| Word |
Description |
| Air Time |
Actual time spent talking on the cellular telephone. Most carriers bill customers based on how many minutes of airtime they used each month. |
| AMPS |
Advanced mobile phone standard. Analogue standard used widely in North America. |
| Analogue |
The traditional way by which speech is transmitted in which the signal is continually varying. Normal fixed phones use analogue transmission. Analogue (ETACS) cellphones are slowly being replaced by GSM phones which use digital transmission. The analgoue cellphone networks are due to be phoased out in Australia by the year 2000. |
| ACA |
Australian Communications Authority. The government body responsible for overseeing the telecommunications and radio communications industries. |
| Access Period |
The amount of time that you have access to a network. |
| Area of screen Display |
The screen length multiplied by its width. |
| ACCC |
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. |
| ACIF |
The Australian Communications Industry Forum. |
| ADSL |
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A new technology to provide high-speed access via the old copper telephone line network. An alternative to laying new high-bandwidth cable allowing delivery of services including data, vice and one-way full motion video. |
| Data Transmission |
The transmission of data between computers or over a telecommunicatins network. |
| Bandwidth |
The capacity of a communications link to deliver services. |
| Boardband |
A wide band of electromagnetic frequencies or multiple channels of data over a single communication medium. Broadband has the capacity to deliver to consumer a broad range of integrated services. |
| Baud Rate |
Speed of transmission - number of pieces of information per second |
| Billing Increment |
The time frame by which calls are charged |
| Bluetooth |
Low power radio technology replacing the need for wires connecting electronic devices such as personal computers, printers, palm top computers and mobile phones. |
| Base station |
The base station is a multicircuit transceiver located at the center of a cell whose primary purpose is to handle all incoming & outgoing calls within the cell. The base station relays the mobile's signal to the MTSO via wireline. |
| Caller display |
Same as Caller Line Identification. System found on digital mobile phones whereby the number of an incoming caller is displayed on-screening before the phone is answered. |
| Call Forwarding |
A feature allowing the subscriber to forward a call to another telephone number. |
| Call waiting |
A feature allowing the subscriber to be alerted of another call during a current conversation. |
| Coverage |
The area in which a mobile phone can make or receive calls. Coverage is usually expressed by networks as a percentage of the resident population who could use mobiles outside their own homes. |
| CDMA |
(Code Division Multiple Access) CDMA seperates communications by code. Voice is encoded into digitised bits, and groups of bits are tagged with a code. |
| Calculator |
Calculator built into a handset. |
| Call Divert |
This is a network feature that can also be accessed through most handsets providing the ability to redirect your number to another number. There are several levels of diversion available; not answered, out of service, engaged, switched off or unconditional. |
| Call Profile |
The ability of a phone to assign different ring types to differetn callers. |
| Carrier |
The carrier is the network to which you are connected |
| Cell Info Display |
The capability of your phone to display the location of the nearest Cell tower to your location |
| CLI |
Caller Line Identification. Also known as “caller ID”. This is a network feature that once activated can be switched off and on through most handsets. It allows for callers’ numbers to be displayed on the screen of the phone before the call is answered, providing the caller does not have a silent number. |
| Conditions |
Specific guidelines to which the customer must agree to abide by. |
| Connection Fee |
A once only start-up fee when a service is connected. |
| Call Barring |
Allows you to set your phone to prohbit certain incoming or outgoing phone calls. |
| CDMA |
Code Division Multiple Access. This digital mobile phone system operates on two bands 800MHz and 1900MHz. Allowing further transmission from a CDMA tower to handset than a GSM signal can to a digital handdset. |
| Cellular Phone |
Another name fo ra mobile phone. |
| Conference Call |
This enables three or more, rather than just two, persons to participate in a single telephone call made from a basic telephone service and connected to other basic telephone services within your country or telephone services outside your country. |
| Digital Transmissions |
Digital transmissions pass sounds in the form of a stream of binary numbers, rather than as an analogue electrical signal. |
| Drop Out |
When a call on a mobile phone is prematurely cut off due to congestion or lack of coverage onthe network. |
| Dual-mode |
Phone that can operate using two different standards. |
| Data/Fax Capability |
A mobile phone can be used to send and receive fax and data files, access the internet, and send email when connected to mobile office equipment. |
| Desk Charger |
A device which allows you to charge your phone in an upright position and also lets you charge an additional battery at the same time. |
| DTMF |
Facility for sending multi-frequency tones across the network from a phone. Each number, when pressed, transmits its own individual sound. Necessary fro accessing some network features. |
| Dual-band |
Phone that can switch between two different bands of frequencies GSM900 and GSM1800. |
| EFR |
Enhanced Full Rate. This is a network and handset feature enabling better speech quality to GSM users. |
| ESN |
(Electronic Serial Number) Unique identifer transmitted by analogue cellphones. |
| EMS |
Enhanced Message Service. The technology allow mobile phone users to send and receive words, add pictures, animation and sound clips. |
| Enhanced Service |
Any telecommunications service that uses computer applications to provide consumers with value-added telephone services, such as voicemail and call waiting. |
