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3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project. A Bit (binary digit): A bit is the primary unit of
cooperation between regional standards bodies to electronic, digital data. Written in base-2, binary
ensure global interworking for 3G systems. language as a “1” or a “0”.
Access charge: Amount paid per minute, charged Bit/s: Bits per second. Measurement of the
by network operators for the use of their network transmission speed of units of data (bits) over a
by other network operators. network.
Air time: The minutes of calls a subscriber makes Bluetooth: A radio technology that makes
from a mobile phone. Also referred to as talk time. possible transmitting signals over short distances
between mobile phones, computers and other
devices.
AMPS: Advanced Mobile Phone System. An
analogue cellular telephone service standard
utilizing the 800 to 900 MHz band (and recently Bluetooth TM: Short-range radio link standard.
also the 1’800-2'000 MHz band). Uses unlicensed spectrum @ 2.45 GHz to provide
1 Mbit/s.
Bandwidth: The range of frequencies available to Byte: (1) A set of bits that represent a single
be occupied by signals. In analogue systems it is character. A byte is composed of 8 bits.
measured in terms of Hertz (Hz) and in digital (2) A bit string that is operated upon as a
unit and the size of which is independent of companies or between countries are not always
redundancy or framing techniques. meaningful.
Byte: (1) A set of bits that represent a single Circuit-switched connection: A temporary
character. A byte is composed of 8 bits. connection that is established on request between
(2) A bit string that is operated upon as a two or more stations in order to allow the
unit and the size of which is independent of exclusive use of that connection until it is
redundancy or framing techniques. released.
Cable modem: A technology that allows high- Circuit transfer mode: A transfer mode in which
speed interactive services, including Internet, to transmission and switching functions are achieved
be delivered over a cable TV network. by permanent or quasi-permanent allocation of
channels, bandwidth or codes between identified
CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate. See points of a connection. See also Packet transfer
technical notes. mode.
CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access. A Connectivity: The capability to provide, to end-
technology for digital transmission of radio users, connections to the Internet or other
signals based on spread spectrum techniques communication networks.
where each voice or data call uses the whole radio
band and is assigned a unique code. Coverage: Refers to the range of a mobile
cellular network, measured in terms of geographic
CDMA2000: A third-generation digital cellular coverage (the percentage of the territorial area
standard based on Qualcomm technology. covered by mobile cellular) or population
Includes CDMA2000 1x. One of the IMT-2000 coverage (the percentage of the population within
“family” of standards. range of a mobile cellular network).
cdmaOne: 2.5G mobile cellular standard (IS- CPP: Calling party pays. Billing option typically
95B) based on CDMA and backed by Qualcomm. used in mobile networks whereby the person
The evolution continues with the 3G standard, making the call is charged for its full cost, in
CDMA2000. The 2G standard is known as IS- contrast to billing also the recipient of the call (see
95A. RPP).
End-user: The individual or organization that Gbit/s: Gigabit per second. See also bit/s.
originates or is the final recipient of information
carried via the Internet (i.e. the consumer).
GDP: Gross domestic product. The market value
of all final goods and services produced within a
Enhanced Message Service (EMS): EMS is a nation in a given time period.
text service allowing mobile users to send and
receive short text messages from other mobile and GMPCS: Global Mobile Personal
PC users. Compared to SMS, EMS includes Communications by Satellite. A new generation of
additional features such the transmission of non-geostationary satellite systems that is
simple melodies, graphics, sounds, animations intended to provide global communications
and modified text as an integrated message. coverage to small handheld devices.
ENUM: Standard adopted by Internet GNP: Gross national product. The market value
Engineering Task Force (IETF), which uses the of all final goods and services produced in a
domain name system (DNS) to map telephone nation’s economy, including goods and services
numbers to Web addresses or uniform resource produced abroad.
locators (URL). The long-term goal of the ENUM
standard is to provide a single number to replace
GPRS: General Packet Radio Service. A 2.5G HTML: Hypertext Markup Language. A
mobile standard typically adopted by GSM Hypertext document format used on the World
operators as a migration step towards 3G Wide Web. Mark-up languages for translating
(W-CDMA). Based on packet-switched Web content onto mobile phones include cHTML,
technology enabling high-speed data transmission WML and xHTML.
(approx. 115 kbit/s).
HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Hypertext is
any text that cross-references other textual
GPS (global positioning system): Refers to a
information with hyperlinks.
“constellation” of 24 “Navstar” satellites launched
initially by the United States Department of
Defense, that orbit the Earth and make it possible Hz: Hertz. The frequency measurement unit equal
for people with ground receivers to pinpoint their to one cycle per second.
geographic location. The location accuracy ranges
from 10 to 100 metres for most equipment. A IMEI: International Mobile Equipment Identity.
European system, Galileo, is also under Unique serial number used on mobile phones,
development. typically those connected to the GSM network.
IPv4: Internet Protocol version 4. The version of Main telephone line: Telephone line connecting
IP in common use today. a subscriber to the telephone exchange equipment.
