analog waves. Modem translates information between analog and
digital world.



" 
Modular Adapter is a mechanism used to interconnect one wire/cable type to another, without
using termination blocks.



B

Modular Jack is a kind of jack or connector which is equipped with a plug so that devices can be
simply attached or detached.

( 
(" 
Mean Opinion Score (MOS) is a method of providing a numerical measure of the quality of
human speech at the destination end of the circuit typically in voice telecommunications
particularly internet telephony. The scheme uses subjective tests (opinionated scores) that are
mathematically averaged to obtain a quantitative indicator of the system performance.

c/  

 c / 
Minimum Scan Line Time (MSLT) Adjustment is an alternative to Scan Line Fix Up meant to
eliminate fax failures caused by an excessive number of received page errors because of data
loss. MSLT adjustment sets a minimum MSLT value that an ingress gateway communicates to a
sending fax machine. This value overrides an MSLT of lesser value that is supplied by a
receiving fax machine.

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Minimum Scan Line Time (MSLT) is the time set by the receiving fax machine and sent to the
sending machine during the initial handshaking. MSLT defines how much time the receiving
machine requires to print a single scan line.

 
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Multi-rate Symmetric DSL (MSDSL) refers to a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) with a maximum
distance of 8,800 m or 29,000 ft. It is capable of multiple transfer rates, as set by the internet
service provider, typically based on the service and/or price. The maximum speed in both
download and upload directions is 2 Mbit/s.

 
"
   

Multiple Subscriber Number (MSN) is an incoming call routing method in which a group of
phone numbers is assigned to a particular PRI ISDN line by the telephone company. A PRI
ISDN line is usually assigned multiple numbers in the US and in Europe.

( 
"
  (" 


Multi-Services Operator (MSO) is a service provider which provides multiple services such as
voice (mobile and fixed line), data and video. Very often, a cable service provider is a MSO.

( 
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 (" 


Multiple Systems Operator (MSO) is a term used to describe cable operators that own more than
one franchises.
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*5" 
Multiplex Section Terminating Equipment (MSTE) refers to the element that terminates a SDH
(Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) multiplex section.

-  
 

-
Message Signal Unit (MSU) is an SS7 signal unit that contains service information and signaling
information fields and is retransmitted by the signaling link control if it is received in error. The
value of a length indicator is always greater than 2.

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Maximum Time Interval Error (MTIE) is the maximum error for all possible measurement
intervals within the measurement period.

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Message Transfer Part (MTP), a protocol in the SS7/C7 protocol suite, transfers signal messages
and performs associated functions, such as error control and signaling link security. Message
Transfer Part (MTP) also provides reliable routing within a network. MTP has has three layers:
Layers 1 (physical), 2 (data), and 3 (network).

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Message Transfer Part Level 1 (MTP1), a SS7 physical layer unit, defines the physical,
electrical, and functional characteristics of the digital signaling link.

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Message Transfer Part Level 2 (MTP2) is the signalling protocol at the data link layer of SS7/C7
protocol suite. MTP2 provides error detection, sequence checking, and initiates retransmission in
case of erroneous reception of messages. MTP Level 2 uses packets called signal units to
transmit SS7 messages. There are three types of signal units: Fill-in Signal Unit (FISU), Link
Status Signal Unit (LSSU), Message Signal Unit (MSU).

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8
Message Transfer Part level 3 (MTP3) is the signalling protocol at the network layer of SS7/C7
protocol suite. MTP3 provides routing functionality to transport signaling messages through the
SS7 network to the requested endpoint. Each network element in the SS7 network has a unique
address, the Signaling Point Code (SPC). Message routing is performed according to this
address.

c  
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Message Telecommunications Service (MTS) is a non-private-line intrastate and interstate long-
distance service that uses, in whole or in part, the PSTN (public switched telephone network).

c  
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Message Toll Service (MTS) is switched service, also called message service, furnished to the
general public (as distinguished from private line service). This includes exchange switched
services and all switched services provided by inter-exchange carriers and completed by a local
telephone company's access services.

1 GH

1
Mu-Law(Î -law) is the standard codec (compression/decompression) algorithm for pulse code
modulation (PCM) from the CCITT (Consultative Committee for International Telephone and
Telegraph). A companding (compression/expanding) method, mud-Law makes it possible to
improve the signal-to-noise ratio without requiring the addition of more data. Mu-Law, as a term,
was derived from Î -Law, because the Greek letter Î is pronounced myoo. The term is
sometimes seen as u-Law, although the pronunciation remains the same. Mu-Law is used in the
United States and Japan. The other type of codec algorithm, A-Law, is the standard used in
Europe and elsewhere.


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" 
Multichannel multipoint distribution service is a broadcasting and communications service that
operates in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) portion of the radio spectrum between 2.1 and 2.7
GHz. Multichannel multipoint distribution service is also known as wireless cable. It was
conceived as a substitute for conventional cable television (TV). However, it also has
applications in telephone/fax and data communications.


! 5  


Multifrequency Signaling is an in-band signaling method that uses multi-tone signals to represent
the signaling traffic. A Multifrequency Signaling contains two or more frequencies out of an "n"
pre-determined frequency set. Multifrequency Signaling is also called Multifrequency Code
Signaling .




'   
' "
Multilevel precedence and preemption is a feature or service of telephone system that allows
properly validated users to place priority calls. If necessary, users can preempt lower-priority
phone calls. Precedence designates the priority level that is associated with a call. Preemption
designates the process of terminating lower-precedence calls that are currently using the target
device, so a call of higher precedence can be extended to or through the device. An authenticated
user can preempt calls either to targeted stations or through fully subscribed time division
multiplexing (TDM) trunks. This capability assures high-ranking personnel of communication to
critical organizations and personnel during network stress situations, such as a national
emergency or degraded network situations.


 


Multi-level Signal refers to a digital signal which has (2N+1) voltage levels (e.g., +Nv, +(N-1)v,
+(N-2)v,⠦.,+1v, 0v, -1v, ⠦⠦-(N-1)v, and -Nv).



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Multiline Telephone is a telephone that incorporates visual displays and switches (keys) that
permit the station user to access more than one central office or other line and to perform other
desired functions. Typical functions include answering or originating a call on a selected line,
putting a call on hold, operating an intercom feature, a buzzer, etc. Displays can indicate busy,
ringing and message waiting status.

 

Multimedia refers to communication applications that use graphics, video, and audio in addition
to text.


"
 
Multiple access refers to the following definitions: (1) The connection of a user to two or more
switching centers by separate access lines using a single message routing indicator or telephone
number. (2) In satellite communications, the capability of a communications satellite to function
as a portion of a communications link between more than one pair of satellite terminals
concurrently. (3) in computer networking, a scheme that allows temporary access to the network
by individual users, on a demand basis, for the purpose of transmitting information.


"
0

Multiple homing refers to the following definitions: (1) In telephone systems, the connection of a
terminal facility which may use a single directory number so that it can be served by one or
several switching centers. (2) In telephone systems, the connection of a terminal facility to more
than one switching center by separate access lines. Separate directory numbers are applicable to
each switching center accessed.


"
+ 
A multiplexer, also known as mux or muldex, is a device that encodes information from two or
more data sources (usually a power of two) into a single channel. The multiplexer has a single
output, which has the same value as the selected data input. They are used in situations where the
cost of implementing separate channels for each data source is more expensive than the cost and
inconvenience of providing the multiplexing/demultiplexing functions.


"
+

Multiplexing is a technique of combining multiple channels over a transmission path and then
recovering or de-multiplexing the separate channels at the receiving end. Using multiplexing,
multiple logical signals can be transmitted simultaneously across a single physical channel. The
multiplexing process may following one of the principles such as TDM, FDM, CDM, or WDM,
etc. Multiplexing may take placing in software, where multiple threads of information streams
are delivered to a device or process at the same time.


"7  !  

Multipoint Videoconference is one of the videoconference with more that two sites. The sites
must connect via a video bridge.



Must-Carry is a US cable regulation, also called Must-Carry rules. Must-Carry mandate that
cable companies carry various local and public television stations within a cable provider's
service area. It originated in 1972 and designed to insure that local television stations did not lose
market share with increased competition from cable networks competing for a limited number of
cable channels, must-carry rules have, over time, been ruled unconstitutional and gone through
numerous changes.
7 
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7


Multiple Virtual Line (MVL), a technology pioneered by Paradyne, enables service provider a
quick and easy way to offer multiple services over phone lines. It's low power, 768 kb/s
symmetrical data rate and bandwidth utilization technique make it a variation of DSL technology
at its most basic level. A low power DSL alternative, Multiple Virtual Line works over twisted
copper pair, requires a one-to-one modem connection and supports voice and data transmissions
simultaneously. But Multiple Virtual Line technology is unique in several ways. For one, it
works over untwisted copper pair. That eliminates installation problems at customer locations
with unpredictable wiring configurations, and helps service providers reach a wider scope of
subscribers.

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  +



 
Next Available Agent (NAA) is a scheme for selecting an agent to handle a call. The strategy
seeks to maintain an equal load across skill groups or services.


 



Naked Call refers to an incoming call that receives no greeting message and no call
menus/flexible routing before it is routed into an ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) queues.


 
Naked DSL is a digital subscriber line without a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)
service. In other words, only a standalone DSL internet service is provided on the local loop. In
regular DSL, a wire runs from the telephone switch to a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service)
splitter. The POTS splitter separates the DSL and voice bands and then a wire carrying both
services runs from the splitter to the cable head, where it continues on to the customer on an
outside plant. But Naked DSL the portion of cable from the switch to the POTS splitter is
removed, therefore removing dial tone from the line.

' % 
 '


North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is the North American telephone number arrangement
or the process for assigning 10-digit (3+3+4) North American telephone numbers, NPA-NXX-
XXXX. NPA is the Area Codes, NXX is the Exchanges and XXXX is the Line Numbers.




 &
National Access Fee is a Federal tax placed upon telecommunication services provided by
telephone companies.




)!
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National Information Infrastructure is the foundation that supports the Information
Superhighway by setting national standards that make networks and appliances compatible.
c('%  
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NATO phonetic alphabet is a common name for the international radiotelephony spelling
alphabet which assigns code words to the letters of the English alphabet so that critical
combinations of letters (and numbers) can be pronounced and understood by those who transmit
and receive voice messages by radio or telephone regardless of their native language, especially
when the safety of navigation or persons is essential. It is used by many national and
international organizations. It is a subset of the much older International Code of Signals
(INTERCO), which originally included visual signals by flags or flashing light, sound signals by
whistle, siren, foghorn, or bell, as well as one, two, or three letter codes for many phrases. The
same alphabetic code words are used by all agencies, but each agency chooses one of two
different sets of numeric code words. NATO uses the normal English numeric words (Zero, One,
with some alternative pronunciations), whereas the IMO uses compound numeric words
(Nadazero, Unaone). The name NATO phonetic alphabet became widespread because the signals
used to facilitate the naval communications and tactics of the United States and NATO have
become global.

 


 
 


Non-Call Associated Signaling (NCAS) is a signaling that is independent of an end-to-end bearer
connection, including support for the functions of registration, authentication, and validation

'  1
'

Network Control Point (NCP) may have different meanings depending on the context. 1) In IBM
SNA, it refers to a host-generated network control program ( ran on an IBM 3704, 3705 or 3745)
that controls the operation of a communications controller. 2) In Virtual Private Network (VPN),
it is a centralized database that stores a subscriber's unique VPN definition. Highly sophisticated,
this database screens every call and applies call processing control in accordance with customer-
defined requirements. 3) Within the AT&T signaling network, NCP is the process that sends
routing requests to a Customer Routing Point (CRP).

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Network Control and Timing (NCT) is a control link between a switching module (SM) and the
communications module (CM) in a Lucent 5ESS switching system.

* 
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"NEBS Level 1", the lowest level of NEBS standard developed by Bell Labs for RBOC central
office equipment, addresses the personnel and equipment safety requirements of GR-63-CORE
and GR-1089-CORE. This is useful for getting prototypes into a lab trial. It's also a requirement
that is imposed on Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) in order for them to deploy
equipment into an RBOC's network.

* 
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"NEBS Level 2", the second level of NEBS standard developed by Bell Labs for RBOC central
office equipment, addresses equipment operability, but in a controlled environment. For
example, equipment could be used in a data center, however, if the equipment performs non-
critical operations it could be used under environmental extremes. Note that this level is very
rarely used because it is ambiguous.
* 
8
"NEBS Level 3", the highest level of NEBS standard developed by Bell Labs for RBOC central
office equipment, means the equipment is ready to be installed in the carier class operational
network for the long haul. The equipment will operate under the environmental extremes found
in a central office. In a nutshell, the equipment meets all of the requirements of GR-63-CORE
and GR-1089-CORE.

*  1*5" 
 

Network Equipment Building Systems (NEBS) is the Bellcore requirement for equipment
deployed in a central office environment of PSTN in North America. NEBS covers spatial,
hardware, crafts person interface, thermal, fire resistance, handling and transportation,
earthquake and vibration, airborne contaminants, grounding, acoustical noise, illumination,
EMC, and ESD requirements.

 
 
1
  %

 
Negative-acknowledge character is a transmission control character sent by a station as a
negative response to the station with which the connection has been set up.

 1  
Network convergence refers to using packet network to conduct voice (telephony), video and
data services, and phasing out the traditional circuit switched PSTN (Public-Switched Telephone
Network) gradually. The migration process from two separate data and voice to finally a
complete converged packet network carrying both voice and data services may take decades to
finish. The driving forces behind such migration are cost saving, operation efficiency and new
services deployment.

 1*
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Network Element Function Block is a functional block that communicates with a
telecommunications management network (TMN) for the purpose of being monitored, or
controlled, or both.

 1)

Network Indicator (NI) is the Sub-Service Field in the Signalling Information Octet (SIO) of the
message signal unit that permits discrimination between national and international messages,
when NI is: 0 = international, 1 = reserved, 2= national, and 3 = national spare.

 1

    
Network Management Center is the location where large or public telephone networks are
supervised, monitored and preserved.

 1  
Network Services, in a telecommunication network, are specified sets of information transfer
capabilities furnished to users between telecommunications network points of termination.
Network services categories include access and transport, public and private, and switched and
non-switched.
*.c 
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Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT) is an error condition that can occur when connectors are attached to
twisted pair cabling. NEXT is usually caused by crossed or crushed wire pairs. The error
condition does not require that the wires be crushed so much that the conductors inside become
exposed. Two conductors only need to be close enough so that the radiating signal from one of
the wires can interfere with the signal traveling on the other. Most medium- to high-end cable
testers are capable of testing for NEXT errors.

  +  
 1
Next Generation Network (NGN) is a broad term for an integrated network that will offer voice,
data, video services over both wireline and wireless infrastructure. The technologies required for
the NGN is evolving.

% 
Night Service is an telecommunication element that allows the lines ringing into a company to be
handled differently during specific times of the day.

) 
1
)
Narrowband ISDN (N-ISDN) is the communication standards developed by the ITU-T for
baseband networks. N-ISDN is based on 64-kbps B channels and 16- or 64-kbps D channels.

.
NNX refers to the first three numbers used in a North American local telephone number (NNX-
NXX-XXXX) before the use of "1" in direct distance dialing. These numbers are now designated
as NXX, allowing local central offices to have numbers that look like area codes.

 % c
The No Such Number Tone is one of the audible tones in telephone system. It tells the calling
party to hang up, check the called number, and dial again. In modern systems, calls to unassigned
or discontinued numbers will also be routed to a machine announcement system, such as 6A or
7A, which verbally supplies the required message. In some older offices, you could be routed to
an intercepting operator. In some offices, reorder tone is returned in this condition..

1 c
! 
No-Answer Transfer is a telecommunication service feature (provided by some cellular carriers
in combination with call-waiting) that automatically transfers an incoming cellular call to another
phone number if the cellular subscriber is unable to answer.

 
Noise-Like is a distortion or unwanted signal that usually is electromagnetic interference or
ambient noise.

 
  


Non-associated Mode Signaling is one of many signaling schemes. In Non-associated Mode
Signaling, signaling messages involving two non-adjacent signaling points are conveyed
(between those signaling points) over two or more signaling links in tandem that passes through
one or more STPs (Signaling Transfer Part).

1 % 
Non-Switched Line refers to: 1. a connection between computers or devices that do not have to
be established by dialing. 2. a dedicated line.

'$

NPA Routing refers to the routing of calls based on the originating ANI (Automatic Number
Identification) NPA (area code).

'"

NPA Split refers to the telephone numbering scheme that subdivides an area code, with the
creation of a new area code. This is necessary when the number of telephones in an area code
(NPA) grows to an excessive number.

'  '



Numbering Plan Area (NPA) refers to North American "Area Codes." It is the first 3 digits of a
phone number: 2-to-9, 0-to-9, 0-to-9.

'..$

NPA-NXX Routing refers to Area Code / Exchange Routing. Route calls are based on the
originating ANI NPA-NXX.

$9 $ 9 

Non-Return-to-Zero (NRZ) is a binary code in telecommunication system, in which "1s" are
represented by one significant condition and "0s" are represented by another, with no neutral or
rest condition, such as a zero amplitude in pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), zero phase shift
in phase-shift keying (PSK), or mid-frequency in frequency-shift keying (FSK). The pulse has
more energy than a RZ (Return-to-Zero) code, but it does not have arrest state, which means a
synchronization signal must also be sent alongside the code.

$9)  9 )  

Nonreturn to Zero Inverted (NRZI) is the signal that maintains constant voltage levels with no
signal transitions (no return to a zero-voltage level) but interpret the presence of data at the
beginning of a bit interval as a signal transition and the absence of data as no transition.

#*'c


NS/EP telecommunications, short for National Security or Emergency Preparedness
telecommunications of the US, are the tlecommunications services that are used to maintain a
state readiness or to respond to and manage any event or crisis (it could be local, national, or
even international) that causes or could cause injury or harm to the population, damage to or loss
of property, or degrade or threaten the national security or emergency preparedness posture of
the United States. NS/EP telecommunications in the United States are managed and controlled
by the National Communications System using Telecommunications Service Priority through
both the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service and Wireless Priority Service.
')  1   ') ! 
Network Service Access Point Identifier (NSAPI) is an index to the PDP (Packet Data Protocol)
context that is using the services provided by the lower layer (SNDCP (Sub Network Dependent
Convergence Protocol)). One PDP may have several PDP contexts and Network Service Access
Point Identifiers.

'  1  ' 

Network Service Provider(NSP) is a company which provides telecommunication services with
their own or leased equipment.

c?  1c 

?
Network Termination 1 (NT-1) is a device based on ISDN that provides the interface between
customer premise equipment and central office switching equipment.



 
Null modem is a communication method to connect two DTEs (computer, terminal, printer etc.)
directly using a RS-232 serial cable. The original RS-232 standard only defined the connection
of DTEs with DCEs i.e. modems. With a null modem connection the transmit and receive lines
are crosslinked. Depending on the purpose, sometimes also one or more handshake lines are
crosslinked. Several wiring layouts are in use because the null modem connection is not covered
by a standard. Null modems are commonly used for file transfer between computers, or remote
operation.

 % c
Number Checking Tone is a steady High Tone. It is sometimes used at DSA switchboards in No.
1 crossbar and some step-by-step areas to verify the verbal identification of the calling line. On
some older systems, Number Checking Tone was a steady 135 Hz tone.

..
NXX refers to Exchanges in North American telephone numbering scheme that is the first 3
digits of a 7-digit phone number (2-to-9, 0-to-9, 0-to-9) and digits 4, 5 and 6 in a 10 digit NANP
(North American Numbering Plan) telephone number - NPA-NXX-XXXX.

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I

1 
1
ȝ-law(Mu-Law) is the standard codec (compression/decompression) algorithm for pulse code
modulation (PCM) from the CCITT (Consultative Committee for International Telephone and
Telegraph). A companding (compression/expanding) method, mud-Law makes it possible to
improve the signal-to-noise ratio without requiring the addition of more data. Mu-Law, as a term,
was derived from ȝ-Law, because the Greek letter µ is pronounced myoo. The term is sometimes
seen as u-Law, although the pronunciation remains the same. Mu-Law is used in the United
States and Japan. The other type of codec algorithm, A-Law, is the standard used in Europe and
elsewhere.
??@ 
114 is the directory assistance service number in China. It is similar to the 411 service in the
United States.

