1.5-Way Paging: Refers to guaranteed message receipt or advanced messaging, ensuring subscribers receive messages se
1.7-Way Paging: A paging service that offers more than guaranteed messaging but not as much as full two-way paging.
1G: First generation of mobile wireless that utilizes analog air interface technology. This technology w
2.5G: Interim step building up to 3G involving overlay of higher-capacity data transmission capability to
2G: Second generation of mobile wireless, which utilizes various digital protocols, including GSM, CDMA,
711: The nationwide number to reach the telecommunications relay service (TRS). TRS enables telephone con
802.11: IEEE standards for wireless LANs with specs for 1mbps, 2mbps, 11mbps, and 24mbps.
A Block: In early 1981, the FCC announced that it would approve two licenses in each wireless market: a non-w
A-B PCS Blocks: The first two PCS licenses that were auctioned by the FCC in March 1995. Each contains 30 MHz of spe
A-B Switch: A feature found on cellular telephones permitting the user (when roaming away from home) to select e
A-Key: A secret number issued to a cellular phone that is used in conjunction with a subscriber's shared se
Access Fee: A special fee that local telephone companies are allowed to charge all telephone customers for the r
Access Line: A telephone line reaching from the telephone company central office to a point on a private premise.
Adjacent Channel Interference: Signal impairment to one frequency due to presence of another signal on a nearby frequency.
Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN): A system that allows a wireless user to make and receive phone calls while roaming in areas outside
Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS): An analog cellular radio standard that serves as the foundation for the U.S. cellular industry. AMPS
Affiliate: Companies that assist carriers with building a wireless network. The affiliate may use the primary c
Air Interface: The standard operating system of a wireless network. Technologies include AMPS, TDMA, CDMA and GSM.
Airtime: Actual time spent talking on the cellular telephone. Most carriers bill customers based on how many
Alphanumeric: A message or other type of readout containing both letters (alphas) and numbers (numerics). In cellu
American Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA): A Washington, D.C.-based trade group representing specialized mobile radio operators.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI): A private, non-profit organization that oversees the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity a
Analog: A signaling method that uses continuous changes in the amplitude or frequency of a radio transmissio
Antenna: A wire or set of wires used to send and receive radio waves.
Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC): An integrated circuit tailored for a particular piece of electronic equipment.
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO): Trade group headquartered in South Daytona, Fla., representing law enforcement, fire, emergency serv
Attenuation: The loss of signal energy due to absorption, reflection, or diffusion during transmission.
Authentication: The verification process to assure that a wireless device and its user are compatible with and autho
Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL): Combining a location-sensing device (such as a GPS receiver) with a wireless communications link to
Average Revenue Per Unit (ARPU): Measures the average monthly revenue generated for each customer unit, such as a cellular phone or p
B Block: In early 1981, the FCC announced that it would approve two licenses in each market- a non-wireline c
B Carrier: Most areas of the US have two cellular carriers, each of which operates on a different frequency ban
Bandwidth: The capacity of a telecom line to carry signals. A greater bandwidth indicates the ability to transm
Base Station: The central radio transmitter-receiver that maintains communications with mobile radiotelephone sets
Base Station Controller (BSC): The part of the wireless system's infrastructure that controls one or multiple cell sites' radio sig
Base Transceiver Station (BTS): The name for the antenna and radio equipment necessary to provide wireless service in an area. Also
Basic Trading Area (BTA): A geographic region defined by a group of counties that surround a city, which is the area's basic t
Bent Pipe Technology: Satellite technology to transmit calls from one point on Earth to a satellite and back down to anoth
Big LEO: Low-earth orbit satellite systems that will offer voice and data services, including Iridium and Glo
Bluetooth: Wireless personal area network (PAN) standard that enables data connections between electronic devic
Broadband: Describes a communications medium capable of transmitting a relatively large amount of data over a g
Broadband PCS: Personal communications services created in the A- through F-Block auctions and used for voice and d
Bundling: Grouping various telecommunications services -- wireline and or wireless -- as a package to increase
C Block: The third PCS license that was auctioned by the FCC in May 1996. Each contains 30 MHz of spectrum in
Call Barring: Enables you to restrict or bar certain or all types of calls to and from your mobile phone, i.e. out
Call Divert: Enables you to divert incoming calls to another phone or answering service.
Call Hold: Enables you to put a caller on hold while a second call is answered or made.
