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Phone Cards,
Prepaid, Philippines Phone Cards, India, International
Card Terminology (Phone Card Glossary)
Access gateway Equipment used to provide the electronic "bridge" from
the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to an Internet protocol
(IP) network.
Account Codes Also known as Project Codes or Bill-Back Codes. Account
Codes are additional digits dialed by the calling party that provide
information about the call. Typically used by hourly professionals
(accountants, lawyers, etc.) to track and bill clients, projects,
etc.
Agent A person or organization that acts on behalf of another. In
the telecommunications industry, Agents typically are independent
individuals or companies that market the services of a carrier as
if they were employees of that carrier.
Alternate Access A form of local access where the provider is not
the LEC, but is authorized or permitted to provide such service.
Alternate Access Carriers Local exchange carriers in direct competition
with the RBOCs. Normally found only in the larger metropolitan areas.
Examples are Teleport and Metropolitan Fiber Systems.
Alternative Operator Services Operator services provided by a company
other than a LECRBOC or AT&T that is authorized to provide such
service.
ANI See Automatic Number Identification.
Authentication Process of verifying with certainty the identity of
a valid subscriber or ITSP through the use of a unique user identification
number, password or other method (i.e., verifying that customers
are who they say they are).
Authorization Process of allowing a Subscriber or ITSP a certain
monetary credit or time amount of IP Telephony. Authorization is
the granting of permission to provide users the service they are
requesting.
Authorization Number same as PIN.
Automatic Number Identification Originating Number
(1) The number associated with the telephone station(s) from which
switched calls are originated (or terminated).
(2) A software feature associated with Feature Group D (and optional
on Feature Group B) circuits. ANI provides the originating local
telephone number of the calling party. This information is transmitted
as part of the digit stream in the signalling protocol, and included
in the Call Detail Record for billing purposes.
(3) ANI may also be used to refer to any phone number.
BAN - Billing Account Number Used by telephone companies to designate
a billing account, i.e., a customer or customer location that receives
a bill. A customer may have any number of BANs.
Banded Rates Tariffed rates which may be changed by the carrier within
a specified range. Frequently, state commissions require notice to
the commission prior to each Philippines
Phone Cards change. Banded rates are being used
less frequently today.
Billing Account Number - BAN Used by telephone companies to designate
a customer or customer location that will be billed. A single customer
may have multiple billing accounts.
Bill-To-Room A billing option associated with Operator Assisted calls
that allows the calling party to bill a call to their hotel room.
With this option, the carrier is required to notify the hotel, upon
completion of the call, of the time and charges.
Bong An interactive signal that prompts the originating end user
to enter additional information. For example: 1010555 Bong (Enter
Destination) Bong (Enter Billing information)
Also used to denote a sucharge particularly in the calling card industry.
BTN - Billing Telephone Number The phone number associated, for billing
purposes, with the Working Phone Number.
Bypass Access an IEC other than the customer's Equal Access carrier
by dialing 10+CIC Code.(e.g. Bypass to WorldCom by dialing "1010555").
See Walkthrough, CIC Code
Call Data Record (CDR) Record of a placed call. A CDR includes the
time the call was placed and the duration of the call.
Calling Card A telecommunication credit card with an AuthCode for
using a long distance carrier when the customer is away from their
home or office (ANI).
Callingcard Same as a phone card or calling card.
Carrier A telecommunications provider which owns switch equipment.
Carrier Identification Code - CIC A three digit number used with
Feature Groups B and D to access a Philippines
Phone Cards particular IEC's switched services
from a local exchange line. One or more CIC codes are assigned to
each carrier. (i.e. there may be multiple CICs per ACNA). See Bypass
Casual Calling Allow any ANI (including undefined ANIs) to access
a given carrier. For example, if the originator is calling from a
non-coin phone, they may dial 1010555+destination number and have
the call routed through WorldCom and billed to the originating phone
Casual Customer Any person or organization that dials any CIC Code.
(Not necessary to presubscribe to the carrier.)
Class of Service - COS A special limitation on what numbers can and
cannot be called. International, 809, 809 + Canada, 48 contiguous
states, etc.
