GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND PRIMER ON WIRELESS INDUSTRY JARGON
1.5-way paging Refers to guaranteed message receipt or advanced messaging, ensuring subscribers receive messages sent when they are out of range, but users cannot send text pages. "One-and-a-half way" also allows for automatic roaming.
1.7-way paging A paging service that offers more than guaranteed messaging but not as much as full two-way paging. The subscriber has limited response messaging, such as canned messages, rather than the ability to create responses.
3G Third Generation–the next generation of wireless technology beyond personal communications services. The World Administrative Radio Conference assigned 230 megahertz of spectrum at 2 GHz for multimedia 3G networks. These networks must be able to transmit wireless data at 144 kilobits per second at mobile user speeds, 384 KBPS at pedestrian user speeds and 2 megabits per second in fixed locations. The International Telecommunication Union seeks to coordinate 3G standards through its International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 project. The different service providers have been getting very creative with the "3G" term lately. What it really means is getting more and more difficult to pin down.
73 Best regards (good-bye).
802.11b The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standard for wireless local area network interoperability.
Air interface The standard operating system of a wireless network; technologies include AMPS, ReFLEX, FLEX, POCSAG, TDMA, CDMA and GSM.
Airtime Actual time spent using a radio channel by a wireless device.
Alphanumeric A display, message or readout that contains both letters and numbers. Synonymous with text messaging.
AMPS Advanced Mobile Phone Service: The analog cellular air interface standard used in the United States and other countries.
Bandwidth The classic use of the word "bandwidth" means "width of the band," the "width of the signal" or the "amount of spectrum occupied." This is not the same as the rate of transmission. While it is generally true that the faster the rate–the wider the spectrum requirement or "bandwidth," there are some good examples of exceptions. One of these being the sending of four FLEX™ phases in parallel through one radio channel, and the other being the ever-increasing MODEM speeds through plain old telephone lines. The voice bandwidth of a standard (unconditioned) telephone line has not changed over many years. A few years ago, 300 BPS was the fastest a MODEM could operate over a standard telephone line. Today, most Modems operate at 28,800 BPS and many at higher speeds (30 to 50K BPS). The voice bandwidth of the telephone line has not changed but the speed of the data transmitted over it has increased dramatically. This is accomplished with special modulation techniques that essentially send the serial data information in separate parallel paths to increase the overall speed or throughput–but not the bandwidth.
Bluetooth The code name for a new wireless technology developed by Ericsson Inc., Intel Corp., Nokia Corp. and Toshiba. The technology enables data connections between electronic devices such as desktop computers, wireless phones, electronic organizers and printers in the 2.4 GHz range. Bluetooth would replace cable or infrared connections for such devices.
Broadband Using a wide-bandwidth channel for voice, data and/or video services.
Broadband PCS Synonymous with personal communications services created in the A - through F -Block US FCC auctions and used for voice and data.
Capcode A pager’s electronic identity. A carryover from the days when the code was printed or typed on a pager’s "cap" or the top of the case. Some pagers have more than one capcode, including individual messaging codes, group-call codes, and maildrop codes—used for transmitting information such as news, weather, and sports.
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access: A spread spectrum air interface technology used in some digital cellular, personal communications services and other wireless networks.
cdma2000 A third-generation wireless technology proposal submitted to the International Telecommunication Union, which is based on the IS-95, or cdmaOne standard.
cdmaOne The IS-95 CDMA standard developed by Qualcomm Inc.; a word coined by the CDMA Development Group.
CDPD Cellular Digital Packet Data: An enhanced system overlay for transmitting and receiving data over cellular telephone networks.
Cell site The location where the wireless antenna and network communications equipment is placed.
Cell splitting The process of creating more coverage and capacity in a geographic area by having more than one cell cover the same area that a single cell originally did. Each cell then covers a smaller area, with lower power, and thus offers the ability to reuse frequencies more times in a larger geographic coverage area.