Call Restriction: Enables you to restrict or bar certain or all types of calls to and from your mobile phone, i.e. out
Call Transfer: Enables you to transfer a caller to another number.
Call Waiting: If your line is busy, callers are asked to wait while you are alerted to their incoming call.
Caller ID: An enhanced feature that displays a caller's phone number on the wireless handset receiving the call
Calling Plan: A rate plan selected by subscribers when they start up cellular service, usually consisting of a bas
Cap Code: A pager's unique electronic identification number.
CDMA 2000: A 3G technology that is an evolutionary outgrowth of cdmaOne. It offers operators who have deployed
CDMA One: The name used by the CDMA Development Group (CDG) for CDMA networks (IS-95) using 2nd-generation dig
Cell: The basic geographic unit of a cellular system. Also, the basis for the generic industry term: cellu
Cell Phone: A wireless telephone that sends and receives messages using radiofrequency energy in the 800-900 meg
Cell Site: The location where the wireless antenna and network communications equipment is placed. A cell site
Cell Splitting: The process of creating more coverage and capacity in a wireless system by having more than one cell
Cellular: A wireless telephone network that connects radio frequencies from a mobile phone to a system of mult
Cellular Base Station: The transmission and reception equipment, including the base station antenna, which connects a cellu
Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD): An enhanced packet overlay on analog cell phone networks used to transmit and receive data. This tec
Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA): A trade group representing cellular, PCS and enhanced specialized mobile radio carriers. Customer Pr
Channel: An electrical, electromagnetic, or optical path for communication between two points.
Churn: In any industry, a measure of the number of customers who leave or switch to another service provide
Circuit Switch Data (CSD): Allows a user to use their wireless handset as a modem for laptops, PDAs and other electronic device
ClassLink: A program of the CTIA Foundation providing wireless phones to schools for teacher use and student In
Clone or Cloning: A wireless phone programmed with stolen or duplicated electronic serial and mobile identification nu
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA): An air interface technology that was developed by the U.S. military and commercialized by the U.S. c
Collocation: Placement of multiple antennas at a common physical site to reduce environmental impact and real est
Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS): An FCC designation for any carrier or licensee whose wireless network is connected to the public swi
Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA): A 1994 law granting law enforcement agencies the ability to wiretap new digital networks and requiri
Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC): Any telephone company that offers service in a specific area. Now that the industry has been deregul
Content Services: Paging service, beyond telephone number alerts, that include news and sports headlines, personalized
Control Channel: A logic channel carrying network information rather than the actual voice or data messages transmitt
Coverage: Refers to the region within which a paging receiver can reliably receive the transmission of the pag
Crosstalk: Interference in a wireless communications system from other conversations in nearby cells using the
Customer Acquisition Cost: The average cost to a carrier of signing up an individual subscriber. Some of the factors included i
D and E PCS Blocks: The fourth and fifth PCS licenses that were auctioned by the FCC in January 1997. Each contains MHz
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 from electrical pulses. Because di
Digital Cellular System (DCS 1800): A global system for mobile communications-based PCS network used outside of the U.S.
Digital Signal Processor (DSP): A microprocessor that digitizes analog signals.
Disaggregation: The splitting of a spectrum license into two or more licenses of fewer frequencies.
Downlink: The portion of a telecommunications path from a satellite to the ground. Also referred to as the rev
Drive Test: A method of taking signal strength measurements in a cellular coverage area.
Dual Band: A feature on some wireless phones that allows the handset to operate using either the 800 MHz cellul
Dual Mode: A feature on some wireless phones that allows the handset to operate on both analog and digital netw
Electromagnetic Energy: Waves of electrical and magnetic energy moving together through space. Also called electromagnetic r
Electromagnetic Field: An area containing electromagnetic energy (electromagnetic radiation).
Electromagnetic Radiation: Waves of electrical and magnetic energy moving together through space. Also called electromagnetic e
Electromagnetic Spectrum: The collection of all electromagnetic energy arranged according to frequency and wavelength.
Electronic Serial Number (ESN): The unique identification number embedded in a wireless phone by the manufacturer. Each time a call
Encryption: The process of encoding a message such as a digital phone signal to prevent it from being read by un
Enhanced 911 (E911): 911 service becomes E911 when automatic number identification and automatic location information fro
Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE): The final evolution of data communications within the GSM standard. Based on 8PSK modulation, EDGE p
Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio (ESMR): Digital SMR networks that provide dispatch, voice, and messaging and data services.