Clipping Situation where the system cuts off the first part of the
first word in a sentence. (Not to be confused with choppiness --
which is a packet loss).
COCOT Customer Owned Coin Operated Telephone
Coin Phone A coin-operated pay phone with restricted access to some
services (e.g. International calling). Coin phones have subclasses
of Public, Semi Public, and Private.
Collect A call that is paid for by the receiving/destination phone
number. Requires approval/authorization of the person being called.
Common Carrier A carrier that holds itself out as serving the public
(or a segment thereof) indifferently (i.e., without regard to the
identity of the customer and without undue discrimination). Common
carriers may vary rates based on special considerations and may in
fact serve only a small fraction of the general public.
Connection Fee A fee charged on every call that is made.
Contract A legally-binding agreement between a vendor and a customer
to provide Products, Services or Philippines
Phone Cards Features in a specified quantity
and quality, for a specified price, during a specified period of
time.
Contract Tariffs Services and rates based on contracts negotiated
with individual customers, but theoretically available to all customers.
AT&T has filed several hundred contract tariffs.
Country Code Two or three digit codes used for International calls
outside of the North American Numbering Plan area codes. Dial: 011
+ country code + city code + local phone number) (e.g. "011
+ 91 + 22 + 123- 4567" 91 = India, 22 = Bombay)
Customizable PIN A PIN that gives you the ability to choose the specific
numbers or character sequence.
Cut-Through Dialing "10"+CIC+" #" followed by
an AuthCode for IntraLATA calls.
DA - Directory Assistance Phone Number Lookup Service
DAL - Dedicated Access Line A non-switched circuit from the customer
to a carrier.
DDD - Direct Distance Dialing Any switched telecommunication service
(like 1+, 0++, etc.) that allows a call originator to place long
distance calls directly to telephones outside the local service area
without an operator.
Deactivation A request to terminate service (or the process of terminating
service)
Default Carrier Your regular Dial-1 carrier. Call 1-700-555-4141
to find your default carrier.
Dial To Place A Call On A Switched Network. The term "dial" is
obsolete - based on rotary dial phones and electromechanical relay
switches (which are nearly non-existent in modern telephone systems.)
Touch Tone service recognizes dual tones that are generated as each
telephone key is pressed. Where Touch Tone service is not available,
telephones and switches electronically "pulse" signals
that emulate the older rotary dial telephones. The terms "place" a
call or "originate" a call are more accurate than "dial".
Dial Tone Ready To Place/Originate A Call. When the off hook indication
is received at a central office, a dial tone signal is sent to the
originating caller on a switched network to indicate that the switch
is ready to accept a number.
Dialer Equipment that pulses out a standard dial protocol signal.
Digital A device or method that uses discrete variations in voltage,
frequency, amplitude, location, etc. to encode, process, or carry
binary (zero or one) signals for sound, video, computer data or other
information. For example, a digital clock displays the time as discrete
numeric values, rather than angular displacement of analog hands.
Digital communications technology generally permits higher speeds
of transmission with a lower error rate than can be achieved with
analog technology. When analog signals are received and amplified
at each repeater station, any noise is also amplified. A digital
signal, Philippines
Phone Cards however, is detected and regenerated (not amplified).
Unlike amplification, any noise (less than a valid signal) is eliminated
by digital regeneration.
Directory Assistance - DA An information service whereby operators
assist customers in obtaining the telephone number(s) they wish to
call.
Equal Access (AT&T Divestiture - 1982 Modified Final Judgement)
The provision of one-plus capability to interLATA competitors of
AT&T. Customers should be able to reach the carrier of their
choice by dialing 1+ the long-distance number. The MFJ and the FCC
require local exchange carriers to provide equal access (most central
offices now have this capability). Equal Access may also refer to
a more generic concept under which the BOCs must provide access services
to AT&T's competitors that are equivalent to those provided to
AT&T.
FCC - Federal Communications Commission Regulates interstate communications:
licenses, rates, tariffs, standards, limitations, etc. Appointed
by U.S. President .Web Site = http://www.fcc.gov
Gateway Device that connects two different kinds of networks and
performs the translations required for them to communicate with each
other.
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) European protocol used
for encoding digital cellular phone transmissions.