Cell A geographic area within a wireless system that is covered by the signal sent and received by the transmitter and receiver equipment located within that area. Typically referred to as a "cell site," these are represented by various shapes by engineers when planning systems. The hexagonal shape was originally derived from the honeycomb of bees, within which each single unit is referred to as a cell.
Cellular The name given to the original concept of dividing a large geographic area into smaller coverage areas called cells. Each cell handles calls on different channels and communicates with the central processing unit, called a switch, or terminal, to facilitate the handing-off of calls from one cell to another as a user moves through the system. Cellular Telephony is currently used in hundreds of countries worldwide and boasts more than 200 million subscribers.
CoFeTel Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones, the Mexican equivalent of the US FCC (Federal Communications Commission).
CSA Canadian Standards Association -- the government agency in Canada that certifies electrical devices.
D-AMPS Digital AMPS: Used by Ericsson Inc. to describe IS-136 time division multiple access technology.
DCS 1800 Digital Cellular System: A global system for mobile communications-based PCS network used outside of the U.S.
Digital The newest form of wireless communications that takes all voice transmissions and converts them to computer language (zeros and ones, or "binary" language) and then reconstructs them into the original voice format at the other end. More secure than its original sibling, analog, and also relatively impervious to static or fading signals.
DSP Digital Signal Processor: A specialized microprocessor that performs mathematical operations on a data stream in real time to produce a second (modified) data stream.
EBITDA Operating cash flow: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization. A corporate income statement item that measures a company’s total sales minus such items as operating expenses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Because many companies such as cellular, paging and PCS carriers often begin operations with huge capital debts, EBITDA is considered by some to be a better gauge of the company's performance than net income, which likely will be skewed negatively by large debt payments and other items. Another view is, that it is a nonsensical way to say how much money a company would be making if it were not losing so much money.
ERMES European Radio Messaging System: A paging system specification used in Europe and other parts of the world.
ESMR Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio: Digital SMR networks, usually referring to Nextel Communications Inc., which provide dispatch, voice, messaging and data services.
FCC Federal Communications Commission: The United States federal agency responsible for commercial and private spectrum management.
FDMA The modulation scheme of the phase I, P25 protocol.
FLEX™ A Motorola Inc. — licensed protocol that gives carriers more capacity on their networks and faster transmission times. Also refers to the FLEX family of protocols: FLEX, InFLEXion and ReFLEX25 and ReFLEX50.
Frame Relay A packet-based interface used to transmit bursts of data over a network.
Frequency reuse The ability of specific channels assigned to a single zone to be used again in another zone, when there is enough distance between the two zones to prevent co-channel interference from affecting service quality. The technique enables a wireless system to increase capacity with a limited number radio of channels.
Full-Duplex The radio term applied to transmissions such as telephone calls or wireless data that allow talking and listening at the same time by using two frequencies to create one channel. Each frequency is used solely for either transmitting or receiving.
FWA Fixed Wireless Access: Also known as wireless local loop (WLL).

GHz

Gigahertz: One billion radio waves, or cycles per second.
1 GHz = 1,000 MHz = 1,000,000 kHz, = 1,000,000,000 Hz.

SI multiples for hertz (Hz)
Submultiples   Multiples
Value Symbol Name Value Symbol Name
10-1 Hz dHz decihertz 101 Hz daHz decahertz
10-2 Hz cHz centihertz 102 Hz hHz hectohertz
10-3 Hz mHz millihertz 103 Hz kHz kilohertz
10-6 Hz µHz microhertz 106 Hz MHz megahertz
10-9 Hz nHz nanohertz 109 Hz GHz gigahertz
10-12 Hz pHz picohertz 1012 Hz THz terahertz
10-15 Hz fHz femtohertz 1015 Hz PHz petahertz
10-18 Hz aHz attohertz 1018 Hz EHz exahertz
10-21 Hz zHz zeptohertz 1021 Hz ZHz zettahertz
10-24 Hz yHz yoctohertz 1024 Hz YHz yottahertz
Common prefixed units are in bold face.