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI): A standards-setting body in Europe. Also the standards body responsible for GSM.
F PCS Block: The final PCS license that was auctioned by the FCC in January 1997. Each contains 10 MHz of spectru
Federal Communications Commission (FCC): The federal government agency located in Washington, D.C. responsible for regulating telecommunicati
Fiber Optic: Using fine, transparent lines for the transmission of data, digitally encoded into pulses of light.
FireWire: Originally developed by Apple, this is an increasingly popular and very fast external bus for transf
Flash Memory: A component used for memory that can retain information without power.
Foliage Attenuation: Reductions in signal strength or quality due to signal absorption by trees or foliage obstructions i
Frame Relay: Wideband, packet-based interface used to transmit bursts of data over a wide-area network. Seldom us
Frequency: The number of oscillations, or vibrations, of radio waves per unit of time, usually expressed in eit
Frequency Modulation (FM): A signaling method that varies the carrier frequency in proportion to the amplitude of the modulatin
Frequency Reuse: The ability to use the same frequencies repeatedly across a cellular system, made possible by the ba
Gateway: Node that connect two different networks.
Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN): Interface between the GPRS wireless data network and other networks such as the Internet or private
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS): A GSM data transmission technique that does not set up a continuous channel from a portable terminal
Global Positioning System (GPS): A system of 24 satellites for identifying earth locations, launched by the U.S. By triangulation of
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM): GSM is a digital cellular phone technology based on TDMA that is the predominant system Europe, the
Globalstar: Second major LEO-based global communications system; initially created for voice, it was launched in
GSM 1800: Also known as DCS 1800 or PCN, GSM 1800 is a digital network working on a frequency of 1800 MHz. It
GSM 1900: Also known as PCS 1900, GSM 1900 is a digital network working on a frequency of 1900 MHz. It is used
GSM 900: The world's most widely used digital network and now operating in over 100 countries around the worl
GSM Hosted SMS Teleservice (GHOST): A tunneling protocol that allows a GSM SMS to be embedded in a teleservice that can be transmitted o
Half-Rate: A variant of GSM, Half-Rate doubles system capacity by more efficient speech coding.
Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML): A specialized version of HTML designed to enable wireless pagers, cell phones and other handheld dev
Handoff: The process by which the Mobile Telephone Switching Office passes a cellular phone conversation from
Hands-Free: An important safety feature that's included with most of today's mobile phones. It permits drivers t
Handset Subsidy: Frequently, a wireless company will sell a phone (handset) below cost, with the hope of making up th
Hertz (Hz): A unit of measurement of one cycle per second when one radio wave passes one point in one second of
High-Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD): The final evolution of circuit switched data within the GSM environment. HSCSD enables the transmiss
Home Location Register (HLR): A database residing in a local wireless network that contains service profiles and checks the identi
I-Mode: NTT DoCoMo's mobile Internet access, launched in February 1999. I-mode is an alternative to WAP, tho
Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC): The historic local phone service provider in a market, often a former Bell company. Distinct from co
Independent Telephone Network (ITN): Companies not affiliated with the local telephone companies.
Industrial Telecommunications Association (ITA): A Washington, D.C. trade group serving private wireless licensees such as airlines and oil companies
Infrared Data Association (IrDA): A membership organization founded in 1993 and dedicated to developing standards for wireless, infrar
Integrated Circuit Card ID (ICCID): 19 or 20-digit serial number of the SIM card.
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN): A wireless communications technology from Motorola that provides support for voice, data, short mess
Intelligent Roaming Database (IRDB): A list of acceptable and unacceptable networks for a phone to roam with stored either on a SIM card
Interactive Messaging: Short Message Service that allows users to send alphanumeric messages from their wireless handset to
Interconnection: The connecting of one network with another, e.g. a cellular carrier's wireless network with the loca
Interim Standard (IS): A designation of the Telecommunications Industry Association --usually followed by a number--that re
International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI): A unique 15-digit number that serves as the serial number of the GSM handset. The IMEI appears on th
International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI): A unique 15-digit number which designates the subscriber. This number is used for provisioning in ne
International Mobile Telecommunications Association (IMTA): A trade group serving specialized mobile radio and public access mobile radio carriers around the wo
International Telecommunication Union (ITU): An agency of the United Nations, headquartered in Geneva that furthers the development of telecommun
Interoperability: The ability of a network to operate with other networks, such as two systems based on different prot
Ionizing Radiation: Very high energy electromagnetic radiation that strips electrons away from their normal locations in
Iridium: First LEO-based global communications system backed by Motorola. Built primarily for voice transmiss
IS-136: The latest generation of the digital standard 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 TDMA technology.