??F 
119 is the official national emergency number in China. It is similar to the 911 service in the US.

??C
 
110 Block is a punch-down block used to connect wiring for telephone systems, data network
wiring, and other low-voltage wiring applications. The 110 Block improves on the 66 Block by
supporting higher frequencies and using space more efficiently.

?
1A is the first generation of standardized key telephony system developed and used by former
AT&T.

?*
1A-ESS refers to the Electronic Switching System of former AT&T that uses 1A processor. The
1A processor uses stored programs, and operates in a real time environment.

?'
1PSS refers to the Packet Switching System of former AT&T using X.25 protocol.

DACC 
2500 Set refers to the single line desk telephone set using touchtone pad.

DJ
2B+D is a simple way to say ISDN's Basic Rate Interface. 2B means two bearer channels and D
refers to one data channel.

D?4 D
?4
 

2 Binary 1 Quaternary (2B1Q) is a full duplex physical layer encoding method used in ISDN
and other digital communication technologies. In 2B1Q, two binary bits are encoded into one
quaternary signal, doubling the effectiveness of transmission.

D7 D

7 

 



2-level Vestigial SideBand modulation (2VSB) is a type of modulation that is capable of
transmitting one bit at a time.

D1 &


2-wire Facility refers to a telecommunication facility or equipment which supports transmission
in two directions simultaneously. An ordinary telephone set is an example of 2-wire Facility.

@?? 
411 service is for local directory assistance in the United States and Canada. In recent years, 4-1-
1 has been used for long distance directory assistance in most areas of the United States.
@#8c
4B/3T, also known as MMS43 code, is a type of line encoding method for ternary block
encoding of binary signals, where four binary elements (binary block 4B) are represented as
three ternary elements (ternary block 3T). 4B/3T encoding uses a matrix that maps each of the 16
bit patterns to 4 bits of the ternary signals. Four different ternary sequences are mapped to each 4
bit word. This encoding method is used by the ISDN Basic Rate Interface as a transmission
method. 4B/3T encoding is also used in the exchange area between the ISDN exchange and the
network terminator. The ternary representation of the data stream supports data rates of 160
kbit/s at a clock speed of 120 kbit/s. This allows for a maximum distance of 8 km between the
network terminator and the ISDN exchange.

@*1 %
4ESS Switch is the world¼Œs first digital electronic switch developed by Lucent Technologies
(formerly AT&T). The first 4ESS Switch was installed in 1976 in Chicago. 4ESS was mainly
used in toll offices in the former AT&T PSTN.

@1 &


4-wire Facility refers to a telecommunication facility or equipment which uses separate wiring
for transmitting and receiving data. This means the transmission can only be carried in one
direction. A lightwave carrier system is a four-wire Facility.

@22 &2

%2
 
"
+
Four-Wavelength Wave Division Multiplexing (4WL-WDM) is type of multiplexing
introduced in 1996 by MCI Communications Corp, also known as Quad-WDM. It allows a
single fiber to accommodate four light signals instead of one, by routing them at different
wavelengths through the use of narrow-band wave division multiplexing equipment.

ACC 
500 Service refers to the telephone service as 1-500-xxx-xxxx. The 500 in the dialing code 1-
500-xxx-xxxx is a non-geographic area code. It is designed specifically for Personal
Communication services (PCS). 500 Service provides for Follow-Me service by allowing you to
specify which telephone facility you want the incoming call to be routed to depending where you
are and some other criteria of your choice.

ACC 
500 Set is the old rotary telephone set. 500 Set was the standard desk-top style telephone set used
by former AT&T in North America from the late 1940s through the divestiture of AT&T in
1984. There are many of such phones still in use today and supported by telephone systems.

AC'c

50-Pin Telco, also known as RJ21, is a connector very common in 10BASE-T wiring. As
opposed to the RJ45 connector, the 50-pin Telco connector concentrates up to 12 UTP
connections onto one connection. This concentration of UTP ports is then broken out for
connection to a punch-down block inside a building's wiring closet. 50-pin Telco connections
provide a very clean, uncluttered interface to the building's wiring. 50-Pin Telco is used to attach
25 pairs of telephone wires. It is also used for SCSI-1 connections and is the 50-pin version of
the widely-used centronics connector found on the back of PC printers.

A:"
56 kbps is short for 56 kilobits per second. It is the data capacity of a normal single channel
digital telephone channel in North AmericaE

A:6" 
56 Kbps Modem is also known as V.pcm Modem. It uses v.90, an ITU standard (1998) for a
modem that communicates at 56 Kbps downstream and 33.6 Kbps upstream. It is intended for
use only with ISPs and online services that are digitally attached to the telephone system. Most
service providers are typically connected with high-speed digital T1 or T3 circuits.
In practice, the downstream link isn't generally faster than 45 Kbps in these PCM modems, so
called because they use pulse code modulation downstream and standard V.34 upstream.
Initially, two incompatible technologies competed in this arena: x2 from U.S. Robotics and
K56Flex from Rockwell and Lucent. Such modems can be upgraded to V.90 if they contain
software-upgradable memory chips

A*1 %
5ESS Switch is a telephone switching system first introduced in 1982 by Lucent Technologies (
formerly AT&T). It has evolved into a truly universal digital switch that meets all the
telecommunications needs of the modern information age. Its versatility, flexibility, reliability,
quality of service, and economic benefits are a direct result of using state-of-art designs and
technologies for the system's hardware and software implementation. 5ESS has a wide variety of
applications. It can serve as a local, toll or international gateway exchange, or a combination of
these functions. It provides the following major applications: Local exchange, tandem exchange,
Toll or transit exchange, Operator Services Position System (OSPS), Signal Transfer Point (STP)
for a common channel signaling system, International gateway exchange, Wireless (cellular)
switch (Mobile Switching Center/Mobile Telephone Switching Office; MSC/MTSO), Remote
(switching) operations.

A*DCCC
5ESS-2000 is an improved version of the original 5ESS switching developed by Lucent
Technologies (former AT&T). It is one of the most common switches used in the North
American digital networks. It can be used for wireline and wireless network applications. 5ESS-
2000 switching platform utilizes a common software and distributed hardware architecture
simultaneously supporting both wireless and wireline applications. There are three sizes of
5ESS-2000 available: 1. Large switches called 5ESS-2000 Digital Cellular Switch (DCS). 2.
Compact switch called 5ESS-2000 Compact Digital eXchange (CDX). 3. Very Compact Switch
called 5ESS-2000 Very Compact Digital eXchange (VCDX).

:@6"
64 Kbps is short for 64K bits per second. This is the standard speed for a phone line.

::
 
66 Block is a widely-used common type of connecting terminal board for terminating twisted-
pair cables. The 66 Block is designed for telephone systems, PBX systems and other low-speed
or low-voltage terminal equipment.

::"  
 

66-type Connecting Block is the connecting block used to terminating twisted-pair cables. All
the wires have to be cut manually with a special tool to connect to the terminating telephone
equipment or to make connections between them.

::"  

66-type Cross Connect is a cross connect system using 66-type connecting blocks and jumper
wires. This is the most common cross connect systems in telephone system in North America.

3CC 
700 Service refers to a telephone service that uses dialing plan pattern 1-700-xxx-xxxx. The 700
is a non-geographic area code which reserved just for the provisioning of special Inter-Exchange
Carrier services. The 700 service was once deployed by former AT&T in the form of easy reach
that allows your incoming calls to follow you in the same way as would 500 Service. 700 Service
were also used for many different purposes and it is still evolving as the result of change of
telecommunication regulations. Currently, it is commonly used in both voice and data VPNs
(Virtual Private Networks).

3?? 
711 refers to the Services Code on a nationwide basis (US) for accessing Telecommunications
Relay Access (TRS).

;CC'


800 Portability refers to a requirement in the 800 service that allows customers to keep their 800
number with them when move to any other long distance carriers (service providers). As part of
its efforts to promote competition, in 1991, the FCC endorsed the idea of phone number
portability.

;CC 
800 Service generally refers to the toll free services including 800, 888, 877, 866 number
services that former AT&T, MCI, Sprint and the Bell operating companies used for so called IN-
WATS service. Those 800, 888, 877, 866 numbers in the dialing plan are served as "area code"
by analogy with normal telephone dialing plan. Dialing of 800 service is free to the person
making the call. However the call is billed to the person or company being called. 800 calls can
terminate on any telephone or cell phone with their own normal telephone numbers. This is a
way to charge the called parties who have their own "normal" phone number and subscribe to the
800 service so that the calling party can be free of charge. This 800 service is basically a
database lookup and translation service for incoming phone calls. The 800 service works like
this: If a 800 number dialed, which means a 1-800 plus seven digits, the LEC (Local Exchange
Carrier, i.e. the local phone company) central office sees the "1" and recognizes the call as long
distance. It ships that call to a next level or a bigger central office depending on where the
routing information is stored. The processing central office recognizes the 800 "area code" and
examines the next seven digits. At this point, the LEC switch holds the call, while it queries a
centralized database, usually over a SS7 (Signaling System 7) link. That centralized database
identified the LEX or IXC (Inter Exchange Carrier) providing the 800 number, as well as
translating the 800 number into a "real telephone number". Based on that "real telephone
number", the LEC switch will then route the call to the proper IXC (long distance company).
Once the long distance company has the 800 call, there are many way it can send the call to the
the phone it's intended for.

;CC7

!
+ 
800 Valuflex Service is a service provided by former Nynex (NYNEX Corporation was acquired
by Bell Atlantic Corporation (BNTR) on 8/14/1997). This service allows customer to make and
receive regular phone calls and 800 number calls from local areas on their normal business
phone lines. This allows customers to combine the regular business phone line (usually have
regular non-800 phone number) with 800 number service to the same business phone without
adding additional phone line. In the meantime, the 800 number calls can also share all the call
features that the normal business phone line would have without subscribing them separately.

;33 
877 Service is a toll-free service, the same as 888 and 800 services. 877 was introduced by
NANP (North American Numbering Plan) in April 1998 as the result of running out of 888
numbers.

;;; 
888 Service is the toll-free service, the same as the 800 services. It was introduced by NANP
(North American Numbering Plan) in April 1996 to include 888 numbers as part of the toll-free
service.

;?C&
8B10BLF is short for 8-Byte/10-Byte Local Fiber. It refers to a multimode fiber optic channel
that can support data rates up to 150mpbs.

FCC 
900 service, also called a pay-per-call service, permits callers to place calls to 1-900 prefixed
telephone numbers and connect to a program delivered by a third party called a 900 content
provider. This is a tariffed network service provided by certain telephone companies to 900
content providers. Those program include live and pre-recorded services such as adult chat lines,
vote casting, psychic consultations, horoscopes, games, donations processing, weather forecasts,
translation, and medical, legal or government services, etc.

FCAFD;0>
905-928 MHz is a frequency spectrum band segment that is mostly and commonly used by
cordless phones (so called 900 MHz phone).

F?? 
911 is the official national emergency number in the United States and Canada. Dialing 911
quickly connects caller to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) dispatcher trained to route
your call to local emergency medical, fire, and law enforcement agencies. The 911 network is a
vital part of emergency response and disaster preparedness system.

FA; 
958 number is testing prefix number in the dialing plan structure NPA-NXX-XXXX where NPA
stands for the area code and NXX stands for the Prefix. This means that the prefix number 958 is
reserved only for testing purpose and will not be available for customers. 958 numbers (NPA-
958-XXXX) are reserved for general testing, while 959 numbers (NPA-959-XXXX) are reserved
for inter-exchange carrier testing.

FAF 
959 number, similar to 958, is the prefix number (NPA-959-XXXX) reserved for inter-exchange
carrier testing. The only way to reach a 959 numbers is being pre-subscribed to that inter-
exchange carrier or using an access code 101xxxx as in dialing plan 101xxxx-1-NPA-959-
XXXX.

F3: 
976 service, similar to 900 service, allows customers to place calls to 1-976 prefixed telephone
numbers and connect to a pay-per-call program delivered by a third party. Rules of 976 is not
exactly the same as for 900.

FFF 
999 service is the phone number for emerfency services in Great Britain, which is equivalent to
the 911 service in the US.

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(
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<


 

Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OA&M) is a group of management functions that
provides system or network fault indication, performance monitoring, security management and
diagnostic functions. Some systems require extensive end user provisioning functions, in this
case, it is called Operation, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning (OAM&P).

( ("

"
"
+ 
Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer (OADM) is an optical multiplexing device used in wavelength-
division multiplexing (WDM) systems for mixing and routing different channels of light into or
out of a single mode fiber. It has the capability of adding one or more new wavelength channels
to an existing muli-wavelength WDM signal, or removing (dropping) one or more channels,
routing those signals to another network path.

(' (" 
<
<
 
 
'
Operation, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning (OAM&P) refers to a group of
management funcions that provides system or network fault indication, performance monitoring,
security management, diagnostic functions, configuration and user provisioning. Operations
include coordinates actions between administration, maintenance, and provisioning.
Administration includes designing the network, processing orders, assigning addresses, tracking
usage, and accounting. Maintenance includes diagnosing and repairing problems that does not
work as planned. Provisioning includes installing equipmet, setting parameters, verifying that the
service is operational, updating, and de-installation.

( (!


Out-of-Band Control (OBC) refers to the standard method of issuing signaling commands on the
special control channel, versus In-Band Control (IBC), on the in-band data channel.

( ("


 
Optical Carrier (OC) is a group of signal bandwidth in a SONET fiber optic network with many
defined levels. It is typically denoted as OC-n, where n is the multiplexing factor of the basic rate
of 51.8 Mbit/s. The current defined levels are:
OC-1 - 51.8 Mbit/s
OC-3 - 155.52 Mbit/s
OC-12 - 622.08 Mbit/s
OC-24 - 1.244 Gbit/s
OC-48 - 2.488 Gbit/s
OC-96 - 4.976 Gbit/s
OC-192 - 9.953 Gbit/s
OC-256 - about 13 Gbit/s
OC-384 - about 20 Gbit/s
OC-768 - about 40 Gbit/s
OC-1536 - about 80 Gbit/s
OC-3072 - about 160 Gbit/s

(? ("


 (
Optical Carrier One (OC1 or OC-1) is a SONET line with a transmission speed of 51.84 Mbit/s
(payload: 50.112 Mbit/s; overhead: 1.728 Mbit/s) using optical fiber. OC-1 is the basic rate for
the SONET optical fiber lines and the other rate levels of SONET are multipled based on the
OC-1 speed. OC-1 is equivalent to STS-1 (Electrical level) and STM-0 (SDH).

(?D ("


 ?D
Optical Carrier 12 (OC12 or OC-12) is a fiber optic network line with a SONET rate of 622.08
Mbit/s (payload: 601.344 Mbit/s; overhead: 20.736 Mbit/s) or 12 times the basic SONET signal
transmitting rate of 51.84 Mbit/s (OC-1). OC-12 lines are commonly used by Service Providers
as WAN connections. This connection speed is often used by mid-sized (below Tier 2) internet
customers, such as web hosting companies or smaller ISPs buying service from larger ones. OC-
12 is equivalent to STS-12 (Electrical level) and STM-4 (SDH).

( (% 
 
Other Common Carrier (OCC) refers to telecommunications carriers in the US who were not part
of the former original AT&T system.
(?FD ("


 ?FD
Optical Carrier 192 (OC192 or OC-192) is a SONET rate of 9953.28 Mbit/s (payload: 9621.504
Mbit/s; overhead: 331.776 Mbit/s) over optic fiber lines, or 192 times the basic 51.84 Mbit/s
SONET signal (OC-1). The WAN version of 10 Gigabit Ethernet is designed to interoperate with
OC-192. As of 2006, OC-192 connections are the most common for use on the backbones of
large ISPs. OC-192 is equivalent to STS-192 (Electrical level) and STM-64 (SDH).

(8 ("


 8
Optical Carrier 3 (OC3 or OC-3) is a optic fiber line using SONET with a transmission speed of
155.52 Mbit/s (payload: 150.336 Mbit/s; overhead: 5.184 Mbit/s), or 3 times the basic 51.84
Mbit/s SONET signal (OC-1). OC-3 is equivalent to STS-3 (Electrical level)and STM-1 (SDH).

(@; ("


 @;
Optical Carrier 48 (OC48 or OC-48) is a fiber optic line with a SONET rate of 2488.32 Mbit/s
(payload: 2405.376 Mbit/s; overhead: 82.944 Mbit/s) or 48 times the basic SONET signal
transmitting at 51.84 Mbit/s. OC-48 connections are used as the backbones of many regional
ISPs. OC-1 is equivalent to STS-48 (Electrical level) and STM-16 (SDH).

(3:; ("


 3:;
Optical Carrier 768 (OC768 or OC-768) is a fiber optic line with a SONET rate of 39,813.12
Mbit/s (payload: 38,486.016 Mbit/s; overhead: 1327.104 Mbit/s), or 768 times the basic SONET
rate of 51.84 Mbit/s (OC-1). It's often referred to as "40 Gbit". OC-768 is equivalent to STS-768
(Electrical level) and STM-256 (SDH).

(F: ("


 F:
Optical Carrier 96 (OC96 or OC-96) is a fiber optic line with a SONET rate of 4976 Mbit/s, or
96 times the basic SONET rate of 51.84 Mbit/s (OC-1). It's not used much in the real world.

( (% 
 
Other Common Carrier (OCC) refers to telecommunications carriers in the US who were not part
of the former original AT&T system.

( ("


 


Optical Carrier Level n (OC-n) is a group of signal bandwidth in a SONET fiber optic network
with many defined levels, where n is the multiplexing factor of the basic rate of 51.8 Mbit/s. The
current defined levels are:
OC-1 - 51.8 Mbit/s
OC-3 - 155.52 Mbit/s
OC-12 - 622.08 Mbit/s
OC-24 - 1.244 Gbit/s
OC-48 - 2.488 Gbit/s
OC-96 - 4.976 Gbit/s
OC-192 - 9.953 Gbit/s
OC-256 - about 13 Gbit/s
OC-384 - about 20 Gbit/s
OC-768 - about 40 Gbit/s
OC-1536 - about 80 Gbit/s
OC-3072 - about 160 Gbit/s

('

Odd Parity, one of the parity processes, means that the total numbers of ones in the information
data stream plus the parity bit (typically appended to the end of the data bitstream) is equal to an
odd number of ones.

(!!  

Offered Load is the total traffic load, including load that results from retries, submitted to a
telecommunications system, group of servers, or the network over a circuit.

(!!  c
!!
Offered Traffic is a measurement in telecommunications that stands for the total attempts to seize
a group of servers.

(!!0
Off-hook refers to the following meanings in telecommunications: (1) the signal that the
telephone receiver has been lifted. Originating Off-hook activates a dial tone on switched
networks. (2) the state of telephone that the receiver has been lifted.

(  
Ones Density, also called pulse density, is a scheme that allows a CSU/DSU to recover the data
clock reliably. The CSU/DSU derives the data clock from the data that passes through it. To
recover the clock, the CSU/DSU hardware must receive at least one 1 bit value for every 8 bits
of data that pass through it.

( 2
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One-way Trunk is the trunk circuit that can be seized at only one end.

(0
On-Hook is the normal inactive state of a telephone terminal. In this state, the switchhook
contacts at the telephone instrument are open and no current signal is being sent to the central
office.

()( c

ONI Order Tone is a tone with 700 Hz and 1100 Hz at -25 dBm0/frequency for .095 to 0.25
seconds that tells the ONI (Operator Number Identification) operator that a call has reached the
position.

(
$ c"

Only-route Trunk Group is a trunk group that is the one and only route for particular traffic
items. It receives only first route traffic, does not receive overflow traffic, and has no alternate
route.
(( (!  


Out-of-Service signaling(OOS) is a call signaling indicating that the network or phone station is
out of service.

(' (
'
Originating Point Code (OPC) refers to numeric address in a SS7 network which uniquely
identifies each signaling point. The OPC identifies the sending signaling point.

(" 2
Open Wire is a transmission path consisting of a pair of wires, spaced a parallel distance apart
and mounted on insulators, usually on a pole line.

(' (" 
'1 %

Operator Position Switching Module(OPSM) refers to the operator services system for the
AT&T 5ESS switch that gives phone companies and worldwide phone service administrators
flexibility in deploying operators. The system is called the Operator Services Position System
(OSPS), and its operation is based on the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
capabilities of the 5ESS switch. These capabilities permit simultaneous data and voice
communications between the switch and the operator's terminal equipment. OSPS allows the
phone service providers to provide fully-featured North American and international operator
service with operators located at a distance from the switching system.

