TECHNICAL TERMS

Backbone network is a part of computer network infrastructure that interconnects various pieces of network, providing a path for the exchange of information between different LANs or sub networks. A backbone can tie together diverse networks in the same building, in different buildings in a campus environment, or over wide areas. Normally, the backbone's capacity is greater than the networks connected to it.

Backhaul  network comprises the intermediate links between the core network, or backbone, of the network and the small sub networks at the "edge" of the entire hierarchical network. For example, while cell phones communicating with a single cell tower constitute a local sub network, the connection between the cell tower and the rest of the world begins with a backhaul link to the core of the telephone company's network.

CAMEL Application Part (CAP)-CAMEL application part is a set of call processing messages, originally defined for use with GSM, for the customization of setup and control of wireless calls in a GSM or WCDMA network.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)-Digital subscriber line is the transmission of digital information, usually on a copper wire pair.

Ethernet  is a packet based transmission protocol that is primarily used in LANs. Ethernet is the common name for the IEEE 802.3 industry specification and it is often characterized by its data transmission rate and type of transmission medium.

Fiber To The Home/Fiber To The Building (FTTH/FTTB)-A distribution system that uses fiber optic cable to connect telephone networks to nodes that are located in the homes of customers. The fiber optic transmission is used to provide broadband services beyond the central office, all the way through the drop wire to the optical node that is located in the customers home.

High Bit Rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL)-An all digital transmission technology that is used on 2 or 3 pairs of copper wires that can deliver T1 or E1 data transmission speeds. HDSL is a symmetrical service.

High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is an enhanced 3G mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family, also dubbed 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity.

High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) is a mobile telephony protocol which supports increased peak data rates of up to 14 Mbit/s in the downlink and 5.8 Mbit/s in the uplink. It also reduces latency and provides up to five times more system capacity in the downlink and up to twice as much system capacity in the uplink, reducing the production cost per bit compared to original CDMA/GSM protocols. By July 2010, HSPA had been commercially deployed by over 200 operators in more than 80 countries.

Integrated Digital Loop Carrier (IDLC) are the integration of the integrated digital terminal (IDT) and remote digital terminal (RDT). The IDT is part of the local digital switch (LDS) and it acts like a concentrator to put more channels on a digital communications line. The IDLC system moves some of the switching services from the local switches into RDTs to increase the efficiency of communication lines between customers and the central office.

Internet Protocol Telephony (IP Telephony) provide voice or multimedia communication services through the use Internet protocol (IP) networks. These IP networks initiate, process, and receive voice or multimedia communications using IP protocol. These IP systems may be public IP systems (e.g. the Internet), private data systems (e.g. LAN based), or a hybrid of public and private systems.

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is the process of providing television (video and/or audio) services through the use Internet protocol (IP) networks. These IP networks initiate, process, and receive voice or multimedia communications using IP protocol. These IP systems may be public IP systems (e.g. the Internet), private data systems (e.g. LAN based), or a hybrid of public and private systems.

Internet Telephone (IP Telephone)-A telephone device that is specifically designed to communicate through the Internet without the need for a voice gateway. Internet telephones contain embedded software that allows them to initiate and receive calls through the Internet using standard protocols such as H.323 or SIP.

Last mile or "last kilometer" is the final leg of delivering connectivity from a communications provider to a customer. The actual distance of this leg may be considerably more than a mile, especially in rural areas. Because the last mile of a network to the user is also the first mile from the user to the world, the term "first mile" is sometimes used.
Leased Line-Leased lines are telecommunication lines or links that have part or all of their transmission capacity dedicated (reserved) for the exclusive use of a single customer or company. Leased lines often come with a guaranteed level of performance for connections between two points.

Local Area Network (LAN)-Local area networks (LANs) are private data communication networks that use high-speed digital communications channels for the interconnection of computers and related equipment in a limited geographic area. LAN's are networks of computers, normally personal computers, connected together in close proximity (office setting) to each other in order to share information and resources.

Local Loop-The local loop is the connection (wireless or wired) between a customer's telephone or data equipment and a local exchange company (LEC) or other telephone service provider. Traditionally, the local loop (also called "outside plant") has been composed of copper wires that extend from the end office (EO) switch. The EO is the last switching office in the telephone network that connects customers to the telephone network.

Long Term Evolution (LTE), is the latest standard in the mobile network technology tree that previously realized the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSxPA network technologies. It is a project of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

Multiplexing (also known as muxing) is a process where multiple analog message signals or digital data streams are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share an expensive resource. For example, in telecommunications, several phone calls may be transferred using one wire. It originated in telegraphy, and is now widely applied in communications.

Multiple-input and multiple-output, or MIMO is the use of multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver to improve communication performance. It is one of several forms of smart antenna technology. MIMO technology has attracted attention in wireless communications, because it offers significant increases in data throughput and link range without additional bandwidth or transmit power. It achieves this by higher spectral efficiency (more bits per second per hertz of bandwidth) and link reliability or diversity (reduced fading). Because of these properties, MIMO is an important part of modern wireless communication standards.

Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)-Plain old telephone service is the providing of basic telephone service without any enhanced features. It is the common term for ordinary residential telephone service. The POTS system uses in-band signaling tones and currents to determine call status (e.g. call request). Because POTS allow for the transfer of audio signals below 3.3 kHz, POTS systems are also used for modems that allow data transmission (called dial up connection). Whenever a new service or feature is described, the author may refer to the previous available package of features and services as POTS, even when the previous package included several very sophisticated capabilities.
Post, Telephone And Telegraph (PTT)-A term used for a government agency in many countries that supplies and maintains the infrastructure and provides basic telecommunication services.

Ultra Broadband is a term that is commonly associated with very high-speed data transfer connections. When applied to consumer access networks, ultra broadband often refers to data transmission rates of 10 Mbps or higher.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-a process of sending voice telephone signals over the Internet or other data network. If the telephone signal is in analog form (voice or fax) the signal is first converted to a digital form. Packet routing information is then added to the digital voice signal so it can be routed through the Internet or data network.

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a telecommunications protocol that provides fixed and fully mobile Internet access. The current WiMAX revision provides up to 40 Mbit/s[1][2] with the IEEE 802.16m update expected to offer up to 1 Gbit/s fixed speeds. WiMAX[3] is a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL.

W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), UMTS-FDD, UTRA-FDD, or IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile telecommunications networks. It is the basis of Japan's NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service and the most-commonly used member of the UMTS family and sometimes used as a synonym for UMTS.