(SI=The International System of Units.)

Source of the Table:
Wikipedia contributors, "Hertz," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hertz&oldid=397481825
(accessed November 18, 2010).
GPRS General Packet Radio Services, a 2.5-generation technology (being implemented in GSM networks) that may offer wireless data access speeds of up to 144 kilobits per second in end-user devices.
GPS Global Positioning System. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location. Essentially, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user's position and display it on the unit's electronic map. [GARMIN] If you want to see a really cool GPS-controlled radio that I have been working on, click here.
GSM Global System for Mobile communications: A digital cellular or PCS network used throughout the world.
GSM-Plus An enhanced version of global system for mobile communications technology that will be developed to meet IMT-2000 capabilities.
GSM-R Global system for mobile communications for railway networks. GSM-R uses standard base station and switching infrastructure to provide fast data transmission for railways.
Hz Hertz: A unit of measurement of one cycle per second, or one radio wave passing one point in one second of time. Named in honor of Heinrich Hertz, the discoverer of the theory of radio waves.
IC Industry Canada formerly "DOC" --Department of Communications) the government agency in Canada that regulates wireless devices.
iDEN Integrated Digital Enhanced Network: A Motorola Inc. enhanced specialized mobile radio network technology that combines two-way radio, telephone, text messaging and data transmission into one network.
IMT-2000 The International Telecommunication Union’s name for the new third generation global standard for mobile telecommunications.
InFLEXion™ The narrowband PCS technology developed by Motorola Inc. that allows for voice paging. Carriers such as Paging Network Inc., Amtel Wireless, and Conxus Communications Inc adopted it. Only Amtel Wireless in Puerto Rico remains in operation. It is not "digital voice" as sometimes described.
IS Interim Standard: A designation of the American National Standards Institute–usually followed by a number–that refers to an accepted industry protocol; e.g., IS-95, IS-136, IS-54.
IS-136 The latest generation of the digital standard time division multiple access (TDMA) technology.
IS-41 The network standard that allows all switches to exchange information about subscribers.
IS-54 The first generation of the digital standard time division multiple access technology.
IS-661 North American standard for 1.9 GHz wireless spread spectrum radio-frequency access technology developed by Omnipoint Corp. IS-661, for which Omnipoint was awarded a pioneer’s preference license for the New York City market, is based on a composite of code division multiple access and time division multiple access technologies. The company says IS-661 reduces infrastructure costs and allows higher data speeds than mainstream GSM or TDMA platforms.
IS-95 The standard for code division multiple access.
KHz Kilohertz: One thousand radio waves, or cycles, per second. See the table above in GHz for more details.
Ku-Band Radio spectrum in the 10.9 GHz to 17 GHz range used by satellite communications systems.
LMDS Local Multipoint Distribution Service: Located in the 28 GHz and 31 GHz bands, LMDS is a broadband radio service designed to provide two-way transmission of voice, high-speed data and video (wireless cable TV). US FCC rules prohibit incumbent local exchange carriers and cable TV companies from offering in-region LMDS.
Messaging Synonymous with text paging, "texting," e-mail or short messages, received on alphanumeric pagers and two-way wireless devices.
MHz Megahertz: One million radio waves, or cycles, per second. Equal to one thousand Kilohertz. The abbreviations used are: GHz, MHz, KHz, and Hz. See the table above in GHz for more details.
NAMPS Narrowband Advanced Mobile Phone System: NAMPS combines cellular voice processing with digital signaling, increasing the capacity of AMPS systems and adding functionality.
Narrowband PCS (nPCS) The latest generation of wireless messaging networks, including two-way, acknowledgment and automatic roaming. Now able to offer many wireless telemetry services. The "n" in "nPCS" is not narrow at all when compared to traditional paging, it can only be considered to be narrow when compared to broadband PCS telephones.