("

'1  
Optical power budget refers to the allocation (in a fiber-optic communication link), of available
optical power launched into a given fiber by a given source among various loss-producing
mechanisms such as launch coupling loss, fiber attenuation, splice looses, and connector losses,
in order to ensure the adequate signal strength at the receiver.

("

'1 

Optical power margin refers to the difference between (1) the optical power that is launched by a
given transmitter into the fiber, less transmission losses from all causes, and (2) the minimum
optical power that is required by the receiver for a specified level of performance. Optical power
margin is usually expressed in dB. At ease, several dB of optical power margin should be
included in the optical power budget.

("

$  
Optical Receiver is a device in a optical transmission system that detects an optical signal,
converts it to an electrical signal, and processes the electrical signal as required for a further use.

("

c
 
Optical Transmitter is a device that accepts an electrical signal as its input, processes this signal,
and uses it to modulate opto-electronic device and produce optical signals.

('. (!!'  *+ 

Off Premise Extension (OPX) is an extension telephone, PBX station, or key system station
located on property that is not contiguous with that on which the main telephone, PBX, or key
system is located.

( c
Order Tone is a high tone sent over interposition, local interoffice, or toll trunks. It indicates, 1)
to the originating operator that the order should be passed; 2) to the receiving operator that an
order is about to be passed. For Call Announcement and Automatic Display Call Indicator, the
tone serves function two only.

(
$  
Originating Resister is the equipment in a Number 5 Cross System that is connected to a
subscriber initiating a call to receive the dial pulses or TOUCHTONE signals from the
subscriber's telephone.

(
- 
Originating User refers to the user who initiates a particular information transfer transaction. The
originating user could be either the source user or the destination user.

( (" 
  



Operator Service Call (OSC) refers to a call that is placed through a human operator or an
automated operator.

( (" 
"" 
Operation Support System (OSS) performs management, inventory, engineering, planning, and
repair functions for telecommunications service providers and their networks. Operations
Support Systems (OSSs), typically based on the Telecommunications Management Network
(TMN) model, are designed to support telephone company staff members to automate their daily
jobs such as order processing, line assignment, line testing and billing, etc.

(c ("c
"%


 
Optivity Telephony Manager (OTM) is an application that provides single-point analysis,
configuration, and management of Telephony networks using a Web browser or graphical user
interface (GUI). The OTM suite, which is offered by Nortel Networks, is designed for the
management of Meridian 1 and Communication Server 1000 systems.

(
Outbound, in telecommunication, refers to outward sending, call originating, or dialing Out.

(



 
Outgoing Calls Barred is a telecommunication facility that prevents a packet switch from
accepting outgoing virtual calls from the data terminal equipment.

(  
Outgoing Sender is an equipment in telecommunication network that transmits call completion
information on an interoffice call.
(!



Out-of-band signaling is a signaling technique using frequencies or channels outside the
frequencies or channels normally used for information transfer. Out-of-band signaling often is
used for error reporting in situations in which in-band signaling can be affected by whatever
problems the network might be experiencing.

( '


Outside Plant has different meanings depending on where it is used: (1) In civilian
telecommunications, it refers to all cables, conduits, ducts, poles, towers, repeaters, repeater huts,
and other equipment located between a demarcation point in a switching facility and a
demarcation point in another switching facility or customer premises. (2) In DOD (Department
Of Defense) communications, it is the portion of intrabase communications equipment between
the main distribution frame and a user and instrument to terminal connection for a user
instrument.

(



Out-Slot Signaling is a signaling scheme in that the signaling associated with a (voice or data)
channel is sent over the same transmission path (channel) or circuit, but in a different time slot
(s). An example of this scheme is the ITU-T 2.048 Mbps digital carrier system.

(2c
Out-WATS Line refers to telephone lines used only for outgoing calls. Out-WATS Lines are, in
effect, fixed-rate long distance subscriptions.

( !


Overfill refers to the condition in telecommunications that prevails when the numerical aperture
or the beam diameter of an optical source, such as a laser, light-emitting diode, or optical fiber,
exceeds that of the driven element, e.g., an optical fiber core. In optical communications testing,
overfill in both numerical aperture and mean diameter is usually required.

( !
1

Overflow Load refers to a part of the offered traffic of telecommunications that is not carried,
i.e., overflow traffic equals offered traffic minus carried traffic.

( %
)!

Overhead information is the signaling information of directing or controlling the transfer of user
information or the detection and correction of errors. Overhead information transferred across
the functional interface between end users and a telecommunications system, or between
functional units within a telecommunications system. Overhead information originated by the
user is not considered to be system overhead information. On the other hand, overhead
information generated within the communications system and not delivered to the user is system
overhead information. Thus, the user throughput is reduced by both overheads while system
throughput is reduced only by system overhead.

( 

"
Overlap is a mode where call control is waiting for possible additional call information from the
preceding PINX because it received acknowledgment that the subsequent PINX can receive
additional call information.

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'
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Private Automatic Branch Exchange (PABX) is an automatic telephone switching system within
a private enterprise. Originally, such systems - called private branch exchanges (PBX) - required
the use of a live operator. Since almost all private branch exchanges today are automatic, the
abbreviation "PBX" usually implies a "PABX."

'1 %

PAD Switching refers to a technique of automatically cutting a transmission loss pad into and
out of a transmission circuit for different operating conditions.

'



Pair Cable refers to a cable in which all of the conductors are arranged in the form of twisted
pairs. This form of cable is, by far, the most common form of cable used for communications.

'


Pair Gain refers to the number of customers served by a communication system less the number
of wire pairs used by that system. Pair gain can be achieved by multiplexing and by
concentration.

'
 "

Paired disparity code is a code used in telecommunications in which some or all of the characters
are represented by two sets of digits of opposite disparity that are used in sequence so as to
minimize the total disparity of a longer sequence of digits.

' '
 "
 


Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) is a form of signal modulation in which the data is encoded
in the amplitude of a series, or train, of regularly recurrent signal pulses. PAM is used less
frequently than PCM (Pulse-Code Modulation).

'




c

Parallel Transmission is a method of data transmission in which the bits of a data character are
transmitted simultaneously over a number of channels/ports. In parallel transmission, coded
information are transmitted via a system with multiple ports/channels. The port 1 is used to
transport the first MSB (Most Significant Bit) and the second port carries the second MSBs, so
on and so forth.

'

Parity bit is the additional bit inserted into the string of user information in the
telecommunications data stream for the purpose of error correction and checking.
'




c
Partial Dial Tone is a steady high tone in telephone system that is used to notify the calling party
that he/she has not commenced dialing within a pre-allotted time, measured after receipt of dial
tones (permanent signal condition), or that he/she has not dialed enough digits (partial dial
condition). This is a signal to hang up and dial again.

'



 
  
Partially Dedicated Access is a long distance carrier access method in which a non-local call is
carried by the long distance carrier via a dedicated trunk facility for either the first or last part of
the call's journey, and on the carrier's network for the middle part of the journey. It is also called
"dedicated to switched", "switched to dedicated", "on-net to off-net" and "off-net to on-net".

'

Party Line is a circuit assigned to serve two or more subscribers with discriminatory signaling
for each station.

'

 %
Pass Along Method is a signaling scheme. In Pass Along Method, signaling traffic (information)
is sent along the signaling path of a previously established physical connection.

'
 %'


Patch panel is a panel of network ports contained together, usually within a telecommunications
closet, that connects incoming and outgoing lines of a LAN or other communication, electronic
or electrical system. The patch panel allows easy access to all cable and ground line conductors.
Conductor functions can be interchanged or checked rapidly for continuity, insulation, or quality
of signal brought to the surface. Also, it provides easy access to output of surface panels.

'. '
 
 %*+ %

Private Branch Exchange (PBX) is a small telephone switch owned by a company or
organization. These organizations purchase PBX's to reduce the total number of telephone lines
they need to lease from the telephone company. Without a PBX, a company will need to lease
one telephone line for every employee with a telephone. With a PBX system, the company only
needs to lease as many lines from the telephone company as the maximum number of employees
that will be making outside calls at one time. This is usually around 10% of the number of
extensions. In a PBX system, every telephone is wired to the PBX. When an employee takes the
receiver off-hook and dials the outside access code (usually 9), the PBX connects the employee
to an outside line.

' ' 

Peg Count (PC) refers to the measurement of the number of attempts to seize a server in a group
of one or more servers.

' '

Point Code (PC) refers a unique address code in telecommunication system that identifies a
service provider within a signaling network.
' ' %


Protection Channel(PC) is a standby, fully operational facility, providing diversity for one or
several similar channels. When correctly implemented, it can result in improved availability or
reliability of the channel, and of the circuits carried on each so protected channel.

'
Provisioning refers to the creation of an active subscriber account, or modification of parameters
for an existing subscriber account. Provisioning of a subscriber account includes subscriber
account registration and device activation.

' '
  


Pulse-code Modulation (PCM) is a sampling technique for digitizing analog signals, especially
voice/audio signals. It samples the analog signals 8000 times per second; each sample is
represented by 8 bits for a total of 64 Kbps. There are two standards for coding the sample level.
The Mu-law is used in North America and Japan while the A-law is used in Europe and most
other countries.

' ' 


 
Personal Communications Service (PCS) is a network that provides personal, terminal and
service mobility. PCS includes broadband and narrowband in the United States.

'7 '
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Path Coding Violation (PCV) is an Error Event in the DS1/T1 interface. PCV error event is a
frame synchronization bit error in the D4 and E1-noCRC formats, or a CRC error in the ESF and
E1-CRC formats.

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Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) refers to a protocol that consists of signals that have
relatively the same bit rates and characteristics, but they are not synchronized to a common
timing source.

'


Peak Load refers to the traffic volume at the highest level during a given time period. It is
usually expressed as the traffic volume during the highest one-hour period of the day (Busy
Hour).

' 
 



Permanent Calls are the private line calls used for fixed point-to-point calls, for connections
between PBXs (E&M to E&M), or for remote telephone extensions (FXO to FXS).

' 
 


Permanent Signal is a high steady tone. Permanent Signal is used to inform an operator or other
maintenance employees making a verification test that the line is temporarily out of service. An
intermittent ground may also be applied to the ring of the telephone systems left in the hold
condition.
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Protocol Handler refers to a device with programs that provides communications services that
enables a device to send data to other devices by transmitting and receiving data as specified by
the communications protocol.

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Phantom Circuit is a third circuit derived from two physical circuits by means of repeating coils
installed at the terminals of the physical (side) circuits.

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Phase Distortion, also known as as Delay Distortion, is an unwanted modification of a
transmitted signal caused by the non-uniform transmission of the different frequency
components of the signal.

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Phase Shift refers to the situation in which the relative position in time between the clock and
data signals of a transmission becomes unsynchronized. In systems using long cables at higher
transmission speeds, slight variances in cable construction, temperature, and other factors can
cause a phase shift, result in high error rates.

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PIC Charges refers to a charge by Local Exchange Carrier(LEC) for a customer to change the
PIC (Primary Interexchange Carrier). It is often paid by the new Inter Exchange Carrier (IEC). If
a LEC sends a PIC charge to a customer, the new IEC will typically credit the customer's
account.

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PIC Freeze refers to an option that customers can choose to prevent unauthorized changes to
their chosen Primary Long Distance Carrier

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PIC Request is a request record sent to a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) asking for an ANI
(Automatic Number Identification) to be activated, deactivated or changed in some way.

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PIC Response is a response record sent by a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC), corresponding to a
previous PIC Request, with a response code that indicates whether the request was performed.

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Point In Call (PIC) refers to the phase or position within a call. Examples of PIC are Answered,
Long Duration, Released, and so on.

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Primary Interexchange Carrier (PIC) refers to the long distance company that is automatically
accessed when a customer dials 1+.
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Pre-subscribed Inter-exchange Carrier Charge is the charge that long distance companies pay to
local telephone companies to help them recover the costs of providing the telephone wires,
underground conduit, telephone poles, and other facilities that link each telephone customer to
the telephone network. A long distance company pays this charge for each residential and
business telephone line presubscribed to that long distance company. There is no tax due on
PICC charges paid from one telecommunications vendor to another. However, if a retail
consumer or business has not selected a long distance company, the local telephone company
may bill the consumer or business for the Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge. If the
PICC charge is billed to the retail customer, it is subject to sales tax.

'



Pilot signal, in telecommunication, is a signal usually in single frequency, transmitted over a
communications system for supervisory, control, equalization, continuity, synchronization, or
reference purposes.

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Private INtegrated services network eXchange(PINX) is a PBX or key system which, in a BRI
voice application, uses QSIG signaling.

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Private Line, Automatic Ringdown (PLAR) is a leased voice circuit that connects two single
endpoints together. When either telephone handset is taken off-hook, the remote telephone
automatically rings.

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Plar-Opx specifies a PLAR Off-Premises eXtension connection. Using this option, the local
voice port provides a local response before the remote voice port receives an answer. On FXO
interfaces, the voice port will not answer until the remote side answers.

'
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Plesiochronous is the term used in telecommunication signal hierarchy. Plesiochronous comes
from a combination of Greek words: (1) "Plesio" meaning "close", "near", or "almost the same";
and (2) "synchronous" meaning "happening at the same time", "occurring together",
"simultaneous", or "having the same period between occurrences". In telecommunications,
Plesiochronous is used to describe any two signals that have the same "nominal rate", but do not
originate from the same (identical) timing (clock) source.

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Private Numbering Plan (PNP) is the telephone numbering plan that defines the format of
telephone numbers to be used within a private telephone system. The Private Numbering Plan
number normally consists of at least 3 digits, excluding "112".

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Path Overhead (POH) refers to overhead accessed, generated and processed by path-terminating
equipment; POH includes 9 bytes of STS POH and, when the frame is VT-structured, 5 bytes of
VT (Virtual Tributary) POH.

'


Polling is an access method in which a primary network device inquires, in an orderly fashion,
whether secondaries have data to transmit. The inquiry occurs in the form of a message to each
secondary that gives the secondary the right to transmit. In telecommunications, polling is a long
distance carrier access method in which a non-local call is carried by the long distance carrier via
a dedicated trunk facility for either the first or last part of the call's journey, and on the carrier's
network for the middle part of the journey.

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Passive Optical Network (PON) refers to a group of ITU-T and IEEE standard technologies,
which enable fiber as the first mile (or last mile) to the customer premises. A PON consists of a
central office node Optical Line Termination (OLT) at the service providers office and a number
of Optical Network Units (ONUs) near end users, and the fibers and splitters between them,
called the optical distribution network (ODN). The OLT provides the interface between the PON
and the backbone network, while the ONT provides the service interface to the end user. PON is
a converged infrastructure that can carry multiple services such as voice (plain old telephony
service or voice over IP), data, video, and/or telemetry, in that all of these services are converted
and encapsulated in a single packet type for transmission over the PON fiber.

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Point Of Presence (POP) is the physical access location interface between a local exchange
carrier and an Interexchange Carrier fiber network. The point to which the telephone company
terminates a subscriber's circuit for long distance services or leased line communications.

'




Post-dial Delay is the time interval between "end of dialing" by the customer and the reception
(by the same customer) of the call progress signaling generated by the exchange serving this
customer. The call progressing signals can be the dial tone, a recorded announcement, or the
abandon of the call.

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POTS Dial Peer refers to the dial peer connected via a traditional telephony network (POTS).
POTS peers point to a particular voice port on a voice network device.

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Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) is the standard, analog telephone service which remains the
basic form of residential and small business telephone service nearly everywhere in the world.
Plain Old Telephone Service was originally known as the Post Office Telephone Service in many
countries. It has been available almost since the introduction of the telephone system in the late
19th century, mostly unchanged to the normal user since then despite the introduction of
electronic telephone exchanges into the public switched telephone network since the middle of
the 20th century.
'' '
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Pulses Per Second (PPS) refers to the number of pulses per second and the number of dial pulses
per second. It is used as a type of measure in telecommunication and many other applications
such as in clock oscillator discipline.

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Primary Reference Source(PRC) refers to a telecommunication equipment that provides a timing
signal whose long-term accuracy is maintained very well with verification to UTC (Coordinated
Universal Time), and whose timing signal may be used as the basis of reference for the control of
other clocks within a network. The Primary Reference Source may generate a timing signal
completely autonomous of other references, in which case cesium beam technology is suitable.
Alternatively, the primary reference source may not be a completely autonomous
implementation, in which case it may employ direct control from normal UTC-derived frequency
and time services.

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Preemption Tone is one of the telephone system audible tones that provides to both parties of a
connection that is preempted by a priority call from the AUTOVON network. Preemption Tone
is 440 Hz and 620 Hz at -18 dBm0/frequency steady for anywhere from three to fifteen seconds.

'  "

Presubscription refers to a BOC (Bell Operating Company) tariff service that permits each
customer served from an equal access EO switching system to automatically route, without the
use of access codes, all the customer's interLATA communications to one IC of the customer's
choice. The customer may also gain access to other ICs using the appropriate carrier access code,
e.g., 10XX.

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Primary Rate Interface (PRI) is an ISDN interface for primary rate access, which consists of a
single 64-kbps D channel plus 23 (T1) or 30 (E1) B channels for voice or data. PRI intended for
larger users, such as business users. The other ISDN interface is the Basic Rate Interface (BRI),
which is for homes and small businesses.

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Primary Path refers to the preferred route from one switched node to another.

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Priority Audible Ring Tone is one of the telephone system audible tones that replaces normal
audible ring for priority calls within the AUTOVON network. Priority Audible Ring is 440 Hz
and 480 Hz at -16 dBm0/frequency on for 1.65 seconds and off for .35 seconds.

'
 
Private Line is a telecommunication service that involves dedicated circuits with private
switching arrangements, and/or predefined transmission paths, whether virtual or physical. The
purpose of Private Line is to provide communications between specific interested points.
' c c
Proceed to Send Tone is a steady tone with 480 Hz at -22 dBm0/frequency. It informs the
operator that an overseas sender has been seized and the address information (KP-CC-CC-ST)
should be transmitted.

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Proctor Test Set is a tool used by Telco personnel to diagnose problems with phone lines.

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Property Surcharge is a per-call or per-minute charge assessed on an Operator-Assisted call by
the property owner from which the call was placed. This charge is separate from the Call Type
Surcharge, and monies from this charge are usually assigned to the property owner as part of the
compensation package.

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Provisioning software refers to the software in telecommunication system which configures and
records the hardware and software for specific telecommunication services when additions or
changes are needed in the network and its elements. It optimizes the use of network elements and
available network routes.

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The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a circuit-switched network that is used
primarily for voice communications worldwide, with hundreds of millions subscribers.
Originally a network of fixed-line analog telephone systems, the PSTN is now almost entirely
digital and provides mobile as well as fixed telephone services.

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Path Terminating Equipment (PTE) refers to a SONET element that terminates a SONET/SDH
(Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) path.

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Public Telephone Service (PTS), sometimes called plain old telephone service (POTS), is the
ordinary telephone service in which a customer has a connection to a central office and can be
connected to any other customer of the service.

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Post, Telephone, and Telegraph(PTT) are the government agency that provides telephone
services. PTTs exist in most areas outside North America and provide both local and long-
distance telephone services.

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Pulse link repeater is a device in telecommunications that interface concatenated E&M (Ear &
Mouth) signal paths.

'

Pulsing is the part of signaling that forwards the destination code required to route a call. In
telephony, the transmission of address information to a switching office is via pulses (i.e.,
signals) that originate from the user's equipment. An examples of pulsing methods is DTMF
(dual-tone multifrequency). Rotary dialing is another example in which DC (Direct Current)
pulses are generated by a rotary dial.

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Push Button Dialing is the use of buttons on a telephone rather than a rotary dial to address a
telephone message to a terminal point on the network. Push button dialing usually enlists two-
tone signaling. In AT&T's terminology, the registered trademark "TouchTone" is used.

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Push-to-talk operation refers to the method of communication over a speech circuit in which the
talker is required to keep a switch operated while talking. Push-to-talk operation can be found in
a telephone system or two-way radio systems.

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Permanent Virtual Connection(PVC) is the term that describes that path data takes through a
virtual network. PVCs are an integral component of many circuits and connections to the
Internet.