IS-661: North American standard for 1.9 GHz wireless spread spectrum radio-frequency access technology based
IS-95: The standard for CDMA.
Japanese Total Access Communication (JTAC): Like the European TACS, JTAC is the Japanese analog cellular system.
Land Line: Traditional wired phone service. Voice, video and data transmission technology that relies on wires.
Lithium-Ion Battery (Li-Ion): Lighter weight battery than earlier types, having relatively longer cycle life and generally do not
Local Calling Area: The geographical area that a customer may call without incurring toll charges.
Local Mulitpoint Distribution Service (LMDS): Located in the 28 GHz and 31 GHz bands, LMDS is a broadband radio service designed to provide two-wa
Local Number Portability (LNP): The ability of subscribers to switch local or wireless carriers and still retain the same phone numb
Local Service Footprint: The geographical area that a customer may call without incurring toll charges, also known as local s
Local-State Governmental Advisory Committee (LSGAC): An FCC-established group that is working on an antenna-siting solution. The LSGAC will advise carrie
Low Earth Orbit: A term used to describe the orbital altitude range (500 to 2000 km above the surface of the Earth) o
Major Trading Area (MTA): Usually composed of several contiguous basic trading areas. A service area designed by Rand McNally
Memory Effect: The life of a battery may be gradually shortened if it is recharged before it is completely discharg
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA): One of 306 geographic regions, primarily urban areas, in the United States that are used as license
Microcell: A cell having a very small coverage area, which could be as small as one floor of an office building
Microwaves: A subset of radio waves that have frequencies ranging from around 300 million waves per second (300
Middleware: The mix-and-match communications software that acts as a universal translator between diverse radio
Mobile Identification Number (MIN): Uniquely identifies a mobile unit within a wireless carrier's network. The MIN often can be dialed f
Mobile Satellite Service: Powerful communications transmission service provided by satellites. A single satellite can provide
Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO): The central switch that controls the entire operation of a cellular system. It is a sophisticated co
Modem Pools: Racks of modems used to deliver reliable cellular data communications.
Multipath Propagation: Signal distortion when a signal is reflected from nearby surfaces on its way to a receiver.
Multiplexing: When multiple phone calls are carried in the same frequency band at the same time. In wireless, majo
Mutual Compensation: The concept that carriers must pay when they terminate traffic on the networks of carriers with whic
Mutually Exclusive Applications: Two or more applications for the same spectrum use rights.
Narrowband Advanced Mobile Phone System (NAMPS): Combines cellular voice processing with digital signaling, increasing the capacity of AMPS systems a
Narrowband PCS: The next generation of paging networks, including two-way, acknowledgment and wireless answering mac
National Emergency Numbering Association (NENA): NENA's mission is to foster the technological advancement, availability and implementation of a univ
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA): The federal government's executive branch advisory committee for telecommunications.
Network: Any system that was designed to provide one or more access paths for communication between users at
Nickel Cadmium Battery (NiCd): A rechargeable battery that typically lasts for 700 charge and discharge cycles. If not completely d
Nickel Metal Hydride Battery (NiMH): A rechargeable battery that is capable of holding more power that a NiCd battery and suffers much le
Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT): An older analog cellular protocol used in Europe and elsewhere.
North American Cellular Network (NACN): An organization of cellular providers that facilitates cellular calls across the country to be linke
North American Numbering Council (NANC): The FCC advisory group formerly responsible for administering the North American Numbering Plan that
Number Assignment Module (NAM): The NAM is the electronic memory in the cellular phone that stores the telephone number and an elect
Number Pooling: Increasingly popular tactic for conserving phone numbers. Numbers are returned by all carriers to a
Number Portability: A term used to describe the capability of individuals, businesses and organizations to retain their
Off-Peak: Periods of time during which carriers offer discounted airtime charges. Each carrier designates its
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA 93): The first legislation authorizing the FCC to auction spectrum.
