|
Cellular
Phone Service Glossary
A
| B | C | D
| E-F | G-H-I | L-M
| N-O | P | R
| S | T-V
A
A Carrier
Most areas of the US
have two cellular carriers, each of which operates
on a different frequency band. One is designated the
"A" carrier and the other is designated the
"B" carrier. In some markets there may be
only one carrier which may be "A" or
"B".
A/B Switching
Most cellular phones
have the ability to switch to the "A" or the
"B" frequency bands. This feature is useful
when roaming outside your home coverage area.
Access Fee
A monthly charge for the
ability to connect to a wireless network. This fee is
assessed monthly whether the phone is actually used or
not.
Activation
Configuration of a
wireless phone so that it is ready to be used to
transmit and receive calls on the wireless network.
Activation Fee
A one-time up-front
charge for activation of a wireless phone.
Airtime
Total time that a
wireless phone is in connected and in use for talking. This includes use
for calls both received and placed.
Alphanumeric Display
A display, usually LCD,
that has the ability to display both text and numbers. Most often
found on the front of a wireless handset or pager.
AMPS (Advanced Mobile
Phone Service)
An analog cellular phone
service standard used in the US and other countries.
Analog
A method of modulating
radio signals so that they can carry information such as voice
or data.
Antenna
A device that facilitates
the transmission and reception of radio signals.
APC (Adaptive Power
Control)
A feature of some wireless
handsets that helps reduce power consumption to increase
battery charge life.
Area Code
A three digit telephone
number prefix assigned to a calling area.
Authentication
A feature used to reduce
fraud by confirming the identity of a phone to the wireless
network.
Automatic Call Delivery
A service feature that
allows a user to receive calls when roaming outside of the phone's
home coverage area.
top of page
B
B Carrier
Most areas of the US have
two cellular carriers, each of which operates on a different
frequency band. One is designated the "A" carrier and
the other is designated the "B" carrier. In
some markets there may be only
one carrier which may be "A" or "B".
Bandwidth
Describes the transmission
capacity of a medium in terms of a range of frequencies. A
greater bandwidth indicates the ability to transmit a greater amount
of data over a given period of time.
Broadband
Describes a communications
medium capable of transmitting a relatively large amount of
data over a given period of time. A communications channel of
high bandwidth.
BTA (Basic Trading Area)
A geographic region
defined by a group of counties that surround a city, which is
the area's basic trading center. The boundaries of each BTA
were formulated by Rand McNally & Co. and are used by the
FCC determine service areas for PCS wireless licenses. The
entire US and some of its territories is divided into 493
non-overlapping BTAs.
top of page
C
Call Forwarding
A feature that allows the
transfer of incoming calls to another number of the users
choice.
Call Setup
Activity that occurs in
order to establish a call connection between a wireless handset
and the wireless system.
Call Waiting
A feature that allows a
user to be notified of another incoming call while a call is
already in progress, and gives the user the ability to answer the
second call while the first call remains on hold.
Caller ID
A feature that displays a
caller's telephone number and/or name before the call is
answered.
Carrier
A company that provides
telecommunications services.
Cell
The area surrounding a
cell site. The area in which calls are handled by a particular
cell site.
Cell Site
The transmission and
reception equipment, including the base station antenna that
connects a cellular phone to the network.
Cellular
The type of wireless
communication that is most familiar to mobile phones users.
Called 'cellular' because the system uses many base stations to
divide a service area into multiple 'cells'. Cellular calls are
transferred from base station to base station as a user travels from cell to
cell.
CO (Central Office)
A connection point between
the wireless phone system at the MTSO and the landline
phone system at the PSTN.
Clone (Cloning)
A wireless phone that has
been programmed to mimic another wireless phone. Often used
to defraud a wireless carrier by placing illegal calls
without any intention of payment.
Coverage Area
The geographic area served
by a wireless system. Same as Service Area.
Cross-talk
A signal leak from one
channel to another - often the cause of noise and distortion.
top of page
D
Decibel (dB)
A unit of measure used to
express relative difference in power or intensity of sound.
Digital
A method of encoding
information using a binary code of 0s and 1s. Most newer wireless
phones and networks use digital technology.
Dual band
A feature on some wireless
phones that allows the handset to operate using either the
800 MHz cellular or the 1900 MHz PCS frequencies.
Dual mode
A feature on some wireless
phones that allows the handset to operate on both analog and
digital networks.
Duplex
As in ordinary telephone
service, a characteristic of a communications system
where simultaneous transmission and reception is possible.
top of page
E
email
The ability to send and
receive text messages through a wireless handset.
ESN (Electronic Serial
Number)
The unique serial number
of a cellular phone that identifies it to the cellular system for
the purpose and placing and receiving calls.
top of page
F
FCC (Federal
Communications Commission)
A US government agency
responsible for regulating communications industries.
Fingerprinting
See Radio-frequency
fingerprinting.
Follow-Me Roaming
The ability of a wireless
system to forward incoming calls to a handset that is roaming
outside its home service area without any pre-notification to
the wireless carrier.
top of page
G
GSM (Global Standard for
Mobile)
A digital communication
technology used by some carriers to provide PCS service. Other
technologies used are CDMA and TDMA.
H
Handoff
The transfer of a wireless
call in progress from one transmission site to another site
without disconnection.
Hands-Free Speakerphone
A feature of some wireless
phones that allows the users to talk and listen to calls
without holding the phone against their head.
Handset
Any hand held device used
to transmit and receive calls from a wireless system. Also
known as a wireless phone, a cellular phone, a mobile phone, a
PCS phone and many other terms.
Handshake(ing)
Signals between a wireless
phone and a wireless system to accomplish call setup.
