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A/B Switching
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Most cellular phones have the ability to
switch to the "A" or the "B" frequency bands. This feature is useful
when roaming outside your home coverage area.
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Access Fee
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A monthly charge for the ability to connect to a wireless network.
This fee is assessed monthly whether the phone is actually used or not.
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Activation
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Configuration of a wireless phone so that it is ready to be used to
transmit and receive calls on the wireless network.
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Airtime
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Total time that a wireless phone is in connected and in use for talking.
This includes use for calls both received and placed.
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Alphanumeric Display
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A display, usually LCD, that has the ability
to display both text and numbers. Most often found on the front of a
wireless handset or pager.
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AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service)
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An analog cellular phone service standard
used in the US and other countries.
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Analog
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A method of modulating radio signals so that they can carry information
such as voice or data.
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Authentication
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A feature used to reduce fraud by confirming the identity of a phone
to the wireless network.
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Automatic Call Delivery
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A service feature that allows a user to receive
calls when roaming outside of the phone's home coverage area.
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Bandwidth
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Describes the transmission capacity of a medium in terms of a range
of frequencies. A greater bandwidth indicates the ability to transmit
a greater amount of data over a given period of time.
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BTA (Basic Trading Area)
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A geographic region defined by a group of
counties that surround a city, which is the area's basic trading center.
The boundaries of each BTA were formulated by Rand McNally & Co.
and are used by the FCC determine service areas for PCS wireless licenses.
The entire US and some of its territories is divided into 493 non-overlapping
BTAs.
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Call Forwarding
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A feature that allows the transfer of incoming calls to another number
of the users choice.
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Caller ID
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A feature that displays a caller's telephone number and/or name before
the call is answered.
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Carrier
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A company that provides telecommunications services.
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CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
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A digital communication technology used by
some carriers to provide PCS service. Other technologies used are TDMA
and GSM.
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Cell
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The area surrounding a cell site. The area
in which calls are handled by a particular cell site. |
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Cell Site
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The transmission and reception equipment,
including the base station antenna, that connects a cellular phone to
the network.
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Cellular
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The type of wireless communication that is
most familiar to mobile phones users. Called 'cellular' because the
system uses many base stations to divide a service area into multiple
'cells'. Cellular calls are transferred from base station to base station
as a user travels from cell to cell.
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Coverage Area
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The geographic area served by a wireless
system. Same as Service Area.
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Decibel (dB)
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A unit of measure used to express relative difference in power or intensity
of sound.
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Digital
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A method of encoding information using a
binary code of 0s and 1s. Most newer wireless phones and networks use
digital technology. |
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Dual band
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A feature on some wireless phones that allows
the handset to operate using either the 800 MHz cellular or the 1900
MHz PCS frequencies.
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Dual mode
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A feature on some wireless phones that allows
the handset to operate on both analog and digital networks.
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Duplex
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As in ordinary telephone service, a characteristic of a communications
system where simultaneous transmission and reception is possible.
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email
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The ability to send and receive text messages
through a wireless handset. |
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ESN (Electronic Serial Number)
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The unique serial number of a cellular phone
that identifies it to the cellular system for the purpose and placing
and receiving calls.
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FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
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A US government agency responsible for regulating communications industries.
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GSM (Global Standard for Mobile)
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A digital communication technology used by
some carriers to provide PCS service. Other technologies used are CDMA
and TDMA.
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Handoff
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The transfer of a wireless call in progress from one transmission site
to another site without disconnection.
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Hands-Free Speakerphone
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A feature of some wireless phones that allows the users to talk and
listen to calls without holding the phone against their head.
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| IDEN-Integrated
Dispatch Enhanced Network |
This is the NEXTEL
System. NEXTEL is a nationwide system. Offers customers two dispatch type
communications and conferencing all in one handset. |
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Landline
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Traditional wired telephone service.
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LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
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A flat panel screen used to display numbers and/or characters. Often
found on a wireless handset.
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LED (Light Emitting Diode)
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A light on a handset to alert the user of various conditions.
