Technology / Cell Phones Glossary

Telephone Transmission Tower: A telephone base station located on top of a tall, free-standing structure.

Telephony: Originally meaning voice (analog) communication by telephone (land line), this term has come to encompass virtually all telecommunications, because virtually all telecommunications can be do . . . View Full Definition

Termination Charges: Fees that wireless telephone companies pay to complete calls on wireline phone networks or vice versa.

Third Generation (3G): A new wireless standard promising increased capacity and high-speed data applications up to two megabits. Third generation wireless employ wideband frequency carriers and a CDMA air interfac . . . View Full Definition

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA): A method of digital wireless communications transmission allowing a large number of users to access a single radio-frequency channel without interference. Each user is given a unique time sl . . . View Full Definition

Total Access Communication System (TACS): European analog cellular.

Transceiver: Equipment to handle the broadcast and reception of radio signals with network or subscriber equipment.

Tri-Band: A network infrastructure or wireless phone designed to operate in three frequency bands: 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800MHz.

Tri-Mode: Phones that work on three modes GSM, TDMA and analog.

Triangulation: The process of pinning down a caller's location using three or more radio receivers, a compass and a map.

Trunking: Spectrum-efficient technology that establishes a queue to handle demand for voice or data channels.

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS): The goal of UMTS is to enable networks that offer true global roaming and can support a wide range of voice, data and multimedia services. A new-generation technology for rapidly moving data . . . View Full Definition

Universal Wireless Communications Consortium (UWCC): An industry group supporting TDMA and WIN technology.

Uplink: The portion of a telecommunications path from the ground to the satellite, also referred to as the forward link.

UWC-136: A third-generation wireless standard proposal based on TDMA technology that was developed by the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium and is one of the 3G candidates submitted to the . . . View Full Definition

Visitor Location Register (VLR): A network database that holds information about roaming wireless customers.

Voice Activation: A convenient safety feature that allows a subscriber to dial a phone by voice instead of physically punching in the numbers.

Voice Recognition: The capability for cellular phones, PCs and other communications devices to be activated or controlled by voice commands.

Wavelength: The distance covered by one cycle of a wave.

Wideband CDMA (WCDMA): A 3G mobile services platform, based on modern, layered network-protocol structure, similar to the protocol structure used in GSM networks. WCDMA has been designed for high-speed data servic . . . View Full Definition

Wideband Packet CDMA (WPCDMA): A technical proposal from Golden Bridge Technology that wraps WCDMA and cdma2000 into one standard.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): An open standard for communication between handsets and the Internet. WAP is a wireless communications environment for delivering web data to wireless terminals with minimal screen display. . . . View Full Definition

Wireless Communications Services (WCS): The variety of services available using frequencies in the 2.3 GHz band for general fixed wireless use.

Wireless Instant Messaging (WIM): Bridges the gap between wired and wireless networks. WIM seamlessly allows a desktop user to instantly send a message to a handset.

Wireless Intelligent Network (WIN): The architecture needed to match the capabilities of the wireline intelligent network. In addition to transparent roaming, selective call screening, short message service and pre-paid billin . . . View Full Definition

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