Numeric A display, message or readout that contains numerals only, such as in paging.
Off-peak Part of the day that wireless subscribers can expect to pay reduced airtime rates -- on some systems.
Orbit A fixed circular, elliptical or other path around the Earth.
OTAP Over-The-Air Programming: The ability of carriers to add new types of services to a customer’s device by using the wireless network instead of requiring the customer to bring in the device for reprogramming.
PCIA Personal Communications Industry Association: A trade group representing PCS, SMR, private radio and other wireless users and carriers. Formerly known as Telocator.
PCS Personal Communications Services: A two-way, 1900 MHz digital voice, messaging and data service designed as the second generation of cellular telephones.
PDA Personal Digital Assistant: A portable computing device for organizing personal data such as telephone numbers, appointments, and notes. Capable of transmitting and receiving data when equipped with a wireless module.
Peak Part of the day that mobile phone customers can expect to pay full-service airtime rates -- on some systems.
PHS Personal Handyphone System: The extended cordless telephone system used primarily in Japan.
PIN Personal Identification Number: A code used by a wireless operator to complete a call. Sometimes the PIN is an actual telephone number. Generally PIN numbers have 4 to 10 digits.
POCSAG Referring to a standard paging protocol developed by the UK’s Post Office Code Standardisation Advisory Group [note the English spelling]. Also known as CCIR Recommendation 584, and Radio Paging Code (RPC) No. 1.
PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network: The worldwide voice telephone system, also called the Bell System in the United States.
RF Radio Frequency is more often used to mean Radio Energy than the actual frequency. "RF" is a common term used when referring to the radio transmitter, receiver, or antenna portions of a communications system.
ReFLEX™ The narrowband PCS technology developed by Motorola that allows for two-way text messaging and wireless telemetry. ReFLEX 50 was developed jointly with and for SkyTel, and then later ReFLEX 25 was developed for the rest of the industry. Version 2.7, when implemented, will offer a common standard, merging the two protocol variations into one. This will allow the same messaging device (a new one) to roam between two different systems, which may even be operated by two separate companies.
Roaming Traveling outside a carrier’s local area.
S-Band The frequency spectrum near 2 GHz used for land based microwave and some mobile satellite communications.
Simplex A radio technology that allows only one-way communication. The FM radio in your car, or your TV set, could be viewed as simplex devices.
Simulcast A signaling technique that broadcasts the same signal over multiple sites in a network with precise control over frequency, phase (timing), and amplitude to avoid signal cancellation in the overlap areas. This is one of the reasons that paging systems penetrate into buildings and offer seamless coverage better than other methods of transmission which only use one site at a time.
SMR Specialized Mobile Radio: A dispatch radio and interconnect service for businesses. Covers frequencies in the 220 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands. Also called Trunking.
SMS Short Message Service: Usually refers to wireless alphanumeric text messages sent to a PCS telephone. The GSM protocol was the first and only protocol to support text responses from a PCS telephone. Several competing protocols support the receiving of these messages but not the transmitting, or the responding back to the sender. The supporters of these other protocols are now adding on the ability to initiate or respond to text messages. Sometimes SMS is incorrectly used to refer to any short electronic text message on a wireless network. Its original and correct meaning simply was, a short text message to a PCS telephone.
SNPP Simple Network Paging Protocol: is fully supported via the Internet. This is a network/Internet protocol that allows for a simple and efficient means of sending paging data from a PC to a paging switch. This protocol acts as translator between the Internet and the older TAP/IXO protocols. The most obvious benefit is the elimination of the need for modems and phone lines to produce alphanumeric pages, and the added ease of delivery of pages to terminals in other cities or countries.
Spread spectrum Jamming-resistant and initially devised for military use, this radio transmission technology "spreads" information over greater bandwidth than necessary for interference tolerance and is now a commercial technology.