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MSA (Metropolitan Service Area)
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An area defined by the US government for
use in grouping census data and other statistics. MSAs include a city
of at least 50,000 people or an urbanized area of at least 100,000 people
and the counties that include these areas. Not all areas of the US are
in an MSA. The FCC used these area definitions to license cellular telephone
service carriers. There are 306 regions of the US designated as MSAs.
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NAM (Number Assignment Module)
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A component of a wireless phone that holds
in electronic memory the telephone number and ESN of the phone.
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No Answer Transfer
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A feature of a wireless service that if a call is not answered in a
specified number of rings, it will be transferred to another phone number
of the users choice.
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No Service Indicator
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A feature of wireless phones that tells the user that wireless service
is unavailable in a particular location. Usually an LED on the handset.
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Off Peak
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Any time of day, as determined by a wireless carrier, when there is
lower communications traffic on the system. Carriers make this distinction
to offer lower rates during these periods when demand is low.
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Paging
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A feature of a wireless device that allows
reception of a signal or alphanumeric message. |
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PCS (Personal Communication Services)
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Used to describe a newer class of wireless
communications services recently authorized by the FCC. PCS systems
use a different radio frequency(the 1.9 GHz band) than cellular phones
and generally use all digital technology for transmission and reception. |
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Peak Period(s)
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Any time of day, as determined by a wireless carrier, when there is
high levels of communications traffic on the system.
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POTS (Plain-Old-Telephone-Service)
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Another name for traditional wired, land based telephone service.
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Prepaid Cellular/Wireless
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A service plan offered by some wireless carriers that allows subscribers
to pay in advance for wireless service.
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PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)
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A formal name for the world-wide telephone network.
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Radio-frequency fingerprinting
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An electronic process that identifies each individual wireless handset
by examining its unique radio transmission characteristics. Fingerprinting
is used to reduce fraud since the illegal phone can not duplicate the
legal phone's radio-frequency fingerprint.
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RF (Radio Frequency)
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A radio signal.
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RFI (Radio Frequency Interference)
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An undesired radio signal that interferes with a radio communications
signal causing extraneous noise and/or signal dropouts.
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RF Noise
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Undesired radio signals that alters a radio communications signal causing
extraneous sounds during transmission and/or reception.
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Roaming
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The ability of a wireless system to forward
incoming calls to a handset that is roaming outside its home service
area without any pre-notification to the wireless carrier.
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Roaming Agreement
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A agreement among wireless carriers allowing users to use their phone
on systems other their own home systems. Roaming Fee charged for roaming.
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RSA (Rural Service Area)
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Areas not included in MSAs are divided into
RSAs. Generally these are the rural areas of the US. The FCC used RSAs
to license cellular carriers in areas not included in MSAs. There are
428 RSAs in the US.
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Service Area
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The geographic area served by a wireless
system. Same as Coverage Area.
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Service plan
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A contract between a wireless carrier and a wireless subscriber that
details the terms of the wireless service including rates for activation,
access and per minute usage.
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Sensitivity
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A measure of a receiver's ability to viably receive weak radio signals.
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Spectrum
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The the entire range electromagnetic frequencies.
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Spread Spectrum
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A communications technology where a signal is transmitted over a broad
range of frequencies and then re-assembled when received.
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Standby Time
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The time a phone is on but not actively transmitting or receiving a
call.
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Subscriber
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A cellular phone user.
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System Selection Switch
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A feature of some cellular phones that allows
switching between 'A' and 'B' cellular carriers. This feature is often
used when roaming.
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Talk Time
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The time a phone is on and actively transmitting
or receiving a call. |
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TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)
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A digital communication technology used by
some carriers to provide PCS service. Other technologies used are CDMA
and GSM.
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Telecommunications Act of 1996
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Federal legislation passed in 1996 intended to increase competition
among wireless and wireline carriers for the benefit of consumers.
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Toll-Free Calling Area
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An area in which calls can be placed without incurring long distance
charges.
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Voice-activated Dialing
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A feature that allows users to speak words into a wireless phone to
cause it to dial pre-programmed telephone numbers without using the
buttons.
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Voice Mail
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A system that answers calls and allows users to reply to, save, delete
or forward messages.
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Wireless Carrier
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A company that provides wireless telecommunications services.
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