Operators Harmonization Group (OHG): A worldwide organization of operators and manufacturers dedicated to achieving a uniform standard fo
Over-The-Air Service Provisioning (OTASP): The ability of carriers to add new types of services to a customer's handset by using the wireless n
Overlay Area Code: A solution to the scarcity of new phone numbers, overlays involve issuance of new 10-digit phone num
Partitioning: Dividing a spectrum license into two or more geographic areas.
PCS Phone: A wireless telephone that uses radiofrequency signals in the 1850-1990 megahertz (MHz) portion of th
Peak: Highest-usage period of the business day when a cellular system carries the most calling traffic.
Penetration: The total number of subscribers for a carrier divided by the population that it serves expressed as
Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA): A trade group representing PCS, SMR, private radio and other wireless users and carriers.
Personal Communications Service (PCS): A second-generation digital voice, messaging and data cell phone system in the 2GHz range. PCS is su
Personal Digital Cellular (PDC): The Japanese cellular standard.
Personal Identification Number (PIN): A code used by a mobile telephone number in conjunction with an SIM card to complete a call.
PIN Unblocking Key (PUK): If a GSM or GAIT subscriber enters the wrong PIN three times in a row, then the wireless mobile phon
Project 25: A joint government-industry standard setting effort to develop technical standards for the next gene
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN): Traditional landline network that mobile wireless systems connect with to complete calls.
Public Utility Commission (PUC): The state regulatory body charged with regulating utilities, including telecommunications.
Public-Safety Answering Point (PSAP): The dispatch office that receives 911 calls from the public. A PSAP may be local fire or police depa
Pull SMS: The ability to request services (e.g. ringtones or games) from a wireless handset via Wireless Inter
Push SMS: The ability to request services (e.g. ringtones or games) from a wireless handset via sending a pres
Radiation: The emission and transmission of energy through space or through a material medium.
Radio Frequency (RF): The spectrum of electromagnetic energy between audio and light: 500 KHz to 300 GHz.
Radio Waves: Electromagnetic energy with frequencies in the 3000 hertz (3 kHz) to 300 billion Hertz (300 GHz) por
Radio-Frequency Fingerprinting: A process that identifies a cellular phone by the unique fingerprint that characterizes its signal t
Rate Center: The geographic area used by local exchange carriers to set rate boundaries for billing and for issui
Repeater: Device that receives a radio signal, amplifies it and retransmits it in a new direction. Used in wir
Roaming: The ability to use your cellular phone outside your usual service area ?€“ when traveling outsid
Roaming Agreement: An agreement between two or more wireless telephone companies outlining the terms and conditions und
Round-Up Calls-Billing: When calls are billed by the minute, any call that uses a portion of a minute is rounded up and bill
S-Band: The frequency spectrum near 2 GHz used for land based microwave and some mobile satellite communicat
Service Charge: The amount customers pay each month to receive wireless service. This amount is fixed, and to be pai
Service Plan: The rate plan you select when choosing a wireless phone service. A service plan typically consists o
Short Message Service (SMS): The transmission of short alphanumeric text-messages to and from a mobile phone, fax machine and-or
Short Message Service Center (SMSC): The hardware device submitting the messages. Currently, SMSC devices support binary formats.
SIM Card: A small printed circuit board that must be inserted in any GSM-based mobile phone when signing on as
Simple Network Paging Protocol (SNPP): A sequence of commands and replies where pages are delivered to individual paging terminals. The mos
Simulcast: A signaling technique that broadcasts the same signal over multiple sites in a network.
Sleep Mode: Designed to conserve battery life, this mode automatically turns off a terminal after it has been un
Smart Antenna: An antenna system that focuses its beam on a desired signal to reduce interference. A wireless netwo
Smart Card: A plastic card containing important data about a person's identity to allow access to a network or p
Smart Phone: A class of wireless phone handsets with many features, and often a keyboard. What makes the phone sm
Soft Handoff: When two base stations -- one in the cell site where the phone is located and the other in the cell
Soft Key: A key below the phone's main display panel that performs special functions.
Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA): A variation of TDMA and CDMA that potentially will be used in high-bandwidth, third-generation wirel
Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR): Dispatch service (walkie-talkie-type service used by taxis, delivery trucks, etc.). SMR providers in
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR): A measure of the rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body.