This term is synonymous with the term ‘fixed
IPv6: Internet Protocol version 6. The emerging line’ used in this report.
standard, which aims to rectify some of the
problems seen with IPv4, in particular the
shortage of address space. MASP (mobile application service provider):
MASPs provide the same service to mobile clients
as regular application service providers provide to
ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network. A fixed-line clients, that is to say Web-based access
digital switched network, supporting transmission to applications and services that would otherwise
of voice, data and images over conventional be stored locally.
telephone lines.
Mb: Mega bit.
ISP: Internet Service Provider. ISPs provide end-
users, and other ISPs, access to the Internet. ISPs
may also offer their own proprietary content and Mbit/s: Megabit per second. See also bit/s.
access to online services such as e-mail.
m-commerce: Mobile Commerce. Similar to e-
ITU: International Telecommunication Union. commerce but the term is usually applied to the
The United Nations specialized agency for emerging transaction activity in mobile networks.
telecommunications. See http://www.itu.int/.
MDG: Millennium Development Goals. The
8 MDGs are global targets that 191 nations
adopted at the UN Millennium Summit Packet: An information block identified by a
(September 2000). They include specific goals for label at layer 3 of the OSI reference model.
human development and poverty eradication to be (Source: CCITT Blue Book Volume 1 Fascicle1.3
met by 2015. Terms and Definitions).
PPP: Purchasing power parity. An exchange rate Roaming: A service allowing cellular subscribers
that reflects how many goods and services can be to use their handsets on networks of other
purchased within a country taking into account operators or in other countries.
different price levels and cost of living across
countries. RPP: Receiving party pays. Billing option
whereby the person receiving a call is charged in
Proportionate subscribers: The number of addition to the person initiating the call (as
subscribers of a mobile cellular operator based on opposed to only the caller paying, see CPP).
ownership. Calculated by multiplying the mobile
cellular operator’s share of ownership (equity) in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL): SSL (Secure
a particular subsidiary by the total number of Sockets Layer) is a programme layer created by
subscribers. Netscape for managing the security of message
transmissions in a network. SSL uses a public-
Protocol: A set of formal rules and specifications and-private key encryption system, which also
describing how to transmit data, especially across includes the use of a digital certificate.
a network.
Server: (1) A host computer on a network that
PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network. The sends stored information in response to requests
public telephone network that delivers fixed or queries.
telephone service. (2) The term server is also used to refer
to the software that makes the process of serving
information possible.
PTO: Public telecommunication operator. A
provider of telecommunication infrastructure and
services to the general public. The term public SIM: Subscriber identity module (card). A small
relates to the customer rather than the ownership printed circuit board inserted into a GSM-based
of the PTO. mobile phone. It includes subscriber details,
security information and a memory for a personal Teledensity: Number of main telephone lines
directory of numbers. This information can be per 100 inhabitants.
retained by subscribers when changing handsets.
See also USIM. Total teledensity: Sum of the number of fixed
lines and mobile phone subscribers per 100
SMS: Short Message Service. A service available inhabitants.
on digital networks, typically enabling messages
with up to 160 characters to be sent or received
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
via the message centre of a network operator to a Protocol (TCP/IP): The suite of protocols that
subscriber’s mobile phone. defines the Internet and enables information to be
transmitted from one network to another.
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. A
protocol designed for the seamless transmission of UIM: User Identity Module. See USIM.
electronic mail across an Internet using e-mail
servers and clients.
UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications
System. The European term for third-generation
Spectrum: The radio frequency spectrum of mobile cellular systems or IMT-2000 based on the
hertzian waves used as a transmission medium for W-CDMA standard. For more information see the
cellular radio, radiopaging, satellite UMTS Forum website at:
communication, over-the-air broadcasting and http://www.umts-forum.org/.
other services.
TDD: Time Division Duplex. One technique used USIM: Universal Subscriber Identity Module
for wireless communication where the up link and (card). A printed circuit board (similar to a SIM)
down link use the same frequencies. that is inserted into a mobile phone. Adopted by
W-CDMA operators for 3G mobile. Capable of
TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access. A digital storing much more information and has strong
cellular technology that divides frequency into security functions compared with SIMs. Also
time slots. It is the prevalent technology of the referred to as User Identity Module, or UIM.
second-generation digital cellular with three main
versions: North American TDMA (IS-136); UTRA: UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access. The
European TDMA (GSM); and Japanese TDMA European third-generation mobile standard ETSI
(PHS/PDC). has agreed on which draws upon both W-CDMA
and TDMA-CDMA proposals.
TDMA IS-136: A digital cellular standard earlier
referred to as D-AMPS. For more information see VoIP: Voice over IP. The generic term used to
the Universal Wireless Communications describe the techniques used to carry voice traffic
Consortium website at: http://www.uwcc.org. over IP (see also IP).
VXML: Voice eXtensible Markup Language. A Wireless: Generic term for mobile
new standard under development that uses voice communication services which do not use fixed-
to browse the Web. link networks for direct access to the subscriber.
© 2003 ITU