Home Coverage Area
A designated area within
which cellular calls are local and do not incur roaming or long
distance charges.
I
Interconnection Fee
A fee charged for calls
from wireless phones that must be routed to landline phones.
top of page
L
Landline
Traditional wired
telephone service.
LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display)
A flat panel screen used
to display numbers and/or characters. Often found on a wireless
handset.
LED (Light Emitting Diode)
A light on a handset to
alert the user of various conditions.
M
Memory Dialing
A feature of a wireless
phone that allows multiple numbers to be stored in the phone itself
for quick dialing by pressing one or two buttons.
MSA (Metropolitan Service
Area)
An area defined by the US
government for use in grouping census data and other
statistics. MSAs include a city of at least 50,000 people or an
urbanized area of at least 100,000 people and the counties that include
these areas. Not all areas of the US are in an MSA. The FCC used
these area definitions to license cellular telephone service
carriers. There are 306 regions of the US designated as MSAs.
MTA (Major Trading Area)
An area consisting of two
or more Basic Trading Areas as defined by Rand McNally
& Co. These large areas are used by the FCC determine service
areas for some PCS wireless licenses. The US is divided into 51
MTAs.
MTSO (Mobile Telephone
Switching Office)
An office housing switches
and computers to which all cell sites in an area are connected
for the purpose of eventual connection to the PSTN. The MTSO
handles the connection, tracking, and status and billing of all
wireless call activity in an assigned area.
top of page
N
NAM (Number Assignment
Module)
A component of a wireless
phone that holds in electronic memory the telephone
number and ESN of the phone.
No Answer Transfer
A feature of a wireless
service that if a call is not answered in a specified number of rings,
it will be transferred to another phone number of the users
choice.
No Service Indicator
A feature of wireless
phones that tells the user that wireless service is unavailable in
a particular location. Usually an LED on the handset.
O
Off Peak
Any time of day, as
determined by a wireless carrier, when there is lower communications
traffic on the system. Carriers make this distinction to offer lower
rates during these periods when demand is low.
top of page
P
Paging
A feature of a wireless
device that allows reception of a signal or alphanumeric message.
PCS (Personal
Communication Services)
Used to describe a newer
class of wireless communications services recently
authorized by the FCC. PCS systems use a different radio
frequency (the 1.9 GHz band) than cellular phones and generally use all
digital technology for transmission and reception.
Peak Period(s)
Any time of day, as
determined by a wireless carrier, when there is high levels of
communications traffic on the system.
POTS (Plain-Old-Telephone-Service)
Another name for
traditional wired, land based telephone service.
Prepaid Cellular/Wireless
A service plan offered by
some wireless carriers that allows subscribers to pay in
advance for wireless service.
PSTN (Public Switched
Telephone Network)
A formal name for the
world-wide telephone network.
top of page
R
Radio-frequency
fingerprinting
An electronic process that
identifies each individual wireless handset by examining its
unique radio transmission characteristics.
Fingerprinting is used to reduce fraud since the illegal phone cannot
duplicate the legal phone's radio-frequency fingerprint.
RF (Radio Frequency)
A radio signal.
RFI (Radio Frequency
Interference)
An undesired radio signal
that interferes with a radio communications signal
causing extraneous noise and/or signal dropouts.
RF Noise
Undesired radio signals
that alters a radio communications signal causing extraneous sounds
during transmission and/or reception.
Roaming
Using your wireless phone
in an area outside its home coverage area. There is usually an
additional charge for roaming.
Roaming Agreement
A agreement among wireless
carriers allowing users to use their phone on systems other
their own home systems. Roaming Fee charged for roaming.
RSA (Rural Service Area)
Areas not included in MSAs
are divided into RSAs. Generally these are the rural areas
of the US. The FCC used RSAs to license cellular carriers
in areas not included in MSAs. There are 428 RSAs in the US.
top of page
S
Service Area
The geographic area served
by a wireless system. Same as Coverage Area.
Service plan
A contract between a
wireless carrier and a wireless subscriber that details the terms of
the wireless service including rates for activation, access and per
minute usage.
Sensitivity
A measure of a receiver's
ability to viably receive weak radio signals.
Signal-to-noise ratio
A measure of the power of
a signal versus noise. A lower ratio means there is more noise
relative to signal.
SMS (Short Messaging
System)
A feature of PCS phones
(primarily GSM) that allows users to receive and sometimes
transmit short text messages using their wireless phone.
Spectrum
The entire range
electromagnetic frequencies.
Spread Spectrum
A communications
technology where a signal is transmitted over a broad range of
frequencies and then re-assembled when received.
Standby Time
The time a phone is on but
not actively transmitting or receiving a call.
Subscriber
A cellular phone user.
System Selection Switch
A feature of some cellular
phones that allows switching between 'A' and 'B' cellular
carriers. This feature is often used when roaming.
top of page
T
Talk Time
The time a phone is on and
actively transmitting or receiving a call.
Telecommunications Act of
1996
Federal legislation passed
in 1996 intended to increase competition among wireless
and wireline carriers for the benefit of consumers.
Toll Charges
Charges for placing long
distance calls.
Toll-Free Calling Area
An area in which calls can
be placed without incurring long distance charges.
V
Voice-activated Dialing
A feature that allows
users to speak words into a wireless phone to cause it to dial
pre-programmed telephone numbers without using the buttons.
Voice Mail
A system that answers
calls and allows users to reply to, save, delete or forward
messages.
top of page
A
| B | C | D
| E-F | G-H-I | L-M
| N-O | P | R
| S | T-V
Table of Contents ||
Back ||
Next || Home ||
E-mail |
