An  introduction  to  the  language  of  telecom.

Hello from Teltek’s newest employee! I’m excited to be part of such an innovative and customer service-oriented company.  To be honest though, I’m somewhat intimidated by the technology terms casually thrown about on a daily basis. Technology is vital, always evolving and difficult to keep up with. Stewart Brand, creator and publisher of The Whole Earth Catalog was quoted as saying “Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” This saying is so true.

To me, T1 signifies the first of the Terminator movies, but it can also define a telecommunication standard for carrying multiple voice and data transmissions between a network and a user. My thoughtful teammates here at Teltek provided me with a glossary of some of the most commonly used terms in telecommunications and I’d like to share this with anyone else out there who hears static when some of this terminology is used in conversation. Take a look and let me know if you find this as helpful as I did!

Commonly Used Terms Reference Guide

66Block – A punchdown block used to connect sets of wires (25 pair) in telephone systems. Each row contains four clips (two on the left and two on the right). The first of the pair goes on the top and the second of the pair on the bottom.

110Block – A punchdown block used to connect sets of wires in a structured cabling system.

Analog  Signal – In an analog signal, the signal is varied continuously with respect to the information. During transmission the signals will be degraded by noise.

ANI – Automatic Number Identification. A feature of telephony intelligent network services that permits subscribers to display or capture the telephone numbers of calling parties.

Bandwidth – A measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bit/s or multiples of it (Kbit/s, Mbit/s)

Bit – A binary digit, taking the value of either a 0 or 1. Binary digits are a basic unit of information storage and communication in digital computing and in digital information theory.

Bit-Rate – The number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time(bit/s)

Byte – A term used for a group of 8 adjacent bits which represents a character.

Broadband – The capability of digital technology to combine & transport multiple forms of communications media, including audio, text, data, music, video and other formats. The physical pathway can use one or more transmission media, such as copper/coaxial wire, optical fiber, digital broadcast, satellite or radio spectrum. Transmission capacity is faster than 200 Kbps.

Cat 3 – UTP (unshielded twisted pair) 4 pair. Designed to carry 10 mbit/s with a possible bandwidth of 16 MHz.

Cat 5 – 4 twisted pairs designed for high signal integrity. Designed to carry up to 155mbit/s with a possible bandwidth of 100MHz.

Cat 6 – 4 twisted pairs. A cable standard for gigabit ethernet and other network protocols that is backward compatible with Cat 5 and Cat 3 wiring. More stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise. Tightly twisted pairs.

Channel Bank – A device that performs multiplexing – typically is used on T1’s/PRI’s to convert to analog telephone service in place of needing a T1/PRI trunk module in a phone system.

Circuit Switching – A circuit switching network is one that establishes a fixed bandwidth circuit between nodes and terminals before the users may communicate.

CTI – Computer Telephony Integration -. Enables computers to know about and control phone functions such as making and receiving voice, fax, and data calls with telephone directory services and caller identification.

D Marc – Point in which phone lines come into building, the phone company is responsible for line up to the D Marc. Place where the phone company lines and the lines inside the building meet. Also often referred to as a NID or demarcation point

Demodulation – The  act of extracting the original information-bearing signal from a modulated carrier wave.

DID – Direct Inward Dialing, feature offered by the telephone company for use with a PBX system.  Allocates numbers so when the exchange is presented with a call, it can route the call to the desired person or bureau within the organization. Usually requires T1/PRI circuit to be installed by service provider.

Digital Signal – In a digital signal the information is encoded as a set of discrete values (binary code, ones and zeros). Unlike analogue signals, unless the noise reaches a certain level, the signal will remain intact. Noise resistance is the biggest advantage to using a digital signal.

DSL – Digital Subscriber Line. Provides high frequency digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. A common form of internet access for home and small offices.

Faceplates – A flush mount wall plate that various jacks clip into to terminate phone, computer and cable TV cabling offering a female handoff to plug various devices into.

Firewall – A device (hardware and software) which protects a user’s internal network from an outside network. Commonly used when a business connects to the internet.

Hunt Group – Concept that refers to the methodology of distributing phone calls from a single telephone number to a group of several phone lines. If a line is busy, the telephone system can search a group of lines in a specified sequence until an available line is found.

IP Office – An IP telephone system made by Avaya designed to meet the needs of home offices, standalone businesses, and network branch and head offices for small and medium enterprises..

IP Telephony – A modern form of telephony which uses the TCP/IP protocol popularized by the internet to transmit digitized voice data.

IVR – Interactive Voice Response. A technology that allows a computer to detect voice and keypad inputs.

Key System – A multiline telephone system typically used in small office environments. Noted for their expandability and having individual line selection buttons for each connected phone line.