IC Interexchange Carrier - IXC - IEC (IEC is preferred). A company
providing long-distance phone service between LECs and LATAs.
IEC - Interexchange Carrier IC - IXC (IEC is preferred). A company
providing long-distance phone service between LECs and LATAs.
Interexchange Communication between two different LATAs.
InterLATA Communication between Local Access Transport Areas. 1982
MFJ requires LECs to use an IEC for InterLATA services.
International Between multiple nations.
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Organization in Geneva
that evaluates and approves proposed standards for making telecommunications
products work together.
Internet Protocol (IP) Main protocol (i.e., set of rules that formulates
the foundation of communication) that controls data flow from one
point to the another. It is actually the low-level common denominator
of the Internet.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) Company that offers its customers
accesses to the Internet.
Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP) Company that offers its
customers the ability to make phone calls over the public Internet.
Interstate Between multiple states. Interstate communications are
regulated by the FCC.
IntraLATA Communication within a Local Access Transport Area. 1982
MFJ allows LEC to handle these calls without an IEC.
Intrastate Communication within a single state. Intrastate communications
are regulated by each state's PUC.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) Phone line service whose
technology offers more bandwidth more economically; it is therefore
better suited for Internet telephony and video applications. ISDN
uses multiple channels for data and voice.
IXC 1) Interexchange Carrier (IEC is preferred). A company providing
long-distance phone service between LECs and LATAs. 2) Interexchange
Circuit. A circuit that connects PoPs.
Jitter Difference in arrival time of packets sent at the same time
but traveling different routes.
LATA Local Access Transport Areas (200 in the U.S.). A geographic
service area defined in the AT&T Modified Final Judgement. The
RBOCs (baby Bells) and GTE are restricted to operations within, but
not between, LATAs. Long distance service within a LATA is provided
by the LEC. Service between LATAs is provided by an IEC. LATAs are
represented by a 3-character code, and there are 164 of them across
the country.
LEC See Local Exchange Carrier
LEC BAN - Billing Account Number 3-digit number appended to the billing
phone number used as the LEC customer number. Groups all ANIs for
a customer.
LEC Billing Arrangement whereby the Local Exchange Carrier invoices
the customer for some or all telecommunications services.
LEC Card The billing arrangement which enables the caller to bill
calls to an authorized calling card issued by a local exchange carrier.
LEC Charges Charges that are the responsibility of the local exchange
carrier.
Letter Of Agency - LOA A document that authorizes changing the service
provider. (See RespOrg, 800 Portability)
Local Access Local Loop. The connection from a subscriber to the
Central Office. The portion of a circuit Philippines
Phone Cards connecting the LEC's CO
with the customer's premise equipment across the local network.
Local Access Provider Any organization that is authorized to provide
local access. (May or may not be the LEC.)
Local Area Network (LAN) Number of computers connected together to
form one network.
Local Exchange Carrier - LEC The local or regional telephone company
that owns and operates lines to customer locations and Class 5 Central
Office Switches. LECs have connections to other COs, Tandem (Class
4 Toll) offices and may connect directly to IECs like WorldCom, AT&T,
MCI, Sprint, etc.
Local Exchange Service Local phone calls.
Long Distance Carrier A company providing long-distance phone service
between LECs and LATAs.
Message Toll Service - MTS Pay-by-the-minute switched long distance
services. Includes conventional long distance and measured WATS.
NPA - Numbering Plan Areas North American "Area Codes." (3
digits: 2-to-9, 0-or-1, 0-to-9. Middle digit to expand soon)
Operator Service Call - OSC A call that is placed through a human
or automated operator (0+).
Operator Service Provider - OSP - OS Provider The vendor that supplies
operator service.
Outbound Outward Sending - Call Originating - Dialing Out
Payphone A public (or private) telephone that accepts coins or encoded
credit cards.
Payphone Fee Additional charge per call if if call is made using
a payphone, normally collected for the owner of the payphone.
Personal Identification Number (PIN) Personal unique security codes
that callers use to access their accounts.
Person-to-Person Operator assisted phone call - only billed if the
specified person is available.
Phone card Same as a calling card or telecard.
Phonecard Same as a calling card or telecard.