Spectrum: The range of electromagnetic radio frequencies used in the transmission of sound, data and televisio
Spectrum Allocation: Federal government assignment of a range of frequencies for a category of use or uses. For example,
Spectrum Assignment: Federal government authorization for use of specific frequencies or frequency pairs within a given a
Spectrum Cap: A limit to the allocated spectrum designated for a specific service.
Spread Spectrum: Initially devised for military use, this radio transmission technology spreads information over grea
Standby Time: The amount of time you can leave your fully charged cellular portable or transportable phone turned
Stratospheric Platform: Blimp-like platform for wireless telephone service in urban areas.
Strongest Signal: The concept that a wireless 911 call should be routed to the cell site with the strongest link to th
Subscriber Fraud: Securing wireless service with intent to avoid payment. This is different from bad debt, which occur
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM): A card inserted into a GSM-TDMA or GSM-only handset containing subscriber-related data. The card con
Subscriber Profiling: Compiling subscriber usage information (such as frequency of calls, locations called to or from and
Switch: A mechanical, electrical or electronic device that opens or closes circuits, completes or breaks an
Talk Time: The length of time you can talk on your portable or transportable cellular phone without recharging
TD-CDMA: A 3G proposal combining elements of TDMA and CDMA.
Telecommunications: The transmission of words, sounds, or images, usually over great distances, in the form of electroma
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA): The United States' telecommunications standards making body.
Telematics: The integration of wireless communications, vehicle monitoring systems and location devices.
Telematics Control Unit (TCU): The embedded vehicle control unit that communicates with the automobile controls, GPS satellite and
Telephone Network: The system of wires, fiber-optic cables, satellites, and transmission towers that transmit telephone
Telephone Transmission Tower: A telephone base station located on top of a tall, free-standing structure.
Telephony: Originally meaning voice (analog) communication by telephone (land line), this term has come to enco
Termination Charges: Fees that wireless telephone companies pay to complete calls on wireline phone networks or vice vers
Third Generation (3G): A new wireless standard promising increased capacity and high-speed data applications up to two mega
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA): A method of digital wireless communications transmission allowing a large number of users to access
Total Access Communication System (TACS): European analog cellular.
Transceiver: Equipment to handle the broadcast and reception of radio signals with network or subscriber equipmen
Tri-Band: A network infrastructure or wireless phone designed to operate in three frequency bands: 800 MHz, 90
Tri-Mode: Phones that work on three modes GSM, TDMA and analog.
Triangulation: The process of pinning down a caller's location using three or more radio receivers, a compass and a
Trunking: Spectrum-efficient technology that establishes a queue to handle demand for voice or data channels.
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS): The goal of UMTS is to enable networks that offer true global roaming and can support a wide range o
Universal Wireless Communications Consortium (UWCC): An industry group supporting TDMA and WIN technology.
Uplink: The portion of a telecommunications path from the ground to the satellite, also referred to as the f
UWC-136: A third-generation wireless standard proposal based on TDMA technology that was developed by the Uni
Visitor Location Register (VLR): A network database that holds information about roaming wireless customers.
Voice Activation: A convenient safety feature that allows a subscriber to dial a phone by voice instead of physically
Voice Recognition: The capability for cellular phones, PCs and other communications devices to be activated or controll
Wavelength: The distance covered by one cycle of a wave.
Wideband CDMA (WCDMA): A 3G mobile services platform, based on modern, layered network-protocol structure, similar to the p
Wideband Packet CDMA (WPCDMA): A technical proposal from Golden Bridge Technology that wraps WCDMA and cdma2000 into one standard.
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): An open standard for communication between handsets and the Internet. WAP is a wireless communicatio
Wireless Communications Services (WCS): The variety of services available using frequencies in the 2.3 GHz band for general fixed wireless u
Wireless Instant Messaging (WIM): Bridges the gap between wired and wireless networks. WIM seamlessly allows a desktop user to instant
Wireless Intelligent Network (WIN): The architecture needed to match the capabilities of the wireline intelligent network. In addition t
Wireless Markup Language (WML): The languages used to create WAP pages. WML is similar to the way HTML is used to create web pages a
Wireless Telephone Base Station: The combination of antennas and electronic equipment used to receive and transmit wireless telephone
Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS): The security layer of the WAP which provides privacy, data integrity and authentication for WAP serv
Wireline: Traditional telephone technology that relies upon wires. Also called land line.