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Q.2931, based on Q.931, is a signaling protocol, which specifies the procedures for the
establishment, maintenance and clearing of network connections at the B-ISDN user network
interface. The PNNI and the UNI specifications are based on Q.2931. The procedures are defined
in terms of messages exchanged.

4E3CC
Q.700, an ITU-T specification, provides an introduction to CCITT Signalling System No. 7
(SS7).

4E3C8
Q.703, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) - Message Transfer
Part, Signalling Link.

4E3C@
Q.704, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) - Message Transfer
Part, Signalling System No. 7 - Signalling Network Functions and Messages.

4E3CA
Q.705, an ITU-T specification, defines the System No. 7 - Signalling network structure.
4E3C:
Q.706, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 - Message Transfer Part
Signalling Performance.

4E3?D
Q.712, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) - Definition and
Function of SCCP Messages.

4E3?8
Q.713, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 - SCCP Formats and Codes.

4E3?:
Q.716, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 - Signalling connection
control part (SCCP) performance.

4E3DA
Q.725, an ITU-T specification, defines Signalling System No. 7 - Signalling performance in the
telephone application.

4E38?
Q.732, an ITU-T specification, provides the Stage 3 description for numbering identification
supplementary services using Signalling System No. 7 (SS7).

4E38D
Q.733, an ITU-T specification, provides the Stage 3 description for call offering supplementary
services using Signalling System No. 7(SS7)..

4E388
Q.734, an ITU-T specification, provides the Stage 3 description for call completion
supplementary services using No. 7 Signalling System (SS7).

4E38@
Q.734, an ITU-T specification, provides the Stage 3 description for multiparty supplementary
services using Signalling System No. 7.

4E38A
Q.735, an ITU-T specification, provides the Stage 3 description for community of interest
supplementary services using SS7.

4E38:
Q.736, an ITU-T specification, provides the Stage 3 description for charging supplementary
services using Signalling System No. 7 (SS7).

4E383
Q.737, an ITU-T specification, provides the Stage 3 description for additional information
transfer supplementary services using Signalling System No. 7 (SS7).
4E3:?
Q.761, an ITU-T specification, provides Signalling System No.7 (SS&) â¼³ ISDN user part
(ISUP) functional description.

4E3:D
Q.762, an ITU-T specification, defines the general function of messages and Signals of the ISDN
User Part (ISUP) of Signalling System No. 7 (SS7).

4E3:8
Q.763, an ITU-T specification, defines the formats and codes of the ISDN User Part (ISUP) of
Signalling System No. 7 (SS7).

4E3:@
Q.763, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 - ISDN User Part (ISUP)
Signalling Procedures.

4E3::
Q.766, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No.7 - Performance Objectives in
the Integrated Services Digital Network Application.

4E33D
Q.772, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) - Transaction
Capabilities Information Element Definition

4E338
Q.773, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) - Transaction
Capabilities Formats and Encoding

4E33@
Q.774, an ITU-T specification, defines the Signalling System No. 7 - Transaction Capabilities
Procedures

4E;AC
Q.850, an ITU-T specification, defines the usage of cause and location in the Digital Subscriber
Signalling System No. 1 and the Signalling System No. 7 ISDN User Part.

4EFDC
Q.920, an ITU-T specification, together with Q.921, defines the ISDN UNI data link layer.

4EFD?
Q.921, an ITU-T specification, together with Q.920, defines ISDN user-network interface - Data
link layer - General aspects.

4EFDD
Q.922, an ITU-T specification, defines the Link Access Procedure/Protocol (LAPF), which is an
enhanced LAPD (Q.921) with congestion control capabilities for Frame Mode Services in the
Frame Relay network. LADF is used in the Frame Relay network for end-to-end signaling.
LAPF conveys data link service data units between DL-service users in the User Plane for frame
mode bearer services across the ISDN user-network interface on B-, D- or H-channels.

4EFDD
Q.922A is an ITU-T specification for Frame Relay encapsulation.

4EF8C
Q.930, an ITU-T specification, defines the Digital Subscriber Signalling System No 1 (DSS1) -
ISDN user - network interface layer 3 - General aspects.

4EF8?
Q.931, the network layer protocol in the telecommunication architecture, is used in ISDN for call
establishment and the maintenance and termination of logical network connections between two
devices. Q.931 is one of the network layer (layer 3) protocols in the telecommunication
architecture specified by the ITU Q series documents Q.930 through Q.931..

4EF8D
Q.932, an ITU-T specification, defines the generic procedures applicable for the control of
supplementary services at the user-network interface. These procedures expand on the basic call-
control functions defined in Q.931.

4EF88
Q.933, an ITU-T specification, defines Digital subscriber Signalling System No.1 (DSS 1) -
Signalling specification for frame mode basic call control.

4EF8F
Q.939, an ITU-T specification, defines service indicator coding examples.

4EF8
Q.93B, an evolution of ITU-T recommendation Q.931, is an ITU-T specification for signaling to
establish, maintain, and clear BISDN network connections.

4EFAC
Q.950, an ITU-T specification, defines ISDN supplementary services.

4EFA?
Q.951, an ITU-T specification, provides stage 3 description for number identification
supplementary services using DSS1, such as Calling line identification presentation (CLIP);
Calling line identification restriction (CLIR); Connected line ID and Malicious Call
Identification (MCID).

4EFAD
Q.952, an ITU-T specification, provides stage 3 description for additional information transfer
supplementary services using DSS1 (Digital subscriber Signalling System No.1), including
Diversion supplementary services and Explicit Call Transfer (ECT).
4EFA8
Q.953, an ITU-T specification, defines Stage 3 description for call completion supplementary
services using DSS 1 such as Call waiting, Call hold, Completion of Calls to Busy Subscribers
(CCBS), Terminal Portability (TP) and Call Completion on No Reply (CCNR).

4EFA@
Q.954, an ITU-T specification, provides the Stage 3 description for multiparty supplementary
services using DSS 1, such as Conference calling and Three-party service.

4EFAA
Q.955, an ITU-T specification, provides Stage 3 description for community of interest
supplementary services using DSS 1, such as Closed user group and Multi-level precedence and
preemption.

4EFA:
Q.956, an ITU-T specification, defines Integrated services digital network (ISDN) - Stage 3
service description for charging supplementary services using DSS 1 such as Clause 2 - Advice
of charge (AOC) and Clause 3 - Reverse charging.

4EFA3
Q.957, an ITU-T specification, provides Stage 3 description for additional information transfer
supplementary services using DSS 1: User-to-User Signalling (UUS).

4) 4


)   
Quasi Delay Insensitive (QDI) Circuits are those whose correct operation does not depend on the
delays of operators or wires, except for certain wires that form isochronic forks.

4'6 4

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Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) is a digital modulation scheme that conveys data by
changing, or modulating, the phase of a reference signal (the carrier wave). Sometimes known as
quaternary or quadriphase PSK or 4-PSK, QPSK uses four points on the constellation diagram,
equispaced around a circle. With four phases, QPSK can encode two bits per symbol, shown in
the diagram with Gray coding to minimize the BER.

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Quasi-Random Signal Sequence (QRSS) is a test pattern widely used to simulate voice signals.

4) 4


Q Signaling(QSING) is a common channel signaling protocol based on ISDN Q.931 standards
and used by many digital PBXs.

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Quad Lock Conduit is the conduit to protect telephone wires intended to be buried.

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Quadruple Order Tone is one of the Order Tone (See Order Tone). This signal is four short
spurts in quick succession and means that the operator should pass the city name only and wait
for another challenge. It is used in manual toll tandem (also called zip tones or trunk assignment
tones). Quadruple-order tone is four short spurts of High Tone.

4
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Quantizing Distortion refers to a form of distortion that causes an irregular facsimile of the
original audio. It is a result of a digital signal being corrupted to a degree which occurs in the
digital-to-analog translation process.

4
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Quantizing Noise refers to signal errors which result from the process of digitizing (and therefore
ascribing finite quantities to) a continuously variable signal (analog signal).

4
 
 
Quasi-associated Mode is a special non-associated signaling operation. In Quasi-associated
Mode, the signaling message route is determined (for each signaling message) by the signaling
points between two or more signaling links (in tandem) passing through one or more STPs
(Signaling Transfer Part).

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Rate-Adaptive Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (RADSL) is a variation of ADSL which
automatically adjusts the connection speed depanding on the quality and length of the telephone
line. In RADSL, the broadband modem is configured at startup to test the phone line and adjust
the data rate. RADSL typically operates at a lower date rate than regular ADSL. Like ADSL,
RADSL provides relatively more bandwidth for downloads and less for uploads.

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Remote Alarm Indication (RAI), also known as yellow alarm signal, is a signal transmitted in the
outgoing direction when a terminal determines that it has lost the incoming signal. Receiving
remote alarm indication (RAI) means the far-end equipment over the T1 line has a problem with
the signal it is receiving from the upstream equipment.

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Rain Barrel Effect refers to signal distortion of a voice telephone line caused by the under
attenuated echo on the return path. The resultant distortion gives a near-singing effect like that of
speaking into a rain barrel.

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Range Extender With Gain is a unit that provides a range extension in a loop for both signaling
and transmission.
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Regional Bell Holding Company (RBHC), also known as Regional Bell Operating Companies
(RBOC), refers to one of 7 regional companies created by the AT&T divestiture to assume
ownership of the Bell operating companies. They are Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Bell South,
NYNEX, Pacific Telesis, Southwestern Bell and US West.

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Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOC) refers to those telephone carriers who were formed
as a result of the breakup of AT&T and are based on a restructuring agreement that took effect in
1984. The RBOCs were organized into seven regional Bell holding companies called Ameritech,
Bell Atlantic, Bell South, Nynex, Pacific Telesis, Southwestern Bell, and US West. Each RBOC
was assigned a specific geographical area, and each geographical area was divided into service
areas called LATAs (local access and transport areas). The RBOCs are also called the ILECs
(incumbent local exchange carriers). In contrast, CAPs (Competitive Access Providers) and
CLECs (competitive local exchange carriers) are companies that compete against the RBOCs in
the local service areas. IXCs (interexchange carriers) are long-distance service providers such as
AT&T, MCI, and Sprint. The Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 changed the
telecommunications landscape yet again. RBOCs were allowed to merge and the following
mergers or acquisitions took place in the following years. The Act also attempted to increase
competition by opening local markets. RBOCs were required to open their facilities to
competitive providers and, if they complied according to the rules, were allowed to expand into
long-distance markets.

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Remote Defect Indication (RDI) is an indication in an ATM network that indicates a failure has
occurred at the far end of the ATM network. The RDI alarm indication does not identify the
specific circuit in a failure condition. When the physical layer detects loss of signal or cell
synchronization, RDI cells are used to report a VPC/VCC failure. RDI cells are sent upstream by
a VPC/VCC endpoint to notify the source VPC/VCC endpoint of the downstream failure.

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Receive-after-transmit time delay refers to the time interval between (1) the instant of keying off
the local transmitter to stop transmitting and (2) the instant the local receiver output has
increased to 90% of its steady-state value in response to a fro signal from a distant transmitter.

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Received noise power refers to the following different meanings: 1. The calculated or measured
noise power, within the bandwidth being used, at the receive end of a circuit, channel, link, or
system. 2. The absolute power of the noise measured or calculated at a receiving point. The
related bandwidth and the noise weighting must also be specified. 3. The value of noise power,
from all sources, measured at the line terminals of telephone set's receiver. Either flat weighting
or some other specific amplitude-frequency characteristic or noise weighting characteristic must
be associated with the measurement.
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Receiver is a device on a transmission path which converts the signals as received from the
transmission system into the signals required by the destination equipment.

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Receiver Off-Hook Tone is one of the audible tones in telephone system, which is used to cause
off-hook customers to replace the receiver on-hook on a permanent signal call and to signal a
non-PBX off-hook line when ringing key is operated by a switchboard operator.

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The Recorder Connected Tone is used to inform the customer that his/her call is connected to a
recording machine and that he/she should proceed to leave a message, dictate, etc. It is to be
distinguished from the recorder warning tone, which warns the customer that his/her 2-way
conversation is being recorded. Recorder Warning Tone is a .5 second burst at 440 Hz every 5
seconds.

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Recorder Warning Tone is one of the audible tones in the telephone system. When recording
equipment is used, the Recorder Warning Tone is connected to the line to inform the distant
party that the conversation is being recorded. The tone source is located within the recording
equipment and cannot be controlled by the party applying the recording equipment to the line.
This tone is required by law and is recorded along with the speech. Recorder Warning Tone is a
.5 second burst at 1400 Hz every 15 seconds.

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Redialer is an interface hardware device that interconnects between a fax device and a Public
Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). A redialer forwards a dialed number to another
destination. Redialers contain a database of referral telephone numbers. When the user dials a
specific number, the redialer collects the dialed digits and matches them to a listing in its
database. If there is a match, the redialer dials the referral number (transparent to the user) and
forwards the call to the referral number.

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Reed-Solomon codes are block-based error correcting codes with a wide range of applications in
digital communications and storage. Reed-Solomon codes are used to correct errors in many
systems including: (1) Storage devices (including tape, Compact Disk, DVD, barcodes, etc) (2)
Wireless or mobile communications (including cellular telephones, microwave links, etc) (3)
Satellite communications. (4) Digital television / DVB. (5) High-speed modems such as ADSL,
cDSL, etc.

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Reference circuit is a hypothetical electric circuit of specified equivalent length and
configuration, having a defined transmission characteristic or characteristics, used primarily as a
reference for measuring the performance of other, i.e. real, circuits or as a guide for planning and
engineering of circuits and networks.
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Reference noise in telecommunication is the magnitude of circuit noise chosen as a reference for
measurement. Many different levels with a number of different weightings are in current use, and
care must be taken to ensure that the proper parameters are stated.

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Regeneration in telecommunication refers to the process of reshaping and amplifying received
signals to their original form. This technique is usually applied to digital pulses.

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Regenerative Repeater is a device which regenerates incoming digital signals and then
retransmits these signals on an outgoing circuit.

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Register, in telecommunication, is a part of an automatic switching system that receives and
stores signals from a calling device or other sources for interpretation and action, some of which
is carried out by the register itself.

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Register Progressive Control refers to a generic type of switching system in which the call
progresses blindly one step at a time through the network under control of a translator and a
register into which the originating subscriber has dialed the desired telephone number.

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Registered Endpoint, a concept in a VOIP netowrk, is an endpoint that has informed the
Gatekeeper that it is online, active and ready to receive calls, and has received confirmation from
the Gatekeeper of its registration request.

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Relative Transmission Level is the ratio of the test-tone power at one point to the test-tone power
at some other point in the system chosen as a reference point. The ratio is expressed in decibels.
The transmission level at the transmitting switch board is frequently taken as a zero level
reference point.

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Relay refers to the following meanings: (1). A device, usually electromechanical, by which the
variation in current in one circuit causes the opening or closing of contacts controlling the
current flow in one or more other circuits. (2). A process of retransmitting signals or messages
through an intermediate point or repeater.

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Relay Logic refers to the equipment function in which algorithmic decision-making is performed
by relay operations. The usual contrast is electronic logic in which the algorithm is carried out by
two-state devices, such as flip-flops.
$

 

Release-guard refers to a message sent by an exchange in the backward direction after receiving
a "forward-clear" message and when a circuit is placed in the idle condition.

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Reorder Tone is a low tone indicating that the local or toll switching or transmission paths to the
office or equipment serving the called customer is busy. This signal may indicate a condition
such as a timed-out sender or unassigned code dialed. It is interpreted by either a customer or an
operator as a reorder signal. Reorder on a local call is a low tone for 0.3 seconds on and 0.2
seconds off. Reorder on a toll call is a low tone for 0.2 seconds on and 0.3 seconds off.

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Rerouting, in telecommunications, refers to the recommencement of route selection from the first
point of routing control in the switching system routing process. It takes place when congestion
is encountered at some intermediate switching point in the connection that is to be established.

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Resistance Design is a design method for subscriber loop circuits design in a telecom service
provider. The key point of this method is to employ wire with the smallest diameter (least
amount of copper) to ensure a loop resistance less than the signaling limit of the central office
equipment serving the loop.

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Responsible Organization refers to, in telecommunications with 800 Portability, those
organizations to whom the Number Administration Service Center (NASC) allows to make
changes such as carrier, termination, 800 call routing (by time of day, location). A letter Of
Agency (LOA) must be on file to change the Responsible Organization each customer/account.

$ 


Retrial refers to any subsequent attempt by a customer, operator, or a switching system to
complete a call within a measurement period.

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Return Loss refers to a measure of the dissimilarity of the impedance of a transmission line and
the impedance at its termination. It is a ratio, expressed in decibels, of the power of the outgoing
signal to the power of the signal reflected back from an impedance discontinuity. If the
terminating impedance exactly matches the characteristic impedance of the line, there is no
reflection and the return loss is finite.

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Reverse Battery Supervision is a form of call supervision in which the signals are furnished from
the terminating end of a loop to the originating office by reversing the direction of current flow.

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Reverse Channel refers to the telecommunicating path in the dialing up network from the called
party to the calling party. This is the opposite of a forward channel.
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Reverting Tone is the same type of signal as a line busy tone. In No. 5 crossbar systems, a
second dial tone is sometimes also used when a calling party identification digit is required. The
Reverting Tone informs the calling subscriber that the called party is on the same line and that
he/she should hang up while the line is being rung. Reverting Tone is Low Tone on and off every
0.5 second at -24 dBm0/frequency.

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Ring refers to the following meanings in telecommunications 1. An audible signal. 2. The
process of generating a signal to a subscriber's telephone set. 3. In a 3-conductor switchboard
plug, the ring-shaped contact between the tip and the sleeve. 4. Ring topology in data
networking.

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Ring Conductor is one of two wires of a cable pair used in the subscriber loop that carries the
battery power from the central office to the phone system at the customer premise.

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Ring Tone refers to the audible signal generated in telephone system and sent to a subscriber's
telephone set

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Ring Trip is the process of removing the ringing signal from the line at the central office when
the called station is taken off-hook.

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Ringdown is a method of signaling which employs a ringing signal to operate a device such as a
lamp in order to alert an operator. The term originates from the manual ringdown operation of a
magneto telephone set.

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Ringer is the device at a subscriber's telephone set which responds to a ring signal to produce an
audible alert.

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Rotary Dial Telephone is a (old) telephone set at which the dial signaling is entered from a rotary
dial as opposed to a TouchTone dial.

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Rotary Groups, also known as hunt group, refers to a series of telephone lines that are
programmed to find the next ⼜free line⼠when a call is received.

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Route Advance refers to the routing within a telecom switching system to an alternate route
trunk group (or trunk subgroup) when all trunks in a prior trunk group (or trunk subgroup) are
busy.
$
 

Routing Alternate refers to the assignment of a substitute or an alternate path through a network
for a call when the primary route is not available for immediate use.

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Routing Code is the combination of characters or digits required internally by the routing process
of a telecom switching system to route a transmission to the desired destination.

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Routing Indicator is the address or routing code in the message header which indicates to the
network as routing instructions for the transmission of the message to its final circuit or
destination.

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RS-232, a popular physical layer interface also known as EIA-232 or TIA-232, is a standard for
serial binary data interconnection between a DTE (Data terminal equipment) and a DCE (Data
communication equipment). It is commonly used in computer serial ports. A similar ITU-T
standard is V.24.

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RS-422, also known as EIA-422 or TIA-422, is the balanced electrical implementation of
EIA/TIA-449 for high-speed data transmission. Now referred to collectively with RS-423 as
EIA-530, it provides for data transmission, using balanced or differential signaling, with
unidirectional/non-reversible, terminated or non-terminated transmission lines, point to point, or
multi-drop.

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RS-423, also known as EIA-423 or TIA-423, is the unbalanced electrical implementation of
EIA/TIA-449 for EIA/TIA-232 compatibility.

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RS-449, also known as EIA-449 or TIA-449, specifiecs the functional and mechanical
characteristics of the interface between data terminal equipment and data communications
equipment. The electrical signalling standards intended for use with RS 449 are RS-422 for
balanced signals, and RS-423 for the unbalanced signals, with data rates up to 2,000,000 bits per
second. The standard specified two D-subminiature connectors with 37 and 9 pins for the
primary and secondary data circuits.

