NOTE: Read why this site appears to be in plain text.
Customer Support: Product Support: Wireless Glossary
Are you looking for product help for wireless terms? Please select the appropriate section below.
Wireless: Glossary
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Bandwidth
Bandwidth of a communications channel is a measure of the range of frequencies over which the carrier signal is allowed to vary. Generally a communications channel is defined by its lowest and highest frequency and channel bandwidth is computed as the difference between the two as measured in Hertz, kHz, or MHz. Since bandwidth of a channel is directly proportional to the amount of data that can be transmitted over it per unit time, channel bandwidth is often measured as a data rate rather a frequency difference.
Bluetooth®
A radio technology that makes it possible to transmit signals over short distances between computers, peripheral and handheld devices without the use of wires. For more information, go to www.Bluetooth.com.
Bookmark
Browsers provide a means of assigning easily recognizable names to Internet addresses and storing them in interactive lists for ease of access and reuse.
Browser
A software application that enables users to access and interact with much of the information available on the Internet or World Wide Web. Mobile devices capable of accessing the web use a micro-browser while those that are only WAP capable use a WAP Browser.
Broadband
A term used to describe a channel or communications line offering a bandwidth greater than 2Mb/s (may also be called Wideband).
Service that allows the number of a caller to be accessed by the recipient. Customers with Caller ID will be able to see the incoming number on the handset's display.
Call Forwarding
Enables you to forward incoming calls to another handset or answering service.
Call Waiting
Enables you to put a caller on hold while a second call is answered or made.
Camera Types
Camera phones offer a variety of options & picture quality. Camera phones can take still pictures only, or still & full motion video clips which can be a few seconds to up to 20 minutes, depending on the phone. The resolution, or picture quality, of digital cameras and camera phones is often measured in megapixels or as a VGA image. A 1.0 megapixel camera can produce images with 1 million pixels, and will produce an image roughly 1200 pixels wide by 900 pixels high. By comparison, a VGA image (640 x\par 480 pixels) would be only 0.3 megapixel. Megapixel images (1 megapixel or greater) are much larger than a phone display, so a megapixel camera will not make much difference compared to a sub-megapixel camera for phone-only applications such as MMS. Rather, megapixel cameras are useful for taking photos suitable for viewing on a PC and/or printing. Sub-megapixel cameras produce smaller images that only print well at very small sizes. Megapixel photos are larger in file size than sub-megapixel images, and so can take much longer, and cost more, to send wirelessly. Most cameras and camera phones have an option to take photos at lower resolution (smaller), if desired. This is useful for taking photos that will only be sent via MMS and not transferred to a PC or printed.
Coverage
Denotes the area in which a mobile handset can make and receive calls or utilize data functionality.
DNS (Domain Name System)
The DNS provides the location and translation of domain names into Internet Protocol addresses. A DNS server holds translation tables linking domain names and APNs to IP addresses. It supplies the information to routers and other Internet elements on request.
Domain
An Internet domain consists of a set of network addresses organized into levels for purposes of identification, routing and information delivery. The top level generally identifies a type of organization (e.g. ".com" for commercial, ".org" for non-commercial , and ".net" for communications network) or a geographic location, such as a country. The second level identifies a unique place within the top level grouping and is equivalent to a unique address on the Internet.
Data Capability
If your mobile handset is data capable then it can be used to access the Internet, send and receive email and faxes as well as transmit data files.
EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution)
EDGE defines new signal modulation schemes that will permit much higher data rates to be achieved than in GSM and TDMA networks. Theoretical rates up to 384 Kbps are expected which will enable the delivery of multimedia and other broadband applications to mobile handset and computer users. EDGE will provide mobile data speeds three times faster than GPRS and average download speeds of 80-120 kilobits per second.
Encryption
Refers to the act of altering data to make it unreadable unless you know how to decrypt it.
Firewall
A firewall provides a security layer between one network and another. It can be either software or hardware designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between sections of a computer network. This provides a measure of protection from hackers, spammers or other unauthorized use.
Games
Many phones include simple games for the user to pass the time when waiting, traveling, etc. The games referred to here are ones built into the phone, that do not require a connection and airtime to play. (There are games available over the Wireless Internet that do require a connection and thus airtime.) Many phones also include the ability to download new games wirelessly. There are several different technologies for downloadable games, including Java, BREW, Mophun, and WGE. The technologies are incompatible, although some phones support more than one technology.
GPS (Global Positioning System)
A satellite navigation system formed from a constellation of satellites, which enables users with suitable equipment to identify their geographic location by radio. This technology is helpful when navigating a car in the city and is used to help emergency rescue-teams to locate people.
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)
A packet-linked technology that enables high-speed (up to 115 kilobits per second) access to wireless Internet in a GSM network. GPRS is IP-based and allows users to be online continuously.
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)
The world’s most widely used mobile system. A communication standard in three frequency bands, 900MHz, 1800MHz and 1900MHz. It is used on the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequencies in Europe, Asia, and Australia, and the MHz 1900 frequency in America. In addition to voice services, GSM also provides a number of carefully standardized and broadly supported capabilities such as Short Message Service (SMS) and General Packet Radio Services (GPRS).
HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language)
HTML is a standardized set of symbols and rules that, when applied during the design of a Web page, define how that page will be interpreted by a browser and appear to a viewer.
IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity)
A unique identification number associated with each GSM handset. In effect, a serial number that aids in tracking a particular device and is useful in fraud prevention. The IMEI is assigned by the manufacturer.
IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity)
A unique identification number associated with a particular GSM subscriber. In effect a serial number that is essential to tracking the profile and location of a particular GSM subscriber, as well as making billing and service provisioning possible. It is assigned by the network operator and is carried in the SIM card. More than one mobile number may be associated with the same IMSI.
Infrared Data Port
A data port that uses infrared data association (IrDAŽ) as the standard for wireless communications between computer and mobile handset devices. For example, to update the handset list on your IrDAŽ-enabled PC, you would line up the infrared ports on each device and then transfer the handset information to your PC.
ISP (Internet Service Provider)
An Internet Service Provider is an organization or commercial enterprise that offers access or portal service to individual subscribers. Such subscribers link to their chosen ISP via a point-to-point connection which gives them access to the Internet at large.
IP (Internet Protocol)
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet.
IP Address
The unique digital identifier of a device communicating over the Internet or other data network using similar technology. An IP address is similar to a postal address.
KB
Kilobytes, a term denoting 1024 bytes, is commonly used to measure the amount of data that is transferred. For example, the average email without attachments is 5-8 KB.
LAN (Local Area Network)
Inter-connected computers forming an internal network or intranet. Used by businesses or organizations for sharing and managing information internally.
MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) is a descendant of SMS (Short Messaging Service). MMS extends text messaging to include longer text, graphics, photos, audio clips, video clips, or any combination of the above, within certain size limits. MMS is frequently used to send photos and videos from camera phones to other MMS phones or email accounts. Most camera phones have MMS, but many non-camera phones have it as well. Many newer MMS phones also support SMIL, which allows various parts of an MMS message to be arranged into a small multimedia "slideshow" to be viewed on another SMIL-capable MMS phone.
Multi-Band (Dual Band, Tri-Band, Quad-Band)
Describes the facility of certain mobile handsets to operate over two or more frequency bands, e.g., over some combination of the 800 MHz , 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 1900MHz bands commonly used by network operators. The selection of frequency band may be automatic or user-controlled. In the US, only the 800 MHz and 1900 MHz bands are used for cellular services. 900MHz service is found in Asia, and 1900 MHz service predominates in Europe.
Music Player
Some phones include memory storage for MP3, AAC or similar music files, and software for playing that music. Generally, music can be downloaded into the phone from a computer and played back later through a headset attached to the phone.
PC Sync
PC Sync allows the user to connect the phone to a computer with a cable and synchronize calendar and contact information between the phone and a computer application such as Outlook.
POP (Post Office Protocol)
A protocol used to retrieve email from a mail server.
Portal
A gateway or Internet access point for individual Web users.
"Push" Technology
A generic term applied to the methods, products or services used to deliver information (most commonly email) to a mobile device, without the user specifically requesting that item of information. For example, BlackBerry's use push technology to deliver email to countless customers with no user interaction.
Ring Tones
Ring Tones is the sound that a phone makes to indicate an incoming call. All mobile phones allow at least several pre-loaded choices for different sounds or melodies for a ringtone. Most phones also allow additional ringtones to be downloaded or sent to phone, for added personalization. "Polyphonic" ringtones can create multiple tones and/or notes simultaneously. This produces a more natural and realistic sound for melodies. "TrueTone" ringtones are available for downloading on many newer phones, which sound just like the original song or melody.
Roaming
The ability for a customer to make voice calls, send and receive data or access other services when traveling outside the geographical coverage area of the home network, using a visited network. Usage outside the home network depends upon the number of roaming agreements held by the network and the specification of the handset.
Routers
A router is a computer that routes data traffic to and from other points on the network.
SIM Card (Subscriber Identity Module)
The SIM is a removable chip card that is usually stored under the battery of the handset. It holds information identifying the subscriber to the network.
SMS (Short Message Service)
SMS is a two-way text messaging service available on most handsets that allows the sending of short messages between handsets and PC's.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
A protocol for sending email messages between servers and from client to server.
Softkey
A button to simplify using a mobile handset by switching functions. They are usually located directly below the handset's display and their function will change depending on what is appearing on the display.
Standby Time
The amount of time a battery at full charge will keep a mobile handset running, without making or receiving calls.
T9 (Text on 9 Keys)
Also known as Predictive Text Input, this software allows users to easily enter text on a mobile handset by predicting what is being written.
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
TCP is used to provide reliable data transfer between two IP endpoints.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol together define the basic rules for how information is transmitted across the Internet (and on most LANs) in packetized form.
Talk Time
The amount of time a battery at full charge will maintain continuous speech.
URL (Universal Resource Locator)
A URL is the Internet address of an HTML, HTM, WAV, or other file. Every document available on the Internet must have a unique address. An example is www.cincinnatibell.com.
The phone includes a mechanical device that can make the phone vibrate when it would otherwise ring or make a sound, such as an incoming call or an alarm. This is often useful for situations where an audible phone ringer would be inappropriate, such as in public or in office environments. The feature can be enabled or disabled through the phone's settings. Some phones permit both a sound and vibration at the same time, some do not. Some phones vibrate more vigorously than others. In particular, since a motorized weight usually produces the vibrations, lighter-weight phones may have weaker vibrating mechanisms.
Voicemail
Voicemail gives you the ability to take messages from callers e.g. if you are unavailable or the handset is switched off.
Voice Recognition
Enables some mobile handset functions to be controlled with voice commands.
VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol)
Describes the process of transmitting voice via data IP packages.
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
A virtual private network (VPN) is a private data network that makes use of the public telecommunication infrastructure, maintaining privacy through the use of a tunneling protocol and security procedures.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)
WAP is an open, globally recognized protocol specification that empowers mobile services subscribers to use wireless devices to easily access and interact with information and services similar or identical to those available on the Internet.