PIC - Primary Interexchange Carrier The IEC that 1+ calls are routed
to. Specified by ANI.
PIC Charges A LEC charge for changing the PIC. Often paid by the
new IEC. If a LEC sends a PIC charge to a customer, the new IEC will
typically credit the customer's account.
PIC Freeze A PIC Freeze prevents the long distance from being switched
for the specified ANIs. Useful to prevent slamming, or the unauthorized
switching of long distance services.
PIC Request A request record sent to a LEC asking for an ANI to be
activated, deactivated or changed in some way.
PIC Response A response record sent by a LEC (corresponding to a
previous PIC Request) with response code that indicates whether the
request was performed. (Some LECs return non-standard PIC Response
codes.)
Point Of Presence - POP The physical access location interface between
a local exchange carrier and an Interexchange Carrier fiber network.
The point to which the telephone company terminates a subscriber's
circuit for long distance service or leased line communications.
Point-To-Point Non-switched, dedicated communication circuit.
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) Protocol to access the Internet using
dial-up connections.
POP See Point Of Presence
POTS Plain Old Telephone Service
Prepaid Phone Card A plastic or paper card that allows a person to
pay for long distance/local phone calls in advance.
Primary Interexchange Carrier The long distance company that is automatically
accessed when a customer dials 1+.
Private Line Uses dedicated circuits to connect customer's equipment
at both ends of the line. Does not provide any switching capability
(unless supported by customer premise equipment). Usually includes
two local loops and an IEC circuit.
Provisioning The process by which a requested (ordered) service is
designed, implemented and tracked (providing the subcomponent parts).
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) The regular, "old-fashioned" telephone
network.
PUC - Public Utilities Commission The agency regulating intrastate
phone service.
Rate Element A recurring fixed charge for IEC or LEC service at the
lowest level. A local loop may have multiple rate elements associated
with it, which make up the fixed portion of the monthly bill. For
example: Local Access, Local Mileage, Entrance facilities, Channel
Termination, Interexchange, etc.
Rates and Tariffs Standards published by AT&T, OCCs,LECs, and
IECs that define service availability, cost and provisioning procedures.
Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) Philippines
Phone Cards Protocol that improves Internet
telephone calls by adding special information to the voice data packets
to help programs reassemble them more efficiently.
RBOC Regional Bell Operating Company. Bell operating companies set
up after the AT&T divestiture.
Rebiller See Reseller
Recharge Code A set of numbers on a calling card used to add additional
funds, usually the last several digits of a PIN.
Rechargeable Phone Card A calling card used which can be refilled
with units by the addition of funds to the calling card account without
the purchase of a new card or a new PIN.
Reuseable Phone Card A calling card used which can be refilled with
units by the addition of funds to the calling card account without
the purchase of a new card or a new PIN.
Regional Bell Operating Companies - RBOC One of the seven "Baby
Bell" Companies created by the 1982 Modified Final Judgement
that specified the terms of the AT&T Divestiture. The seven RHCs
include: NYNEX, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, Southwestern Bell, U.S.
West, Pacific Telesis, and Ameritech. "RBOC" is sometimes
used informally to refer to the Regional Holding Companies defined
in the 1982 MFJ. (See Bell Operating Companies - There are 19 BOCs).
Regulators FCC, PUC, Federal Courts (e.g. MFJ), etc.
Reseller - Also known as Rebiller A long-distance carrier (IEC) that
does not own a network, but leases bulk capacity and resells portions
of it at a higher rate.
Residential Customer An individual (non-business) telephone system
subscriber.
Responsible Organization - R/O - Resporg With 800 Portability, the
Number Administration Service Center (NASC) allows the RespOrg to
make changes such as carrier, termination, 800 call routing (by time
of day, location.) A Letter Of Agency (LOA) must be on file to change
the RespOrg for each customer/account.
Router Switching device that that directs traffic through the Internet.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Encrypted communications path between two
computers. Theoretically protects customer information.
Serial Line Interface Protocol (SLIP) Protocol to access the Internet
using dial-up connections.
Slam An end user that is PICed without their permission. An RBOC
Slam Fee must be paid for each slam.
Smart Card A plastic phone-card with a stored cash value in a micro-chip
inside the card.