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RS-530, also known as EIA-530 or TIA-530, is a balanced serial interface standard that generally
uses a 25 pin connector. The specification defines the cable between the DTE and DCE devices.
It is a replacement for EIA-449, which uses 37-pin connector. It is to be used in conjunction with
EIA-422 and EIA-423.

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Remote Switching System(RSS) refers to an electronic switching system that is remote from its
host or control office. All or most of the central control equipment for the RSS is located in the
host switching system.

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RTP Redundancy is a method of overcoming packet loss by doubling packet payload without
increasing the number of packets sent.

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Request To Send (RTS) is the EIA/TIA-232 control signal that requests a data transmission on a
communications line.

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Service Access Code (SAC) refers to a code of the form "NO/lX" that takes the place of an NPA
in the dialing sequence in order to access a particular service provided by an IC, BOC, or
independent company. SACs currently in use include 700 (IC Services), 800 (800 Service), and
900 (National DIAL-IT* network communications service). SACs are associated with
supplementary features that may be ordered by an IC as part of the access charge tariff. A BOC
may screen calls and route to an IC-specified point of presence based upon a SAC dialed. There
is no requirement that SACs be of the Form N00 nor that all N00 codes be SACs.

  5   


Subsequent Address Message (SAM) refers to a SS7 (Signaling System No. 7) signaling
message which carried further dial numbers after the initial address message has been sent.

 1 %   

Switched Access Service (SAS) refers to the services provided by telecommunication carriers to
their customers for their use in furnishing their services to end users. It provides a two-point
electrical communications path to a customer's facilities from an end user's premises. It provides
for the use of common terminating switching and transport facilities and common subscriber
plant of the Telephone Company. Switched Access Service provides for the ability to originate
calls from an end user's premises to a customer's facilities, and to terminate calls from a
customer's facilities to an end user's premises in the LATA where it is provided. There are 4
types of Switched Access Services: (1) Feature Group A: Switched Access provides line-side
interconnection to Verizon's end office switches through an end user seven-digit access code
(NXX-XXXX) for the long distance customer's use in originating and terminating calls to end
users. (2) Feature Group B: Switched Access provides trunk-side interconnection to Verizon's
end office switches through a uniform seven digit access code (950-XXXX) for the long distance
customer's use in originating and terminating calls to end users. (3) Feature Group C: Switched
Access provides trunk-side interconnection to Verizon's end office switches for providers of
MTS and WATS for originating and terminating communications. (4) Feature Group D:
Switched Access provides trunk-side interconnection to Verizon's end office switches through
either a 101XXXX arrangement or on a pre-subscribed basis for the long distance customer's use
in originating and terminating calls to end users.




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 '.
Satellite Operated PBX is a PBX system which is operating at a remote location and is tied into
the primary PBX by means of tie lines. The satellite does not have its own unique incoming
central office trunks. All incoming calls are extended to the stations by means of the tie lines.

 
 


 "

Selective Call Acceptance (SCA) is a telecommunication feature that allows customers to create
a list of phone numbers from which they are willing to accept calls. Callers with phone numbers
not on your list hear an announcement informing them that you are not receiving calls at this
time.


 
Scanner, in a telecommunication network, refers to a device in an electronic switching office that
scans various parts of the switching network to determine when some change in operations is
occurring. Information about the change is passed from the scanner to temporary memory in the
controlling computer.

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Selective Call Forwarding (SCF) is a feature in telecommunications system. Not every call is
important. With Selective Call Forwarding, customers can forward callers from a select group of
numbers to another number. Customer's list of acceptable numbers can be changed at any time
from your phone. Selective Call Forwarding reserves customer's time for only the most
important calls.

   


Service Control Node (SCN) is an intelligent network function in a communication network
which collects traffic data for call services without requiring alteration of, or addition to,
programs in all of the service switching nodes in the communication network even if a new call
service is introduced as an intelligent network service. A service control node (SCN) has a unit
assigning a call service identification (ID) to a new call service and the service switching node
provides a registration table receiving the identification (ID) and registering the same in it. If a
call service requested by the calling party is in the registration table, the traffic data is collected
for the call service.

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$ / 
Selective Call Rejection (SCR) is a feature in telecommunication system that enable customer to
reject incoming calls they don't want to take. Selective Call Rejection screens every call against a
"do not accept" list of numbers customers create and rejects those calls on the list. Selective Call
Rejection assures you of avoiding calls, freeing customer's line for the calls you want to make
and receive!

  '%
Screen phone is a device that looks similar to a standard desk telephone, but is equipped with a
screen (LCD screen) to display communication information such as caller ID. It may also include
a small keyboard for the Internet access.

 
  


Selective Distinct Alerting (SDA) is a feature in telecommunication system that enables
customer's telephone to identify special or important calls. Selective Distinctive Alert easily
allows customer to create and update a list of telephone numbers from which calls will ring
differently than other calls. The service alerts customer to calls from numbers on your list by
providing a distinctive ringing pattern or a distinctive Call Waiting tone.

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Synchronous Data Link Hierarchy (SDH) is an European standard for data transmission over
optical fiber network equivalent to SONET of North America. SDH's basic unit, the STM-1
(Synchronous Transport Module-level 1), operates at 155.52 Mbit/s. Transmission rates of up to
10 Gbit/s can be achieved in today's SDH systems and the 40 Gbit/s systems are possible. SDH
systems are fully compatiable to SONET systems.

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Synchronized Discrete Multitone is a modulation technique for point-to-point transmission on a
channel whose SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) is highly frequency-dependent, and it has been
adopted by ANSI as the standard for ADSL [up to 7 Mbit/s on unshielded twisted-pair (UTP)].
Synchronized DMT (SDMT), a variation of DMT for multiple point-to-point transmission, will
be proposed to the ATIS committee T1E1.4 for VDSL (up to 51.8 Mbit/s on hybrid fiber/UTP),
and to the IEEE committee 802.14 for the upstream channel of an HFC system.

 !1
  !  1
Software Defined Network (SDN) is a network that provides customers with the ability to
achieve a corporate virtual private network (VPN) while using the facilities of the switched
Network. The former AT&T's SDN, for example, is a customer's VPN that resides in the 4ESS-
based switched Worldwide Intelligent Network and provides networked-based features and
management capabilities that are usually not found in private networks. Some of the networked-
based features are customized routing, advance numbering plans, call screening, authorization
codes, remote access, security codes and customized billing. SDN is compatible with most
private networks and PBXs and, as such, protects these existing investments. Since SDN does
not require a sophisticated PBX base, businesses can choose tariffed access or dial-up. The
service fully supports analog data transmission at up to 28.8 Kbps and end-to-end digital data
transmission at 56/64 Kbps.

 1 % 

 
Switched Digital Service (SDS) is a data application service providing a digital access line, by
means of digital central offices, where facilities permit, to a customer's premises enabling the
customer to transmit simultaneously two-way digital signals at a speed of 56 Kbps on a dial-up
basis where both the originating and terminating stations are suitably equipped for SDS.

 

 

  
Single-line Digital Subscriber Line, also known as Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL), is
one variaton of DSL technologies that provides equal bandwidth for both uploads and
downloads. SDSL delivers 1.544 Mbps both downstream and upstream over a single copper
twisted pair. The use of a single twisted pair limits the operating range of SDSL to 10,000 feet
(3048.8 meters).

- -

SMDS DSU is a type of Data Service Unit (DSU) for access to Switched Multimegabit Data
Service (SMDS) via High-Speed Serial Interfaces (HSSIs) and other serial interfaces.

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Secure telephone is a telephone that provides voice security in the form of end-to-end encryption
for the telephone call, and in some cases also the mutual authentication of the call parties,
protecting them against a man in the middle attack.

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Seize is an action of a switching system in selecting an outgoing trunk or other components for a
particular call.


1 %
Selector Switch is the intermediate distributing switch in a step-by-step system. It is directly
controlled by the customer dial in its vertical motion and hunts for an idle path in its angular
motion.

  
Sender refers to an equipment in a switching system used to transmit and/or receive the called
number to or from a distant office; a sender is usually arranged to transmit on a multi-frequency
or dial-pulse basis. Under certain conditions of trouble, a sender may remain connected to a
trunk without performing its intended function; this is know as a stuck sender.

 

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Serial Transmission is a method of data transmission in which the bits of a data character are
transmitted sequentially over a single channel.

  )

Service Indicator is part of the information contained in a signaling message that is used to
identify the user to whom the message belongs.

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Service Observing Tone is a steady 135 Hz audible tone. It indicates that the trunk to which it is
applied is being service-observed. .

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Super Frame (SF), also called D4 framing, is a common framing type used on T1 circuits. SF
consists of 12 frames of 192 bits each, with the 193rd bit providing error checking and other
functions. SF is superseded by Extended Super Frame (ESF) but is still widely used.
0 
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Single-pair high-speed digital subscriber line (SHDSL) is a form of Digital Subscriber Line
similar to HDSL but providing T1 or E1 connections over a single twisted-pair copper line.

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&

Signaling Information Field (SIF) is the bits of a message signal unit that carry information
particular to a certain user transaction and always contain a label.



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Signal Path is the route of a signal channel that carries signaling data.



-
Signal Unit refers to the group of bit streams of a signaling message that functions as a
transferable entities used to convey information over a signaling link.




Signalling refers to the process of setting-up communications links between two systems such as
between a user system and a service provider system. Signaling is used in both traditional
telephony and in packet-based communications. SS7/C7 is the most famous signaling system in
telephony, while in data communication, the various VOIP signaling methods such as SIP and
H.323 are introduced..






Signaling Data Link refers to a type of signaling link that consists of two data channels that
operate in opposite directions at the same data rate, and function as a single signaling system.



"
Signaling Group is several signaling links that directly connect two signaling points together and
have the same physical characteristics (e.g., bit rate and propagation delay).




Signaling Link refers to: (1) a transmission facility in signaling network that consists of a
signaling data link and its transfer control functions, used for reliable transfer of a signaling
message between signaling points as an entity. (2) an assembly of signaling information that
pertains to a call management transaction, and the like and that is transferred as an entity.



 

Signaling Message refers to an assembly of signaling information pertaining to a call that
includes, but not limited to, management transactions, that is transferred as an entity.



 
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Signaling Message Route refers to a signaling link (or consecutive signaling links connected in
tandem) that is used to convey a signaling message from an originating point to its destination.



'
Signaling Point is a node in a signaling network (such as SS7/C7 signaling network) that either
originates and receives signaling messages, or transfers signaling messages from one signaling
point to another.



'
Signaling Point Code (SPC) is a binary code uniquely identifying a signaling point in a signaling
network. This code is used, according to its position in the label, either as destination point code
or as originating point code.



' '


Signaling Point Numbering Plan is a formal (standardized) description of the method (numbering
plan) for converting "end-user-provided" address information into an address understood by the
signaling network.



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Signaling Relation refers to a relation formed by two signaling points that involve the possibility
of information interchange between corresponding user part functions.



$
Signaling Route is predetermined path, described by a succession of signaling points, that can be
traversed by signaling messages (directed by a signaling point) toward a specific destination
point.



 
Signaling System is a language or protocol that enables two switching equipment (element) to
converse for the purpose of setting up calls. It possesses a vocabulary of varying size and varying
precision, i.e., a list of signals which may also vary in size and a syntax in the form of a more or
less complex set of rules governing the assembly of these signals.



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Signaling Time Slot refers to a time slot starting in a particular phase of each frame that is
allocated for transmitting signaling messages.



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Signaling Traffic Management Functions is a control function of routing information used by
message routing function. These functions insure the transfer of signaling traffic is performed in
a manner that prevents irregularities in message flow.

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Signaling Transport (SIGTRAN) refers to a protocol stack for the transport of Switched Circuit
Network (SCN) signaling protocols (such as SS7/C7 an Q.931) over an IP network. SIGTRAN,
an evolution of the PSTN signaling, defines adaptors and a core transport capabilities that blend
SS7 and packet protocols to provide users with the best both technologies have to offer.
Applications of SIGTRAN include: Internet dial-up remote access, IP telephony interworking
with PSTN and other services as identified.
"
+
Simplex refers to the capability for transmission in only one direction between a sending station
and a receiving station. Broadcast television is an example of a simplex technology.

"
+ 
Simplex Circuit is a transmission path which is capable of transmitting in only one direction. The
ITU definition differs from this more common definition. ITU simplex is a path which can
operate in either direction, but only one direction at a time. This is commonly called half-duplex.


& 5  


Single Frequency Signaling is a method of conveying dial-pulse and supervisory signals from
one end of a trunk or line to the other, using the presence or absence of a single specified
frequency.


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Single Order Tone is one of the Order Tones. This is a relatively long (0.5 second) signal which
means that the originating operator should pass the office name and number. Single-order tone is
one 0.5 spurt of High Tone.


Sink refers to the end point in telecommunications model which is also called receiver. In this
model, a message flows from the "Source" via media (transmission path) to a "Sink".

)'  )

' 

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an application layer control protocol that can establish,
modify and terminate multimedia sessions such as Internet telephony calls. SIP can also invite
participants to already existing sessions, such as multicast conferences. Media can be added to
(and removed from) an existing session. SIP transparently supports name mapping and
redirection services, which supports personal mobility; users can maintain a single externally
visible identifier regardless of their network location.

)' ) !
' 

SMDS Interface Protocol(SIP) is used for communications between CPE and SMDS carrier
equipment. SIP provides connectionless service across the subscriber network interface (SNI),
allowing the CPE to access the SMDS network. SIP is based on the IEEE 802.6 Distributed
Queue Dual Bus (DQDB) standard for cell relay across metropolitan-area networks (MANs). SIP
consists of three levels. SIP Level 3 operates at the Media Access Control (MAC) sublayer of the
data link layer of the OSI reference model. SIP Level 2 operates at the MAC sublayer of the data
link layer. SIP Level 1 operates at the physical layer of the OSI reference model.

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Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for Telephones (SIP-T), previously known as SIP-BCP-T, is a
mechanism that uses SIP to facilitate the interconnection of the PSTN with IP. SIP-T allows
traditional IN-type services to be seamlessly handled in the Internet environment. It is essential
that SS7 information be available at the points of PSTN interconnection to ensure transparency
of features not otherwise supported in SIP. SS7 information should be available in its entirety
and without any loss to the SIP network across the PSTN-IP interface. SIP-T defines SIP
functions that map to ISUP interconnection requirements.

"$
Skip Route is a control application that causes traffic to bypass a specific route and advance to
the following rate selection.




Slave, in a telecommunication network, refers to the end or side of communications which
responds to the master's commands. Master refers to the side in telecommunications that initiates
and controls the session.

 


Signaling Link Code (SLC) is a field with certain signaling network management messages
regarding T1 connections. SLC indicates the particular signaling link to which the message refers
among those interconnecting the two involved signaling points.

 1 %


Switching Module (SM) is a component of 5ESS switch of Lucent Technologies which
terminates subscriber loops (lines) and inter-exchange trunks interfacing the 5ESS switch. The
SM is the basic "growth module" of the 5ESS switch, which service providers can add more
when subscriber increases.


 
Sneak Current is an unwanted but steady current which seeps into a communication circuit. It is
usually too weak to cause immediate damage, but if unchecked could potentially create harmful
heating effects.

)    1) !

Subscriber Network Interface (SNI) refers to the TDM access links such as DS0, DS1/T1,
DS3/T3, E1, E3 that connects CPE and an SMDS switch of the PSTN network.

!1 %
Softswitch is the next generation voice and multimedia switch based on the IP technologies. It is
design to replace the Class 5 and Class 4 switches based on the circuit switching technologies.
Softswitch gets its name because typically it is a software based solution implemented on general
purpose computers/servers, while the traditional Class 5 and Class 4 switches are rely on
dedicated facilities for inter-connection and are designed primarily for voice communications.
Sometimes Call Agent or Media Gateway Controller, a key component in the VOIP solution, is
also called Softswith, though the definition of Softswith is often extend to the whole solution.

(*c c 

*5" 
SONET Line Terminating Equipment refers to the element that terminates a SONET line.

(*c
"
+

SONET multiplexing is the process of transfering low speed traffic to high speed traffic in a
SONET network. It involves generation of the STS-1 signal for each tributary. The STS-1 signal
contains the payload traffic plus transport overhead allowing for a variety of tributary types to be
accommodated. An STS-n signal is created by interleaving bytes from n STS-1 signals that are
mutually synchronized, so there is no timing adjustment required when going to higher level
multiplex formats. Drop Module Interfaces (DMI) provide SONET/SDH formatting and
multiplexing/demultiplexing of the STS-1 signal; ports for low-speed DS1/E1, DS3/E3, STS-1,
OC-1 lines; and termination and framing services for tributaries.

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 1 (*c
 %


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The Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), often
combined as SONET/SDH, are a set of related standards for synchronous data transmission over
fiber optic networks that are often used for framing and synchronization at the physical layer.
SONET is the United States version of the standard published by the American National
Standards Institutue (ANSI). SDH is the international version of the standard published by the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Transmission rates of up to 10 Gbit/s can be
achieved in today's SONET/SDH systems and the 40 Gbit/s systems are possible. SONET/SDH
systems are fully compatiable with each other.

(*c  %("

 1
The Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), the US version of the standard published by the
American National Standards Institutue (ANSI), is a set of standards for synchronous data
transmission over fiber optic networks that are often used for framing and synchronization at the
physical layer. SONET is based on transmission at speeds of multiples of 51.840 Mbps, or STS-
1. SDH is the international version of the standard published by the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU). Transmission rates of up to 10 Gbit/s can be achieved in
today's SONET systems and the 40 Gbit/s systems are possible. SONET systems are fully
compatiable to SDH systems.


Source refers to the starting point in telecommunications model which is also called sender. In
this model, a message flows from the "Source" via media (transmission path) to a "Sink".

 - 
Source User refers to the user who provides the information to be transferred to a destination
user during a particular information transfer transaction.

"
1 %
Space Division Switching is a switching in which single transmission-path routing determination
is accomplished in a switch by using a physically separated set of matrix contacts or cross-points.

' 

'
Signaling Point Code is a binary code uniquely identifying a signaling point in a signaling
network. This code is used, according to its position in the label, either as destination point code
or as originating point code.
" 



c
Special Dial Tone is used with Three-Way Calling, Centrex station dial transfer, and Centrex
conference (station or attendant) services. The user on an existing connection flashes the switch-
hook, receives special dial tone, and dials number of the third party to be added to the
connection. Special Dial Tone is 350 Hz and 440 Hz at -13 dBm0/frequency for 0.1 second on,
0.1 second off, 0.1 second on, 0.1 second off, 0.1 second on, 0.1 second off, and then on steady.

" 

c 
Special LATA Access refers to a BOC-tariffed service offering that provides for a non-switched
communications path (access link) between an IC Point of Presence (POP) and the premises of
its end users, or to a BOC central office for Centrex services. It includes all LATA access
services that do not use a BOC switching system.

" %


Speech Digit Signaling is a type of channel-associated signaling where time slots (primarily used
to transport of encoded speech) are periodically used to carry signaling messages.

" 



Speed Calling is an optional feature of a telephone system which allows the placing of calls to
frequently called numbers through the use of an abbreviated number of dial digits. It is also
called abbreviated dialing.

"

& 
Spelled fiber is a transparent thin fiber, usually made of glass or plastic, for transmitting light.
Optical fiber is a cylindrical structure that transmits light along its axis. The fiber consists of a
core surrounded by a cladding layer.

')   '!
) ! 

Service Profile Identifier(SPID) is a number that some service providers use to define the
services to which an ISDN device subscribes. The ISDN device uses the SPID when accessing
the switch that initializes the connection to a service provider.

"

&1
&
 
Spill-forward feature is a service feature in telecommunications that is in the operation of an
intermediate office, that, acting on incoming trunk service treatment indications, assumes routing
control of the call from the originating office. This increases the chances of completion by
offering the call to more trunk groups than are available in the originating office.