SS7 Signaling System 7: An international high speed signaling backbone for the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol: Internet protocol suite developed by the US Department of Defense in the 1970s. TCP governs the exchange of sequential data. IP routes outgoing and recognizes incoming messages.
TDMA Time Division Multiple Access: A digital air interface technology used in cellular, PCS and ESMR networks.
Telematics The integration of wireless communications, vehicle monitoring systems and location devices.
Third-generation A new standard that promises to offer increased capacity and high-speed data applications up to 2 megabits. It also will integrate pico-, micro-, and macro cellular technology, and will allow global roaming. Also called "3G." The different service providers have been getting very creative with the "3G" term lately. What it really means is getting more and more difficult to pin down.
Trunking Spectrum-efficient technology that establishes a queue to handle demand for voice or data channels.
UHF Ultra High Frequency: Referring to radio channels in the 300 MHz to 3 GHz band.
Unified messaging Software technology that allows carriers and Internet service providers to manage customer e-mail, voice and fax messages from any phone, PC or information device.
U-SAT Ultra Small Aperture Terminal: Satellite receive dishes for telemetry and other remote monitoring, usually smaller than VSATs.
UWC-136 A third-generation wireless standard proposal based on TDMA technology that was developed by the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium and is one of the 3G candidates submitted to the International Telecommunication Union by the United States.
VHF Very High Frequency: Referring to radio channels in the 30 to 300 MHz band.
Voice recognition The capability for cellular phones, PCs and other communications devices to be activated or controlled by voice commands.
VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminal: A small satellite dish installed at end-user locations.
WAP Wireless Application Protocol: A protocol designed for advanced wireless devices allowing the easy transmission of data signals, particularly Internet content, to micro-browsers built into the device’s software.
WARC World Administrative Radio Conference: Biennial meetings of International Telecommunication Union member-nations to discuss and resolve global spectrum allocation issues.
W-CDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access: The third generation standard offered to the International Telecommunication Union by GSM proponents.
WCTP Wireless Communications Transfer Protocol: is specifically aimed at creating an easy means of passing alphanumeric and binary messages to and from wireline systems and two-way capable wireless devices. WCTP is an XML-based standard for communicating between disparate wireless messaging systems. It was designed to address some of the issues with legacy protocols such as TAP, TNPP and SMTP as applied towards wireless communication networks.
Wireless Using the radio-frequency spectrum for transmitting and receiving voice, data and video signals for communications.
Wireless Internet An RF-based service that provides access to Internet e-mail and the World Wide Web.
Wireless IP The packet data protocol standard for sending wireless data over the Internet.
Wireless IT Wireless Information Technology: The monitoring, manipulating and troubleshooting of computer equipment through a wireless network.
Wireless LAN Local Area Network: Local area network using wireless transmissions, such as radio or infrared instead of phone lines or fiber-optic cable to connect data devices.
Wireless PBX Equipment that allows employees or customers within a building or limited area to use wireless handsets connected to an office’s Private Branch Exchange system.
WLL Wireless Local Loop: A fixed service that competes with or substitutes for local wireline phone service.
WPDA Wireless Partnership for Donor Awareness: The industry’s effort to raise organ and tissue donor awareness.
X.25 A specification from the Consultative Committee on International Telephone and Telegraph on layered protocols connecting computer terminals to a public, packet-switched network.
xDSL Designation for Digital Subscriber Line technology enabling simultaneous two-way transmission of voice and high-speed data over ordinary copper phone lines. An aDSL line designates one that is asymmetrical in that the downloading of information from the Internet is much faster than the uploading of information from the home or office computer to the Internet. This characteristic fits well with most Internet browsing requirements, where one "click" on an Internet link at the computer is followed by a large amount of data being sent from the Internet back to the computer.
Zulu time Synonymous with Greenwich Meridian Time, a time designation used in satellite systems.
END OF GLOSSARY
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