SMS Service Management System
Also Simple Message System
Also Simple Message Service
SMS Customer Record All information related to one 800 number, effective
date and time, etc.
Speed Dialing A service to abbreviate and accelerate frequently dialed
numbers.
State Tax A collection of tax types that each state is allowed to
charge. Tax jurisdiction (which state can charge tax for a call)
is based on the two-out-of-three rule: where it originates, where
it terminates, where it is being billed to - if two match, that state
can charge the tax.
Surcharge An additional charge on top of a base rate for a specified
reason.
A fee charged against the card usually to cover the companies costs.
Switch A device (like a DMS-250 or a PBX) that responds to originator
signals and dynamically connects the caller to the desired communication
destination.
Switched Access Nondedicated local access between the customer's
premise and the serving wire center which is interconnected to the
company's point-of-presence for origination or termination of service.
Switched Access Service A class of LEC services that provides the
link from the customer's premise to the IEC PoP for switched circuits.
Switched Resellers Resellers that utilize their own switching hardware
(and sometimes their own lines) and the lines of other IXCs to provide
long-distance service to its subscribers. They provide their own
billing and service.
Switched Services All dial up long-distance services including conventional
residential and WATS (most have incremental use charges). (See Message
Toll Service)
Switching Fee A per-line fee (usually around 5$) imposed by the LEC
to reprogram their switching system to change your default carrier.
Subscribers must usually pay this fee when switching to a reseller.
Switchless Reseller A reseller of long-distance services that does
not utilize any of its own lines, or (switching) equipment. All actual
service and equipment is handled by the IXC. Billing is usually done,
by the reseller themselves, to the customer.
Tariff A public document filed with the FCC or a PUC that outlines
services and rates. Usually, all customers are offered the same rate
for a specific service, based on published constraints.
Telecard Same as a phone card or calling card.
TDD Telecommunications Device for the Deaf
Telco - Telephone Company The local or regional telephone company
that owns and operates lines to customer locations and Class 5 Central
Office Switches. Telcos have connections to other COs, Tandem (Class
4 Toll) offices and may connect directly to IECs like WorldCom, AT&T,
MCI, Sprint, LDDS, etc.
Termination gateway The computer equipment configured with certain
hardware and software, which provides the electronic "bridge" from
an IP network to the PSTN to connect to the destination telephone.
Third Party Billing Use of an outside service bureau for bill processing
such as: call rating, customer invoicing, collections, etc.
Time of Day Routing Route calls based on the time the call originates.
(e.g. direct morning calls to East Coast operators and afternoon
calls to West Coast operators, etc.). SMS/800 supports 15 minute
time intervals.
Toll A rated call (Contrast CDR - unrated call detail record). Tolls
appear on the Invoice Detail.
Toll Call A call with incremental use (minute-by-minute) charges.
(Often through a Class 4 Toll Office).
Toll Fraud A crime in which a "hacker" obtains telecommunication
services by: breaching computer security, using or selling stolen
long-distance credit-card codes, or, accessing a PBX and using its
communication facilities illegally. Toll Fraud is estimated to cost
U.S. companies $1.2 billion/year.
Value Added Reseller (VAR) Company offering services other than the
core service. For example, a company who sells computers and offers
training, service, and on-going maintenance is considered a VAR.
Vanity Number A specific 800 or 888 number (may spell something).
Verified Account Codes See Account Codes. A finite list of carrier-verified,
predefined Account Codes.
Vocoder Compresses a digital signal and then decompresses it. (Also
known as coder.)
Voice Mail An automatic answering service with the ability to record
a message. Unlike simple answering machines, Voice mail uses a programmable
computer system with options such as temporary call routing, monitoring
and reporting, etc.
Voice Mail Box The assignment of one user/number on a voice mail
system.
WATS - Wide Area Telephone Service Flat rate, or special rate pay-by-the-minute
(measured) billing for a specified calling area. May be outbound
or inbound (e.g. 800).
Wide Area Network (WAN) Number of computers connected together to
form one network over several locations. Could be made up of several
LANS all connected together across the world for example.
Wireless Radio waves, cellular, satellite, microwave, etc.
WNP Wireless Number Portability.
WTN Working Telephone Number.
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