"
 
Splitter is an electronic low pass filter that separates the analogue voice or ISDN signal from
ADSL data frequencies when they get to the subscriber premises. For outgoing traffic, when they
are transmitted from the subscriber premises, it combines the voice and the data frequencies onto
one line. This allows a POTS phone connection to operate at the same time as ADSL digital data
is transmitted or received on the same line. One splitter is located at the central office and
another at the subscriber premises. The splitter at the central office can be separate device or may
be incorporated into the DSLAM.
"

Splitting refers to a switching function used for several purposes including: (1) disconnection
(isolation) of a channel that precedes the point where signaling frequencies are injected, and (2)
disconnection (isolation) of a channel that succeeds the point where the signal receiver is
connected. Splitting can be used to prevent false operation of signaling equipment (caused by
signal reflections and spillover) when signaling information is being received. Splitting can also
prevent interference from a preceding circuit or nearby equipment (terminal, or device) when a
signaling point is receiving a signaling message.

'   '
   

Subscriber Pulse Metering (SPM) is a set of functions that are employed by an analogue
telephone system primarily to enable call-charge recording and billing. In order to achieve this,
the relevant telephone equipment must be able to accurately determine several factors, amongst
which is the ability to measure the duration of the call.

   

Subsystem Number (SSN), a term in the SS7 network, is the identification number that is used
by the SCCP (Signalling Connection Control Part) to determine the local subsystem.

'   1 %'

Service Switching Point(SSP) is an element of a SS7-based Intelligent Network that performs
call origination, termination, or tandem switching. A SSP can be a combination voice switch and
SS7 switch, or an adjunct computer connected to the local exchange's voice switch. The SSP
provides the functionality of communicating with the voice switch via the use of primitives and
creating the packets, or signal units, needed for transmission in the SS7 network. The Service
Switching Point (SSP) must convert signaling from the voice switch into SS7 signaling
messages, which can then be sent to other exchanges through the SS7 network. The exchange
will typically send messages related to its voice circuits to the exchanges with a direct
connection to it. In the case of database access, the SSP will be sending database queries through
the SS7 network to computer systems located centrally to the network. This was the first usage
of the SS7 network, as the need for 800 number lookup became necessary.




" 
Start Dial Supervision is the line protocol that defines how the equipment seizes the E&M trunk
and passes the address signaling information (sends dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) digits).
The three main start dial supervision protocols used on E&M circuits are Immediate Start, Wink
Start, and Delay Dial.



Station Code is the final four digits of a standard seven- or ten-digit address. These digits define
a connection to a specific customer's telephone(s) within the larger context of an NPA and
central office code. The term "main station code" is an equivalent expression. In the past, a line
number and a party letter often were combined to provide station identification. With the
discontinuance of party letters, the four numerics have assumed the role of station identification.
 " "1 % .1 %*5" 
Step-by-Step Switch (SXS) Switching Equipment is a two-wire or four-wire progressive control
switching system with a space division network. The two-wire version is used for local, local
tandem, toll tandem, and private line switching. It can have ANI, CAMA, CENTREX, and
private line switching features. The four-wire version is used as a local tandem or toll tandem.

c  %c



Synchronous Transmission Module (STM), also known as Synchronous Transfer Mode, is the
basic rate of transmission of the SDH ITU-T fiber optic network transmission standard. It has a
bit rate of 155.52 Mbit/s and is the SDH equivalent of an OC-3 (SONET).

cC  %c




> 
Synchronous Transmission Module level zero (STM-0) is the SDH ITU-T fiber optic network
transmission standard. It has a bit rate of 51.84 Mbit/s and is the SDH equivalent of an OC-1
(SONET).

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Synchronous Transmission Module level one (STM-1) is the basic rate of transmission of the
SDH ITU-T fiber optic network transmission standard. It has a bit rate of 155.52 Mbit/s and is
the SDH equivalent of an OC-3 (SONET).

c@  %c




@
Synchronous Transmission Module level 4 (STM-4) is one of the transmission mode of the SDH
ITU-T fiber optic network transmission standard. It has a bit rate of 622.08 Mbit/s and is the
SDH equivalent of an OC-12 (SONET).

c  %c





Synchronous Transmission Module n (STM-n), also known as Synchronous Transfer Mode n,
refers to a group of the transmission modes of the SDH ITU-T fiber optic network transmission
standard, which is the multiplexing "n" of the STM-1 frames.

 '


Stored Program Control refers to a control of a telephone switch network by means of
programmable operating instructions, resident in a semipermanent memory. The main purpose
for introducing stored program control is to provide flexible systems where additions and
changes can be introduced primarily through program modification rather than through changes
in hardware.

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Signal Transfer Point(STP) is an element of a SS7-based Intelligent Network that performs
routing of the SS7 signaling.



Stratum is a hierarchical clock reference in the PSTN network, where 1 represents the highest
possible quality of clocking.

8
Stratum 3 is a precision timing reference that provides a free-run accuracy of plus or minus 4.6
parts per million (PPM), pull-in capability of 4.6 PPM, and holdover stability of fewer than 255
slips during the first day.

c?  %c

"



?
Synchronous Transport Signal level 1(STS-1) is the basic building block signal of SONET,
operating at 51.84 Mbps. Faster SONET rates are defined as STS-n, where n is a multiple of
51.84 Mbps.

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"



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Synchronous Transport Signal level 3, concatenated(STS-3c) is the SONET format that specifies
the frame structure for the 155.52-Mbps lines used to carry ATM cells.

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"

 

Synchronous Transport Signal Level N (STS-N) refers the basic logical building block signal of
synchronous optical networks (SONET) data rate. There are 5 different data rates currently
available and denoted as STS-N where N = 1,2,12,48, and 192). The STS-1 signal is known as
the SONET basic rate (data rate of 51.84 Mbps) and is designed to carry one DS-3 Signal (the
most popular long-haul digital signal in North America).

- 

-
Signal Unit(SU) is an element in the SS7 network in which signaling information is passed over
the signaling links in messages. Signal units are continuously transmitted in both directions on
any link that is in service. SS7 uses three different types of signal units: Message Signal Units
(MSUs); Link Status Signal Units (LSSUs); and Fill-In Signal Units (FISUs).


 



Submarine Communications Cable is a cable laid beneath the sea to carry telecommunications
between countries. The first submarine communications cables carried telegraphy traffic.
Subsequent generations of cables carried first telephony traffic, then data communications
traffic. All modern cables use fiber optic technology to carry digital payloads, which are then
used to carry telephone traffic as well as Internet and private data traffic.

  "

Subscriber Loop is a communication channel between a subscriber station and a carrier's central
office. Usually this is a pair of wires.

  "

 
Subscriber Loop Carrier is a system that allows one pair of wires, that would normally provide
one phone line, to carry multiple conversations. Various models are available, with a capacity
ranging from 2 to 96 lines. It is used between phone company central offices and areas where
there are too many customers for the cable that is in place.
 5   

Subsequent Address Message is a SS7 (Signalling System No. 7) signalling message which
carries further dial numbers after the initial address message has been sent.

7 

Sub-voice Grade is a communications channel with a bandwidth less than that of a voice grade
channel. Usually it is derived from a voice grade channel by some form of multiplexing.

" 


Supervisory Signals refer to Signals used to indicate or control the states of circuits involved in a
particular connection. A supervisory signal indicates to equipment, to an operator, or to a
customer that a particular state in a call has been reached and may signify the need for action to
be taken.

1 %
A switch is a networking device that connects network segments. There are two categories of
switches: packet switch and circuit switch. Packet switch is for data networking operating
typically at the layer 2 (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model. It is capable of inspecting the data
packets as they are received, determining the source and destination device of that packet, and
forwarding that packet appropriately. On the other hand, the circuit switch that establishes
connections on demand and permits exclusive use of those connections until they are released. A
circuit-switched network is a type of network in which a physical path is obtained for, and
dedicated to, a single connection between two end-points in the network during the connection.
The traditional voice phone service using PSTN (not the voice over IP) is circuit-switched.

1 %0
Switch Hook, also called hook switch, is a plunger or switch where a telephone handset sits
when the telephone is on hook, or hung up. When the handset is lifted, the switch hook goes up
and the telephone is off hook.

1 %
 
Switch Matrices are the ratio of the number of input terminals to the number of output terminals
of a switch.

1 %c

Switch Train refers to the sequence of switches which are involved in the completion of a circuit
path from an originating station to a destination station.

1 %  
Switched Access is a service or feature that provides the transport of switched traffic between
end-user and carriers. Switched Access connects end-users to Interexchange Carriers (IXCs),
wireless carriers, and competitive local exchange Carriers (CLECs). Long distance calls and calls
to cellular phones both rely upon switched access services to connect end-users to the networks
of the called carrier. Switched Access is composed of the following fundamental elements:
Physical Transport, Switching and Associated Options, and Carrier Common Line (Local Loop).
1 % 



Switched Calls refer to the traditional telephone calls in which a user picks up a phone, hears a
dial tone, and enters the destination phone number to reach the other phone. Switched calls also
can be private line auto-ringdown (PLAR) calls, or tie-line calls for fixed point-to-point
connections.

1 % ?A8:
Switched-1536, also known as H11 data service, is a data service consisting of a single 1536
kbps circuit, called an H11 channel. The H11 channel is comprised of all 24 channels on the line.
Two T1 PRI lines are required to access switched-1536. One line carries the user data, and the
other line contains the D-channel. NFAS is required for this data service because the D channel
must be on a separate line. This service is available over T1 PRI lines only.

1 % 8;@
Switched-384, also known as H0 data service, is a data service consisting of a single 384 kbps
circuit, called a H0 channel. The H0 channel is comprised of 6 B channels. This service is
available over T1 PRI lines only.

1 % A:
Switched-56 is a data service consisting of a single 56 kbps channel. This service is available
over any type of line. It is the only service available to T1 access lines and Switched-56 lines.
Because Switched-56 was the first available data service, both the service itself and the lines that
accessed it were called Switched-56. However, any type of line can now access Switched-56 data
service, and there are other new services in addition to Switched-56.

1 %%
Switchhook is a switch on a telephone set, associated with the structure supporting the receiver
or handset. It is operated by the removal or replacement of the receiver or handset on the support.

1 %%&

%
Switchhook Flash refers to a signaling technique whereby the signal is originated by
momentarily depressing the switchhook. The technique is sensitive to variations in the time of
depression. Too short a signal will not be recognized and too long a signal will be interpreted as
a disconnected signal.

1 %&

Switching Fee is per-line fee imposed by the LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) to reprogram their
switching system to change customer's default long distance carrier. Some long distance carrier
will reimburse the subscribers for this fee.

1 %
 
Switching Matrices are the mechanism that provides signal paths between its input and output
terminations. Modern matrices are electronic and involve either time or space division switching.
A time division switch employs a TDM process, in a time-slot interchange (TSI) arrangement. In
space division, a physical, electrical, spatial link is established through the switch matrix.
Whereas older space division switches used electro-mechanical mechanisms with metallic
contacts, modern space-division switches are implemented electronically using integrated
circuits.

1 %
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Switchless Reseller refers to a reseller who owns no communications facilities and buys long
distance service in bulk from a long distance company and resells that service to smaller users.

.  " "1 %

Step-by-Step Switch(SXS) refers a bidirectional, biselective switch (vertical and angular) in
which the moving contact selects from among 100 fixed contacts arranged in a 10 x 10 array.

  

  
Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL), also known as Single-line Digital Subscriber Line, is
one variaton of DSL technologies that provides equal bandwidth for both uploads and
downloads. SDSL delivers 1.544 Mbps both downstream and upstream over a single copper
twisted pair. The use of a single twisted pair limits the operating range of SDSL to 10,000 feet
(3048.8 meters).

 % 1

Synchronous network is a telecommunication network in which clocks are controlled to run,
ideally, at identical rates, or at the same mean rate with a fixed relative phase displacement,
within specified limited range. Ideally, the clock is synchronous, but in practice, they may be
mesochronous.

 .
System X is the old name of the UK's first national digital telephone exchange system.

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The T.120, an ITU-T standard, is made up of a suite of communication and application
protocols. T.120 protocols are designed for multipoint Data Conferencing and real time
communication, including multilayer protocols which considerably enhance multimedia, MCU
and codec control capabilities. Depending on the type of T.120 implementations, the resulting
product can make connections, transmit and receive data and collaborate using compatible data
conferencing features, such as program sharing, whiteboard conferencing and file transfer.

cE8C
The T.30, an ITU-T standard, describes the overall procedure for establishing and managing
communication between two fax machines.

cE8;
The T.38, an ITU-T standard, defines procedures for real-time Group 3 facsimile communication
over IP networks.
c?
T1 is a digital WAN carrier facility. T1 transmits DS-1-formatted data at 1.544 Mbps through the
telephone-switching network, using AMI or B8ZS coding.

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T1 Access line is a 1.544 Mbps T1 line that provides twenty-four 64 Kbps data channels and
uses in-band signaling. This type of line can contain all switched channels, all nailed-up
channels, or a combination of switched and nailed-up channels.

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T1 Cable refers to a physical cable for T1 Line. T1 cable is two twisted pairs of 22 AWG, 100
ohm wire with the added characteristic that each pair is individually shielded.

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T1 Carrier is a dedicated phone connection, a time-division multiplexed digital transmission
facility, supporting data rates of 1.544Mbits per second. A T-1 line actually consists of 24
individual channels, each of which supports 64Kbits per second. Each 64Kbit/second channel
can be configured to carry voice or data traffic. Most telephone companies allow you to buy just
some of these individual channels, known as fractional T-1 access. Developed in the 1960s, the
T1 carrier is designed to operate full duplex over two pairs in unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
cable.

c?
T1 Line is a general term for a digital carrier typically leased from a local or long-distance
provider, capable of transmitting 1.544 Mbps of electronic information. A T1 line is point-to-
point, as opposed to a dialable ISDN line. T1 lines may be used fractionally or at their full
bandwidth. E1 is the approximate European equivalent, prevalent also in Mexico. E.g., the UT
video network is composed primarily of leased T1 lines that carry compressed video and Internet
data between UT components.

c?'$)
T1 PRI Line is a T1 line that uses 23 B channels for user data, and one 64 kbps D channel for
ISDN D-channel signalling. The B channels can be all switched, all nailed up, or a combination
of both. This type of PRI line is a standard in North America, Japan, and Korea.

c?#?
T1/DS-1 is trunk level 1 that is the equivalent of 24 multiplexed voice grade channels at 64
Kbps. It is a dedicated phone connection with a total speed of 1,544 Mbps.

cD#D
T2/DS-2, trunk level 2, is a facility that is equivalent of 4 multiplexed T1 Channels at a speed of
6.3 Mbps.

c8
T3 is a digital WAN carrier facility. T3 transmits DS-3-formatted data at 44.736 Mbps through
the telephone switching network.
c8
T3 Line is a high-speed connection capable of transmitting data at a rate of 45 Mbps. A T3 Line
represents a bandwidth equal to about 672 regular voice-grade telephone lines. A T3 Line is
typically installed as a major networking artery for corporations and universities with a high-
volume network traffic.

c8#8
T3/DS-3, trunk level 3, is a facility that is equivalent of 28 multiplexed T1 channels at a speed of
45 Mbps.

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T4/DS-4, trunk level 4, is a facility that is equivalent of 6 multiplexed T3 channels at a speed of
274 Mbps.

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" 
Terminal Adapter (TA) is a device used to connect ISDN BRI connections to existing interfaces,
such as EIA/TIA-232. Essentially, Terminal Adapter is an ISDN modem.

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Telephone Answering Bureau (TAB), also called Telephone Answering Service, is a
supplementary feature of telephone services whereby incoming calls on central office, Centrex
Service, Inward Wide Area Telecommunications Service, Airport Telephone Service, and
Administrative Terminal Lines may be answered at a common point through the use of
answering lines and equipment. The service is available only where selective ringing is used.
Various Telephone Answering Services are provided based on equipment, line configuration,
and types of equipment used.

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Telemetry Asynchronous Block Serial (TABS) refers to the former AT&T polled point-to-point
or multipoint communication protocol that supports moderate data transfer rates over intra-office
wire pairs.

c


 

Tactical Designator, also called Tactical Callsign, refers a system consisting of a letter of the
police phonetic alphabet followed by one or two numbers. For example, "Mary One" might
identify the head of a city's homicide division.

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Tekelec's Transport Adapter Layer Interface (TALI), a protocol in the SIGTRAN suite, is the
interface of a Signaling Gateway, which provides interworking between the Switched Circuit
Network (SCN) and an IP network. Since the Gateway is the central point of signaling
information, not only does it provide transportation of signaling from one network to another, but
can also provide additional functions such as protocol translation, security screening, routing
information and seamless access to Intelligent Network (IN) services on both networks.
c


 
Talk Batter refers to a DC voltage supplied by the central office to the subscriber's loop so as to
supply the power to voice conversation.

c
 1 %
Tandem Switching, also called class 4 switching, refers to the switching of long distance calls in
PSTN. Tandem is a telephony term meaning "to connect in series." Thus, a tandem switch
connects one trunk to another. A tandem switch is an intermediate switch or connection between
an originating telephone call and the final destination of the call.

c
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Tandem Tie Trunk Switching is a switched network configuration in which transmission can be
routed through two consecutive tie trunks.

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Tandem Trunk is a trunk circuit which connects a tandem switch to another tandem switch or to
a telephone company central office.

c) c  " %) "


Time Assignment Speech Interpolation (TASI) is an analog technique used in
telecommunications on certain long transmission links to increase voice-transmission capacity.
Time Assignment Speech Interpolation works by switching additional users onto any channel
temporarily idled because an original user has stopped speaking. While the original user resumes
speaking, that user will, in turn, be switched to any cannel that happens to be idle.

cc?D#?8
TAT-12 is former AT&T's 12th and 13th transatlantic telephone cables in a ring structure which
has been in operation since 1996, initially carrying 2x5 Gbit/s. This was the first TAT cable to
use a ring structure, involving two stretches of cable across the ocean floor, which explains why
two numbers (12 and 13) were used. All later cables also use a ring structure, but only use one
number, TAT-14 etc.

cc;
TAT-8 is the 8th Transatlantic telephone transport cable. It initially carried 40,000 telephone
circuits which means 40,000 simultaneous calls between USA, France, and UK. It was
constructed in 1988 by a consortium of companies led by former AT&T, France Telecom, and
British Telecom. It was able to serve the three countries with a single trans-Atlantic crossing
with the use of an innovative branching unit located underwater on the continental shelf off the
coast of Great Britain. The cable lands in Tuckerton, NJ, USA Widemouth, England, and
Penmarch, France.

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Telemetry Byte Oriented Serial(TBOS) protocol is an open standard for network management,
originally developed by Bellcore for AT&T. TBOS transmits alarm, status, and control points
between NE and OSS. TBOS defines one physical interface for a direct connection between the
telemetry equipment and the monitored equipment.
c' c


"

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'

Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP), a protocol in the SS7 protocol suite, enables
the deployment of advanced intelligent network services by supporting non-circuit-related
information exchange between signaling points, using the Signaling Connection Control Part
(SCCP) connectionless service. TCAP also supports remote controlâ¼´ability to invoke features
in another remote network switch.

c
 
T-Carrier is a digital transmission system standardized by former AT&T for short and medium
distance transmissions. T-Carrier is a PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) system using 64 Kbps for a
voice channel.

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Transparent Common Channel Signaling(T-CCS) is a feature that allows the connection of two
PBXs with digital interfaces that use a proprietary or unsupported CCS protocol without the need
for interpretation of CCS signalling for call processing. T1/E1 traffic is transported transparently
through the data network and the feature preserves proprietary signalling. From the PBX
standpoint, this is accomplished through a point-to-point connection. Calls from the PBXs are
not routed, but follow a pre-configured route to the destination.

c c

 


Trellis Coded Modulation (TCM) is one of the coded modulation techniques used in digital
communications. It combines the choice of a modulation scheme with that of a convolutional
code together for the purpose of gaining noise immunity over encoded transmission without
expanding the signal bandwidth or increasing the transmitted power.

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  !% 
!
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) refers to a telephone service that is specially
designed for people who have severe speech or hearing disabilities. As of January 26, 1992, all
public entities were required by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) to provide people
who have severe speech or hearing disabilities equal access to emergency services. This means
direct access to 9-1-1 using TTY/TDD's and computer modems. Telecommunicators must be
able to effectively handle calls from the community with speech and hearing disadvantage. This
involves dispatching these calls for assistance using the appropriate resources in a rational and
timely manner. One of the most critical skills that a telecommunicator must possess is
recognition of a TTY/TDD call. An entity may provide a separate seven-digit line for use
exclusively by non-voice calls in addition to providing direct access for these calls on the 9-1-1
line. If 9-1-1 is not available, an entity can provide emergency service through a seven-digit
number. It may provide two separate lines, one for voice calls and one for non-voice calls. If this
is done, the entity must ensure that the services provided on the non-voice line are as effective in
terms of time response and availability in hours as the voice line. Also this non-voice number
must be publicized effectively as the voice number and displayed as prominently.

c c "
+

Time Division Duplexing (TDD) refers to a transmission scheme that allows an asymmetric flow
for uplink and downlink transmission which is more suited to data transmission. In a Time
Division Duplex system, a common carrier is shared between the uplink and downlink, the
resource being switched in time. Users are allocated one or more timeslots for uplink and
downlink transmission.

c 
TDM Cross-Connect allows DSO channels from one T1 or E1 facility to be cross-connected
digitally to DS0 channels on another T1 or E1. By using this method, channel traffic is sent
between a PBX and CO PSTN switch or other telephony device, so that some PBX channels are
directed for a long-distance service through the PSTN while the router compresses others for
interoffice VoIP calls. In addition, Drop and Insert can cross-connect a telephony switch (from
the CO or PSTN) to a channel bank for external analog connectivity.

c c 
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+

Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) refers to a transmission technique in which a single
communications channel is subdivided into a number of time slots, each of which carries the
information of a separate data stream. Bandwidth is allocated to each channel regardless of
whether the station has data to transmit.

c

Telco means a local or regional telephone company that owns and operates lines to customer
locations and Class 5 Central Office Switches. Telcos have connections to other Cos (Central
Office), Tandem (Class 4 Toll) offices and may connect directly to long distance carriers such as
IECs.

c
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Telco-Return cable modem(CM) is a device which uses the cable network only for subscriber
downstream traffic, and uses the PSTN for subscriber upstream traffic (which is necessary in
older cable plants).

c


Telecommand refers to the transmission of non-voice signals for the purpose of remotely
controlling a device.

c


Telecommunication refers to the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of
communication. Telecommunication is widespread and devices that assist the process such as the
television, radio and telephone are common in many parts of the world. There is also a vast array
of networks that connect these devices, including computer networks, public telephone networks,
radio networks and television networks. Computer communication across the Internet, such as e-
mail and instant messaging, is just one of many examples of telecommunication.

c

 
Telecommunication circuit refers to a physical telephone and other communication path that is
used to transmit information from one location to another. It is also called Telecommunication
line.
c

 !?FF:
Telecommunications Act of 1996 refers to a United States telecommunications law, which was
the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending
the Communications Act of 1934. The general intention of the Act was deregulation and
promotion of competition. The Act removed barriers which had previously prevented telecoms
from competing head-to-head. A new group of telephone companies, "Competitive Local
Exchange Carriers" (CLECs), grew to compete with the incumbents ("ILECs" or Incumbent
Local Exchange Carriers). Deregulation and the new entrants provided consumers and businesses
with choices in local phone service. When the smaller CLECs faced financial problems, the trend
toward competition slowed, turning in to a decade of reconsolidation. The 1996 has widely been
regarded by some as a failure. As former FCC Chair Reed Hundt stated, the telecommunications
companies chose consolidation over competition. Ten years later, there are fewer
telecommunications carriers then there were at the time of enactment. The US Congress is
currently considering legislation that would essentially replace the Telecommunications Act of
1996.

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Telecommunications Closet (TC), also called Wiring Closet, is a room or closet that houses all
the telecommunication equipment. The TC also serves as a termination point for the horizontal
cabling system of a network, the point of circuit administration and contains the network's
distribution panels, cross-connects and backbone. The TC may also house auxiliary power
supplies for workstation equipment.

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Telecommunications Network is a network of telecommunications paths arranged so that
information may be passed from one part of the network to another over multiple paths. The
following are some examples or Telecommunications Network: Computer network, the Internet,
the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Telecommunications Network generally
conceptually consists of three planes (so called because they can be thought of as being, and
often are, separate overlay networks.): (1) The Control Plane is the part of the network that
carries control information sometimes called signaling. (2) The Data Plane or User Plane is the
part of the network that carries its user's traffic or messages. (3) The Management Plane is the
part of the network that carries the operations and administration traffic required for network
management.

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Telecommunications Service refers to the transmission, emission, or reception of intelligence of
any nature, by wire, cable, satellite, fiber optics, laser, radio visual or other electronic, electric,
electromagnetic, or acoustically coupled means , or any combination thereof.

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Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) system user refers to any individual, organization, or
activity that interacts with the NS/EP TSP System.
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Telecommunications tariffs refer to the prices charged to consumers by telecommunications
service providers.

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Telecommuters refers to those who are working remotely accessing the related resources by
means of telecommunication. In today⼌s business climate, companies have become more
distributed, and frequently work across time, space, and organizational boundaries.
Telecommuters are increasing in the percentage of work force.

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Teleconference refers to holding a conference via a telephone or network connection. The most
simple form of teleconferencing is using three-way calling to setup your own teleconference.
More advanced PBX equipment can setup conference calls between more than three participants.
Computers have given new meaning to the term because they allow groups to do much more
than just talk. Once a teleconference is established, the group can share applications and mark up
a common whiteboard. There are many teleconferencing applications that work over private
networks.

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Teledesic is a global "Internet-in-the-Sky" that will provide broadband and Internet access,
videoconferencing, high-quality voice and other digital data services through a constellation of
288 satellites. The Teledesic Network consists of terminals that interface between the satellite
network and the terrestrial end-users, network gateways and network operations and control
systems that perform network management functions, and a space segment that provides the
communication links and switching among terminals. Teledesic's space-based network uses fast-
packet switching to provide seamless, global coverage. Each satellite is a node in the fast-packet-
switch network and communicates through crosslinks to other satellites in the same and adjacent
orbital planes. Communications are treated within the network as streams of short, fixed-length
packets. Each packet carries the network address of the destination terminal, and each node
independently selects the least-delay route to that destination.

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Teleflip is a service that makes it possible for a customer to send short email messages to
anyone's phone using only their phone number. The way it works is like this: Open any email
program or webmail site, then in the To: field, put your friend's phone number (don't use any
parentheses around the area code), followed by @teleflip.com. For instance, if your friend's
number was 415-555-1212, you'd just enter: 415-555-1212@teleflip.com. In the body of the
message, type a short message, up to 160 characters. You can put something in the subject line
too, but it will count towards that 160-character limit, finally,hit Send. Your message will go to
TeleFlip, and TeleFlip will convert it into a text message and deliver it to your friend's phone via
SMS (Short Message Service).

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Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support
long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health
and health administration. Technologies used for this purpose typically are: videoconferencing,
the Internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless
communications.

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Teleoperation refers to the operation of a machine at a distance. It is in analogy to the phrase
"remote control". It's most commonly associated with robotics and mobile robots but can be
applied to a whole range of circumstances in which a device or machine is operated by a person
from a distance.

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Telephone Number Mapping, also referred to "E164 NUmber Mapping" or Electronic
Numbering (ENUM), is a scheme for mapping telephone numbers to the Domain Name System
(DNS) using Dynamic Delegation Discovery System(DDDS). ENUM includes a suite of
protocols to unify the telephone numbering system E.164 with the Internet addressing system
DNS by using an indirect lookup method, to obtain NAPTR records. The records are stored at a
DNS database. ENUM is a DNS-based protocol that is best suited to offer services that not only
help facilitate, but expand on ways to complete calls over VoIP networks. It provides a user with
a domain name on an E.164 server in order to associate a common international telephone
number with a URI and provide other DNS-related services. The server is maintained by the
Service Provider and is expected to become a standard since it can successfully address locating
URIs with nothing more than a common international telephone number.

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Telephony is a general term for the technologies behind voice communications, including
traditional circuit switched telephone networks and the newer IP telephony technologies (VOIP)
over the packet switched networks.

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Teletext is a one-way, or non-interactive, system for transmission of text and graphics via
broadcasting or cable for display on a television set. A decoder or microchip resident in the TV
set is needed to extract the teletext information. Teletext can be transmitted over one-way cable
or over-the-air broadcasting via radio or television.

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Telework, also called telecommuting, is the ability to do work at a location other than the
"official duty station", using networking technologies. With portable computers, high speed
telecommunications links, and ever-present pocket communications devices, many employees
today can work almost anywhere.

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Telex is a teletypewriter service allowing subscribers to send messages over the PSTN.

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Terminal Equipment (TE) refers to any ISDN-compatible device that can be attached to the
network, such as a telephone, a fax, or a computer.
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Terminated Line is a transmission line with a resistance connected across the conductors at the
far end. If this resistance matches the characteristic impedance of the line, no signals will be
reflected from the far end to distort information transmissions.

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Ternary Signal is a type of digital signal which has three voltage levels (e.g., +5v, 0v, and -5v).

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Testing Signal is a signal in telephony system used for measuring telephone circuit performance,
such as noise bit error rate via loopback arrangement, and also to "trouble shoot" circuit problem
and/or equipment faults.

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Trunking Gateway(TGW) is a gateway that supports only bearer traffic (no signaling traffic). For
example, a gateway that terminates T1s (or greater) with no signaling control is a trunking
gateway.

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Third Party Billing refers to the use of an outside service bureau for bill processing such as: call
rating, customer invoicing, collections, etc.

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TIA/EIA-568 Standard refers to the complete electrical and physical guidelines for industry-
standard premise wiring systems which were developed jointly by the Telecommunications
Industries Association and the Electronic Industries Association. As specified by the TIA/EIA-
568, a fully functional premise wiring system is the result of multiple subsystems working
together as a single network.

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Telecommunications Industry Alliance(TIA) is an organization that develops standards relating
to telecommunications technologies. Together, the TIA and the EIA have formalized standards,
such as EIA/TIA-232, for the electrical characteristics of data transmission.

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TIA-232, a popular physical layer interface, also known as EIA-232 or RS-232, is a standard for
serial binary data interconnection between a DTE (Data terminal equipment) and a DCE (Data
communication equipment). It is commonly used in computer serial ports. A similar ITU-T
standard is V.24.

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TIA-422, also known as EIA-422 or RS-422, is the balanced electrical implementation of
EIA/TIA-449 for high-speed data transmission. Now referred to collectively with TIA-423 as
EIA-530, it provides for data transmission, using balanced or differential signaling, with
unidirectional/non-reversible, terminated or non-terminated transmission lines, point to point, or
multi-drop.
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TIA-423, also known as EIA 423 or RS-423, is the unbalanced electrical implementation of
EIA/TIA-449 for EIA/TIA-232 compatibility.

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TIA-449, also known as EIA-449 or RS-449, specifies the functional and mechanical
characteristics of the interface between data terminal equipment and data communications
equipment. The electrical signalling standards intended for use with RS 449 are TIA-422 for
balanced signals, and TIA-423 for unbalanced signals, with a data rate up to 2,000,000 bits per
second. The standard specified two D-subminiature connectors with 37 and 9 pins for the
primary and secondary data circuits.

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TIA-530, also known as EIA-530 or RS-530, is a balanced serial interface standard that generally
uses a 25-pin connector. The specification defines the cable between the DTE and DCE devices.
It is a replacement for EIA-449, which uses 37-pin connector. It is to be used in conjunction with
EIA-422 and EIA-423.

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Tie Trunk is a special service circuit connecting two private branch exchanges (PBXs) or
equivalent switching systems.

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Tie-Line specifies a connection that emulates a temporary tie-line trunk to a private branch
exchange (PBX). A tie-line connection is set up automatically for each call and is torn down
when the call ends.

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Tie-Line Trunk is a PBX trunk that is tied to a line, which leads to a remote PBX; typically used
for private telephone networks, although the tie-line connection often is carried on telco-
provided lines.

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Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) is a grant
program from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the United
States Department of Commerce, established by Congress in 1994 to assist non-profit
organizations and units of state and local government to undertake projects which contribute to
the building of a national information infrastructure.

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Time Consistent Busy Hour refers to the identical hour each day over a number of days, during
which the highest average traffic is measured.

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Time Division refers to a method of serving a number of simultaneous channels over a common
transmission path by assigning the transmission path sequentially to various channels, each
assignment being for a discrete time interval.

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Time Division Switching is switching of time-division multiplexed (TDM) channels by shifting
bits between time slots in a TDM frame.

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Time of Day Routing is a routing scheme that routes calls to different locations based on the time
of day when a call is made. For example, during business hours, calls can route to an office, and
after hours, calls can go directly to a voice-messaging system or to a home number.

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Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture(TINA) is a telecom services
architecture defined by TINA-C. The resulting architecture specifications were consolidated as
"TINA v1.0 Deliverables and Specifications" in September, 2000.

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Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture Consortium(TINA-C) was an
organization formed in 1993 by 46 of the world's leading Telco operators, vendors and IT
industry with the mission to define a common software architecture for telecommunications. As
a result, the "TINA architecture" was developed by a group of some one hundred engineers from
its member companies, working together at one time under one roof in New Jersey, USA, as its
core team. It was announced in September of 2000, that TINA-C had completed its mission and
would be dissolved at the end of the year.

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Tip refers to the ball-shaped contact at the end of a two-conductor switchboard plug in an old
telephone system.

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Tip and Ring are telephony slang for the two wires which make up the electrical circuit used for
telephone wiring. Tip is the nickname for the electrically positive wire and Ring is the nickname
for the electrically negative wire.

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Tip Cable is a small (usually 100-pair) cable connecting terminals on a distributing frame to
cable pairs in the cable vault.

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Tip Side is the conductor of a circuit which is associated with the tip of a plug, or of a telephone
circuit. It is also called Tip Wire.

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Trunk Information Record Keeping System(TIRKS) is a Bellcore OSS that provides records
keeping for interoffice trunk facilities.
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Transaction Language 1 (TL1) is an element management protocol used primarily in the
telecommunication industry. TL1 was designed by Bellcore (now Telecordia) in 1984 for use
with its OSS (Operations Support System), MNA. TL1 is an MML (Man Machine Language),
which means that TL1 messages should be readable and writeable by humans as well as
machines.

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Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) model was introduced by ITU-T
Recommendation M.3000 in 1985 as a reference model for the Operation Support System (OSS)
of telecommunications service providers. The TMN concept is an architectural framework for
the interconnection of different types of OSS components and network elements. TMN also
describes the standardized interfaces and protocols used for the exchange of information between
OSS components and network elements, and the total functionality needed for network
management.

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Telecommunications Management Network(TMN) refers to the standard interfaces that would
allow a network to be managed consistently across all network element suppliers.
Telecommunications Management Network originated formally in 1988 under the auspices of
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-TS) as a strategic goal to create or identify
such standard. The concept has fostered and tracked a series of interrelated efforts at developing
standard ways to define and address network elements. Telecommunications Management
Network uses the OSI Management Standards as its framework. Telecommunications
Management Network applies to wireless communications and cable TV as well as to private and
public wired networks.

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Toll refers to, in telecommunications system: (1) the charge for making calls outside the
boundaries of an exchange. (2) a general term applied to the facilities and services of carriers
used in conjunction with making toll calls.

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Toll Fraud refers to the fraudulent, illegal use of a company's telecommunications system by a
third party from a remote location.

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Toll Restriction PBX refers to a PBX that permits a user to call within the local service area, but
prevents toll calls to a toll operator without the assistance of an attendant. Toll restriction is
available on an individual basis under either of the following options: (1) Battery Reversal:
Provides a battery reversal signal from the central office on attempted toll calls which causes the
PBX system to route the call to intercept tone. (2) 0/1: Screen calls from restricted lines, and
routes calls in which the first or second digit following the access code is a 0 or a 1 to intercept
tone. However, station users on 0/1 toll restriction lines can be allowed to make toll calls to up to
ten preselected exchange or area codes.
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Touch tone refers to Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) that uses two tones to represent each
key on the touch pad. When any key is pressed, the tone of the column and the tone of the row
are generated, hence dual tone. As an example, pressing the '5' button generates the tones 770 Hz
and 1336 Hz.

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Traffic Capacity refers to the total volume of traffic which a communications facility can handle
within a specified time period.

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Traffic Grooming refers to the process of taking telecommunications traffic and sorting it into
the most efficient arrangement possible. It involves the consideration of network topology and
the different routes in use. When dealing with mesh networks, it's especially helpful.

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Traffic Usage refers to the total occupancy of a network. This is calculated as the product of
holding time and calling rate, and can be expressed as call-hours. Traffic usage may be made up
of many short calls or a few long calls - it doesn't matter.

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Traffic-flow security refers to the use of measures that conceal the presence of valid messages on
a communications circuit to prevent traffic analysts, normally achieved by causing the circuit to
appear busy at all times. Traffic-flow security can be done by the protection resulting from
features inherent in some crypto-equipment or by operational procedures.

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Transmission refers to the act of transmitting electrical signals (messages) and the associated
phenonomena of radiant energy that passes through media. Signals can be a series of data unit,
such as binary digits, or groups of those, variously called frames, blocks. Transmission has two
aspects: (1) the dispatching by a sender, for reception elsewhere, of a signal, message, or any
form of information. (2) the propagation of a signal by any means, such as by telegraph,
telephone, radio, television, or facsimile via any medium, such as wire, coaxial cable,
microwave, optical fiber, or radio frequency.

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Transmission block refers to the following meanings: (1) A group of bits or characters
transmitted as a unit and usually containing an encoding procedure for error control purposes. (2)
In data transmission, a group of records is sent, processed, or recorded as a unit. Transmission
block is usually terminated by an end-of-block character (EOB), end-of-transmission-block
character (ETB), or end-of-text character (EOT).

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Transmission coefficient is the value of some quantity associated with the resultant field
produced by incident and reflected waves at a given point in a transmission medium divided by
the corresponding quantity in the incident wave. The ratio of the transmitted to incident energy
flux or flux of some other quantity at a discontinuity in a transmission medium; for sound waves,
it is called the sound transmission coefficient. The ratio of the transmitted flux of some quantity
to the incident flux for a substance of unit thickness.

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Transmission Impairments is a condition that causes information to be lost in a signal. The
following are some aspects of transmission impairments: (1) Attenuation. Signals loose power in
time. (2) Dispersion. Signals tend to spread as they travel, with the amount of spreading
dependent on the frequency. (3) Delay distortion. Due to velocity of propagation that varies with
frequency. Thus, various frequency components of a signal arrive at the receiver at different
times. (4) Noise; sources from Thermal, Intermodulation, Crosstalk.

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Transmission Level refers to the power of a transmission signal at a point on a transmission
facility. It may be measured in absolute terms (dbm) or in a ratio to its level at some reference
point (db).

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Transmission medium refers to any material substance which can propagate waves or energy for
telecommunications purposes. Transmission medium are classified as one of the following: (1)
Guided (or bounded)- waves are guided along a solid medium such as a transmission line. (2)
Wireless (or unguided) - Transmissions and receptions are achieved by means of an antenna.

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Transmission Objectives refers to the electrical performance characteristics for communication
circuits, systems, and equipment based on both economic and technical considerations of
telephone facilities, and on reasonable estimates of the performance desired. Characteristics for
which objectives are stated include loss, noise, echo, crosstalk, frequency shift, attenuation
distortion, envelope delay distortion, etc.

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Transmission system consists of a set of hardware facilities and software that transits a signal
from one place to another. The signal can be an electrical, optical or radio signal.

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Telephony Routing over IP (TRIP) is a policy-driven inter-administrative domain protocol for
advertising the reachability of telephony destinations between location servers and for
advertising attributes of the routes to those destinations. TRIP's operation is independent of any
signaling protocol; hence TRIP can serve as the telephony routing protocol for any signaling
protocol.

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Triple Order Tone is one of the order tones that has three short spurts of high tone. This signal is
three short spurts in quick succession and means that the operator should pass the office name
only and wait for another order tone.
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Trouble Tone, also called plugging up code tone, is a steady low tone. It is applied by an
operator or test person at a B position in a manual office to the jack sleeve of a line or trunk in a
calling multiple, to tell other operators that the line or trunk is in trouble.

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Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) is the service that provides a bridge for telephone
calls between voice telephone users and people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-
disabled. TRS is mandated by the US gorvenment with Disabilities Act and is regulated by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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Trunk refers to physical and logical connections between two switches across which network
traffic travels. A switched backbone is composed of a number of trunks.

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Trunk Member refers to a single circuit or trunk in a trunk group.

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Trunk occupancy refers to the percentage of time that trunks are in use. Trunk occupancy may
also be expressed as the carried CCS per trunk.

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Telephony Services Application Programming Interface (TSAPI) is a call control model
developed by Lucent and Novell for NetWare servers.

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Time Slot Interchange (TSI) is the device in a switching system that permits any received
incoming byte from an input tributary to be mapped to any outgoing or transmiting byte,
respectively, on the associated output tributary.

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Transmitting Subscriber Information(TSI) is a frame that can be sent by the caller with the
caller's telephone number that can be used to screen calls.

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Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) system is a prioritizing service providing national
security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) that are vital to coordinating and responding to
crises. As a result of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other natural or man-made disasters,
telecommunications service vendors may become overwhelmed with requests for new
telecommunication services and requirements to restore existing telecommunications services.
The TSP Program provides service vendors with a Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
mandate for prioritizing service requests by identifying those services critical to NS/EP. A
telecommunication service with a TSP assignment is assured of receiving full attention by the
service vendor before a non-TSP service.
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TSPS Busy Verification Tone is a variation of "Busy Verification Tone" which is 440 Hz at - 13
dBm0/frequency for an initial of 2 seconds on and then on again for 0.5 second every 10
seconds.

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Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) is former AT&T's 5ESS OSPS's ability to provide
several applications simultaneously on one switching system. One switch with OSPS can serve
up to 128 teams of operators handling different applications, such as directory, tool, and operator
assistance.

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Teletypewriter (TTY) is a communication terminal which is capable of receiving coded character
signals from a communications network and converting these signals into printed pages. This
specific term is a trademark of the Teletype Corporation, a former AT&T subsidiary.

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Teletypewriter (TTY) is a communication terminal which is capable of receiving coded character
signals from a communications network and converting these signals into printed pages. This
specific term is a trademark of the Teletype Corporation, a former AT&T subsidiary.

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The Telephone User Part (TUP) provides the signaling backbone between switching elements for
basic call establishment, supervision, and release of circuit switched network connections for
telecommunications services. TUP supports analog and digital circuits, and limited call
management signaling.

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Two-Way Trunk is the trunk that can be seized at either end which means a traffic may be
originated from both side of the trunk. Both sides of the trunk can be used as "outgoing trunk" as
well as "incoming trunk".

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U Interface is the interface between the telco and the user, also known as the local digital
subscriber line (DSL) loop.

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Uncapping refers to the activities performed to alter customer's ISP (Internet Service Provider)
modem settings. One of the purposes of uncapping is to change the bandwidth limitation, such as
altering a 512kbit/s access modem to 10Mbit/s. Uncapping is an illegal activity and many ISPs
check modem configuration files nightly to detect uncapped modems.
-* -
 1*
 
Unbundled Network Elements (UNE), a requirement mandated by the Telecommunications Act
of 1996 of USA, are the parts of the network that the ILECs are required to offer on an
unbundled basis. Together, these parts make up a loop that connects to a DSLAM or a voice
switch (or both). The loop allows non-facilities-based telecommunications providers to deliver
service without laying network infrastructure. On February 20, 2003, the FCC adopted new rules
for network unbundling obligations of incumbent Local Phone Carrier.

-* -
 1*
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Unbundled Network Elements Loop (UNE-L), an alternative to the UNE-P, allows CLECs
access to or operate their own local switch. The underlying copper (loop) that runs to customer's
house is then leased by the CLEC, and cross-connected to the CLEC's switch. Both UNE-P and
UNE-L have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. Other CLECs bypass the ILEC's
network entirely, using their own facilities. These facility-based LECs include cable companies
offering phone service over coaxial cable.

-*' -
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Unbundled Network Elements Platform (UNE-P) is a combination of UNEs that allows end-to-
end service delivery by a CLEC without ANY facilities. Despite not involving any CLEC
facilities, it still requires facilities-based certification from the PUC to deliver services via UNE-
P.

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Uniform Call Distributor is the feature that accepts incoming calls and distributes them equally
among agents in a call center.

-"




Unipolar signal is a two-state signal where one of the states is represented by voltage or current (
the current flow can be in either direction ) and the other state is represented by no voltage or
current.

- 




 
Universal Digital Carrier refers to one digital copper pair consisting of two analog telephone
lines.

- 

 
Universal Service refers to the Federal Universal Service with the goals as mandated by the 1996
Act of USA, to promote the availability of quality services at reasonable and affordable rates;
increase access to advanced telecommunications services throughout the Nation; advance the
availability of such services to all consumers, including those in low income, rural, insular, and
high cost areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to those charged in urban areas. In
addition, the 1996 Act states that all providers of telecommunications services should contribute
to Federal universal service in some equitable and nondiscriminatory manner; there should be
specific, predictable, and sufficient Federal and State mechanisms to preserve and advance
universal service; all schools, classrooms, health care providers, and libraries should, generally,
have access to advanced telecommunications services; and finally, that the Federal-State Joint
Board and the Commission should determine those other principles that, consistent with the 1996
Act, are necessary to protect the public interest.

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Universal Personal Telecommunications (UPT) are a special segment of the international
telephone number space which has been set aside for universal personal telephone numbers. UPT
has been allocated country code 878. This concept was introduced by International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2001, and referred to as "global number portability".

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User information bit is a bit transferred from a source user to a telecommunications system for
delivery to a destination user. User information bits do not include the overhead bits originated
by, or having their primary functional effect within, the telecommunications system. User
information bits are encoded to form channel bits.

- '

User Part refers to a function in the common channel signaling system. It is used to transfer
signaling messages via the message transfer part. There are different types of user parts for
telephone, data, and ISDN services. Each user part is specific to a particular application in the
signaling system.

- '


User Plane refers to one of the three entities in the ATM reference model. The user plane
includes a group of protocols to facilitate the actual data transmission. The other two entities are
control plane for signaling and the management plane for network management issues. The
concept and model of user plane, control plane and management plane has been extended to
other telecommunication technology groups beyond the ATM technology.

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Universal Time Coordinator(UTC), also known as Coordinated Universal Time, is the time
standard in telecommunications system developed based on atomic clocks since the accuracy of
it has been improved considerably. Before UTC, the time standard was called "mean solar time"
which was based on the "rotation of the earth about its axis", with respect to the sun.

-

 
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Utility-Based Communications Service Providers refer to utility companies, particularly electric
power and gas companies entering the telecommunications market. In the case of the electric
companies, there is some interest in providing high-speed internet access as well as traditional
voice service over power lines.

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User-User Information Element (UUIE) is a a type of Information Elements in the ISDN
messages, which is used to send user name and other information for call setup.
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V.24 is an ITU-T standard for a physical layer interface between DTE and DCE. V.24 is
essentially the same as the EIA/TIA-232 standard.

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V.25bis is an ITU-T specification describing procedures for call setup and tear-down over the
DTE-DCE interface in a PSDN.

7E8D
V.32 is an ITU-T standard serial line protocol for bidirectional data transmissions at speeds of
4.8 or 9.6 kbps.

7E8D
V.32bis is an ITU-T standard that extends V.32 to speeds up to 14.4 kbps.

7E8@
V.34 is an ITU-T standard that specifies a serial line protocol. V.34 offers improvements to the
V.32 standard, including higher transmission rates (28.8 kbps) and enhanced data compression.

7E8A
V.35 is an ITU-T standard describing a synchronous, physical layer protocol used for
communications between a network access device and a packet network. V.35 is most commonly
used in the United States and in Europe, and is recommended for speeds of up to 48 kbps.

7E@D
V.42 is an ITU-T standard protocol for error correction using Link Access Procedure for
Modems (LAPM).

7E++
V.xx refers to various types of ITU-T communication standard. Some are for simple serial line
communication (e.g. V.24, otherwise known as RS232), others are for modem communication
(e.g. V.21, V.22, V.23, V.32), and others are for special uses (e.g. V.42, an error correction
protocol). Sometimes, these standards are up-dated, and changed slightly, then they have bis
added to the end (e.g. V.42bis a data compression protocol).

7A- 7AED- 
"

 
V5.2-User Adaptation Layer (V5UA) is a protocol in the SIGTRAN protocol stack for the
backhauling of V5.2 messages over IP using the Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP).
This protocol may be used between a Signaling Gateway (SG) and a Media Gateway controller
(MGC). It is assumed that the SG receives V5.2 signaling over a standard V5.2 interface.
7

 c
Vacant Code Tone is used in crossbar systems to indicate that the dialed office code is
unassigned. In step-by-step areas, this signal is called vacant level tone. For operator-originated
calls, the verbal announcement is preceded by two flashes. In modern systems, recorded verbal
announcements are used for this service. Vacant Code Tone is Low Tone for 0.5 seconds on, 0.5
seconds off, 0.5 seconds on and 1.5 seconds off.

7

'c
Vacant Position Tone is a steady low tone. It is applied to all straightforward trunks terminating
in a vacated position in manual offices.

7 7    

Voice Activity Detection(VAD) is a function when enabled on a voice port or a dial peer, silence
is not transmitted over the network, only audible speech. When VAD is enabled, the sound
quality is slightly degraded but the connection monopolizes much less bandwidth.

7 7    

Voice Activity Detector (VAD) is the device that detects voice activity and allows DTX to
operate. In conjunction with DTX, VAD reduces power consumption in the mobile station and
RF interference in the system by muting the transmitter when there is no voice to transmit.

7

% 
Validity Check refers to any check that is designated to ensure the quality of a transmission in
telecommunications system. A validity check compares a group of bits with the code being used
to ensure that group of bits constitutes a valid character.

7


 %!! 
Variable length buffer is a buffer in telecommunication system. The characteristic of this buffer
is that data may be entered at one rate and removed at another rate without the data sequence.

7 7

   
Value-Added Service (VAS), in telecommunications industry, refers to the non-core services or
all services beyond standard voice calls. Conceptually, value-added services add value to the
standard service offered by the telecommunications carrier, encouraging the user to use their
phone more and allowing the carrier to drive up their ARPU (Average Revenue Per User).

7. 7 "


 . %

Very Compact Digital eXchange (VCDX) refers to the smallest configuration of the Lucent
5ESS family which is a compact, packet-ready switch that delivers a full range of services from a
single platform, using the same hardware and software as the full-size 5ESS switch. The VCDX
can easily evolve into a full-size switch or become an element in a packet network within our
Circuit-to-Packet Networks architecture, a convergent architecture that provides both cost-saving
packet functionality and high-quality voice functionality. It is the product for bridging the
transition of circuit networks to Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)/Internet Protocol (IP)
networks.
7( 7 
( 
Voice Carry Over (VCO) refers to a method for using TTYs (Teletypewriter). VCO allows
people who are hard of hearing or oral deaf (deaf with intelligible speech) to use a TTY without
typing. They only use the TTY for reading during the inbound direction of the call. They talk to
their party by speaking into a microphone. VCO is often used in confunction with a Realy
Service.

7 7

  
Virtual Circuit Service (VCS) refers to a service made possible by virtual circuit technologies.
Virtual Circuit is created within a shared telecommunication network system between two
network devices. There are two types of Virtual Circuits: switched virtual circuits (SVCs) and
permanent virtual circuits (PVCs).

7 7 0%

$
 

  
Virtual Circuit Service (VCS) refers to a service made possible by virtual circuit technologies.
Virtual Circuit is created within a shared telecommunication network system between two
network devices. There are two types of Virtual Circuits: switched virtual circuits (SVCs) and
permanent virtual circuits (PVCs).

7D    
7
Virtual Circuit Service (VCS) refers to a service made possible by virtual circuit technologies.
Virtual Circuit is created within a shared telecommunication network system between two
network devices. There are two types of Virtual Circuits: switched virtual circuits (SVCs) and
permanent virtual circuits (PVCs).

7 

$ 
 % 
Vertical Redundancy Check is the scheme or process of checking errors in
communication/modem transmissions by combining vertical error checking and longitudinal
error checking.

7) 7 ) !


Voice Interface Card(VIC) connects the system to either the PSTN or to the PBX.

7





"


Virtual call capability, also called a virtual call facility, is a service feature in
telecommunications. Virtual call capability has the following characteristics: (1) A call set-up
procedure and a call disengagement procedure determine the period of communication between
two data terminal equipments (DTEs) in which user data is transferred by the network in the
packet mode of operation. (2) End-to-end transfer control of packets within the network is
required. (3) Data may be delivered to the network by the call originator before the call access
phase is completed, but the data is not delivered to the call receiver if the call attempt is
unsuccessful. (4) The network delivers all the user data to the call receiver in the same sequence
in which the data is received by the network. (5) Multi-access DTEs may have several virtual
calls in progress at the same time.
7





Virtual Collocation may means the following: 1) an interconnection agreement where one
telephone company owns, installs and maintains equipment to connect networks at another
telephone company's request. 2) a logic connection between end users that has a defined route
and endpoints in ATM network.

7

1 %
The Virtual Switching is a technology allowing multiple switching functions to happen in one
physical device or single functional switching to happen in multiple physical devices across
network, while in the situation of a real switch, switching is conducted in one physical switch.
Virtual switching technology enables a single switch to be used for many different applications.
Each different function may have its own discrete performance and security controls. Using
virtual switching technology, Service providers can create a dynamic service mix, as desired,
without requiring new hardware and enabling the gradual evolution to include new services or a
common control plane. Virtual switching is a core concept in the Multiservice network switching
architecture.

7 7 

+
Voice Mail Box (VMB), in a telephony network, is a service that provides answering machine
services for hundreds or thousands of users. Each user will have their own Voice Mail Box on
the system. Each mail box will have a box number and a pass code.

7 & 5  
Voice Frequency refers to the frequency range for the average human voice, which, when
applied to station carrier, is 300 to 3400 Hz.

7 
 %


Voice Grade Channel is a channel suitable for the transmission of speech, digital or analog data,
or facsimile, generally having a frequency range of about 300 to 3400 Hz.

7 


Voice Mail is a centralized telecommunication system to manage telephone messages for a large
group of subscribers. It replaces the function of traditional telephone answering machine, uses a
standard telephone handset for the user interface with indication of voice messages waiting and
access method. Voice Mail is more sophisticated than traditional answering machines with much
more functions such as remotely accessing the voice mail box from different phones in different
locations.

7 '
Voice Port is an apparatus placed at the telephone subscribers premises that modulates and
demodulates the DS0 voice upstream and downstream channels in cable-TV networks.

7 $ " -

Voice Response Unit refers to a technology that, by using a phone line, interfaces a person to
information held in a PC.
7)' 7  )'
Voice over IP (VOIP) refers to a group of technologies that use the Internet Protocol (IP) to
transmit voice as packets over an IP network. Using VOIP protocols, voice communications can
be achieved on any IP network regardless it is Internet, Intranets or Local Area Networks (LAN).
In a VOIP enabled network, the voice signal is digitized, compressed and converted to IP packets
and then transmitted over the IP network. VOIP signaling protocols are used to set up and tear
down calls, carry information required to locate users and negotiate capabilities. The key benefits
of Internet telephony (voice over IP) are the very low cost, the integration of data, voice and
video on one network, the new services created on the converged network and simplified
management of end user and terminals.

7c 7

c

Virtual Tributary (VT) is a signal designed for transport and switching of sub-STS-1 payloads.

7c 7

c
 

Virtual Tributary Level n (VT-n) is a SONET format for mapping a lower-rate signal into a
SONET payload. For example, VT-1.5 is used to transport a DS-1 signal.

c

 c
c 



 
2
2
c
Warning Tone is a high steady tone which warns an operator that the circuit he/she is connected
to is not in condition for normal operation. Examples: An operator at an Automatic Display Call
Indicator puts a plug into wrong jack, or an operator at a sender monitor puts a plug into a sender
supervisory jack while the sender is under a test.

2c 2 

c
"%  
Wide-Area Telephone Service (WATS), also known as Wide Area Telecommunications Service,
is a specialized form of fixed-rate long-distance telecommunication service. WATS lines are
commonly used by businesses and government agencies. Some individuals and small
corporations also have WATS subscriptions. There are three types of WATS lines: IN-WATS
(for incoming calls), OUT-WATS (for outgoing calls), or a combination of both services. IN-
WATS lines have telephone numbers with certain area codes reserved expressly for that purpose,
such as 800, 888, or 877. People calling these numbers are not charged a long-distance toll.
Instead, the recipient (subscriber) is charged a fixed monthly rate up to a certain number of hours
of usage. Beyond the limit, an additional toll is imposed. OUT-WATS lines are, in effect, fixed-
rate long-distance subscriptions.

2

Wink Start is a method of E&M signaling. When the signaling leads indicate a change to an off-
hook state, the other side must send a momentary wink (on-hook to off-hook to on-hook
transition) on the correct signaling lead before the call signaling information can be sent by the
sending side. After the call signaling information is received, the side that sent wink goes off-
hook again and stays that way for the duration of the call.
2



Wink Start Signaling is the most commonly used trunk signaling type. In Wink Start operation,
the originating trunk circuit goes off-hook. The remote switch detects the off-hook signal,
transmits an off-hook pulse that is between 140 and 290 mess in length, and returns to the idle
(on-hook) state. The originating trunk detects the Wink Back, waits for at least 210 mess and
outputs digits to the remote switch. When the call is answered, the terminating switch will
indicate this by an off-hook condition.

2   
Wire Center is the building in which one or more local switching systems are installed and where
the outside cable plant is connected to the central office equipment.

2    

Wire Center Serving Area refers to the area of an exchange served by a single wire center.

2 c
"
Wire Tap is an apparatus which is utilized to monitor conversations over telephone lines or the
Internet by a third party, often by government agents. Historically, the monitoring connection
was applied to the wires of the telephone line of the person who was being monitored and drew
off or tapped a small amount of the electrical signal carrying the conversation so it is also called
Telephone Tapping.

2

Work Area in telecommunication system is the collection of all cable components between a
horizontal-wiring wallplate or LAN outlet and end-user telecomm devices, such as telephones,
data terminals, computers, modems, etc.

c

 c
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.=9
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 1 %
X.25 Packet Switching refers to the switching process between the data terminal equipment
(DTE, a user machine) and the data circuit terminating equipment (DCE, a network component),
using X.25 protocol. In a typical X.25 Packet Switching network, the major components are the
customer premises equipment (CPE, e.g., user terminals or host computers), packet
assemblers/Dis-assemblers (PADs), concentrators, and X.25 switches.

+ 

  
xDSL refers to a collection of Digital Subscriber Line(DSL) technologies, which is a modem
technology for broadband data access over ordinary copper telephone lines (POTS) from homes
to businesses. xDSL refers collectively to all types of DSL, such as ADSL (and G.Lite), HDSL,
SDSL, IDSL and VDSL etc. They are sometimes referred to as last mile (or first mile)
technologies because they are used only for connections from a telephone switching station to a
home or office, not between switching stations.

=

1


Yellow alarm, also known as Remote Alarm Indication (RAI), is an indication provided to a
source device indicating a signal failure condition at a sink device. An incoming yellow alarm
indicates that the T1 network element connected to the T1 interface has a problem with the signal
it is receiving from the T1 interface.

9c) 9  c 
)  %


Zero Byte Time Slot Interchange (ZBTSI) is a technique used to ensure pulse density for clear
channel capability. ZBTSI is applied to a DS1 frame to ensure that pulse density requirements
are met, where bits 2 through 193 of each frame are scrambled to minimize the occurrence of all-
zero octets.

9 " 
"

Zero-dispersion slope, in a single-mode optical fiber, refers to the rate of change of dispersion,
with respect to wavelength, at the fiber's zero-dispersion wavelength.

9 
c


The Zimmermann Telegram was a telegram dispatched by the Foreign Secretary of the German
Empire, Arthur Zimmermann, on January 16, 1917, to the German ambassador in Mexico,
Heinrich von Eckardt, at the height of World War I. It instructed the ambassador to approach the
Mexican government with a proposal to form an alliance against the United States. It was
intercepted and decoded by the British and its contents hastened the entry of the United States
into the war.

9


Zulu Date refers to the date at Greenwich England. Zulu Date may be ahead of the date in some
time zones such as the USA, or behind some other time zones such as Japan, etc.

9
c
Zulu Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Tme (GMT), is the time at the Longitude Zero -
Greenwich (England). Zulu Time is 6 hours later than Central Standard Time (US) and 5 hours
later than Central Daylight-Savings Time. Zulu Time (GMT) is always the same worldwide.
Communication network switches are coordinated on Zulu Time.