LAN – Local Area Network. A computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings. Usually higher data-transfer rates, smaller geographic range, and lack of a need for leased telecommunications lines.

Local Loop – Also referred to as the subscriber line, is the physical link or circuit that connects the D Marc point of the customer premises to the edge of the service providers network.

Merlin Magix System – A PBX made by Avaya in the 1990’s with a built-in ability to emulate a traditional key system..

Modem – A device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data.

Modulation – The process of varying a periodic waveform (a tone) in order to use that signal to convey a message.

Multiplexing – Taking multiple analog or digital lines and putting them into 1 channel of higher bandwhith. Can be used to connect to a T1.

Nodes – An active electronic device that is attached to a network, and is capable of sending, receiving and forwarding information over a communications channel.

Optical Fiber – A glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Used in communication to transmit over longer distances at a higher bandwidth than other forms of communication. Used instead of metal wires because data travels over them with less signal loss and they are immune to electromagnetic interference. Fiber is often used to 1) achiever higher transfer speeds then copper cable can offer, 2) to transfer data longer distances than traditional copper cable can ( typically >320’) and 3) in areas that have a high susceptibility to lightning strikes as fiber optic cabling does not conduct electricity.  

Patch Panel – A device most commonly used to terminate CAT-5e and CAT-6 station cable (from jacks to server room) in a network/server room. Patch panels are most commonly purchased  in 12, 24, 48, and 96-port increments and offer a point where all cables terminate prior to being cross-connected to phone systems, switches, servers, etc. Typical 110 hardware is used on the back of the panel to terminate the station cables and  RJ45 female ports are on the front of the panel. This design removes the complexity and special tools required to make device moves and changes.

Patch Cord – An electrical or optical cable, used to connect one electrical or optical device to another for signal routing.most commonly used between a computer/phone and wall jack or patch panel and phone system/network switch. Patch cables can be purchased in various grades of cable, fiber, colors, and lengths.

Pairs – Pairs of wires in a cable, color coded. Color scheme for a standard 4-pair wire is:

            Blue-blue/white

            Orange-orange/white

            Green-green/white

            Brown-brown/white

            Slate-slate/white

Partner System – A phone system made by Avaya designed to meet advanced needs of businesses today. Can be expanded up to approximately 35 phones/extensions and 16 incoming lines, but is ideal for approximately 15-20 phones.

PBX – Private Branch Exchange. A telephone exchange that serves a particular business or office, as opposed to one that a common carrier or telephone company operates for many businesses or for the general public.

POTS lines – Plain Old Telephone Service. Low bandwidth and no mobile capabilities. Basic form of voice grade telephone service. Been around almost since the introduction of the public telephone system in the late 19^th century. Requires one pair of wire coming into building for each POTS line; reliable but can be costly and cumbersome when multiple lines are required. Typically businesses that have 8-10 or more POTS lines should consider switching service to T1/PRI or other form of telephone service. However, due to their reliable nature, 1-2 POTS lines are often installed at a customer premise  as a back up to each T1/PRI

PRI/ T1 – Primary Rate Interface, a telecommunications standard for carrying multiple voice and data transmissions between a network and a user. There are several kinds of PRI/T1’s available today that offering flexible options to the end user. A full T1 consists of 24 channels that can be used for most any combination of telephone or internet service. The standard unit of measurement is 1.544 Mbit/s which refers to the internet/data transfer speed. Dynamic and Integrated T1/PRI’s offer an option to use a single T1 connection for both phone and internet service. Additionally multiple T1/PRI’s can be bonded together to increase the speed of a connection or number of incoming lines.

PSTN – Public Switched Telephone Network. A network of the world’s public switched telephone networks. Almost completely digital and includes mobile as well as fixed telephones.

RCF – Remote Call Forwarding. a service feature that allows calls coming to a remote call forwarding number to be automatically forwarded to any answering location designated by the call receiver.

RG6 – Coaxial cable. typically used for running CATV(cable television)

RJ45 – 8 Position contact plug used for 8 wire jack. Most commonly used as an ethernet connector. Typically used for terminating twisted pair cable.

RJ11 – 4 Position contact plug used for terminating telephone wire.

T1, PRI – Primary Rate Interface, a telecommunications standard for carrying multiple voice and data transmissions between a network and a user.

Telecommunications Network – A network of telecom links and nodes arranged so that messages may be passed from one part of the network to another over multiple links and through various nodes.

TCP/IP – Internet Protocol Suite. The set of communications protocol used for the internet and other similar networks. It is named from two of the most important protocols in it: the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), which were the first two networking protocols defined in this standard.

Terminals – A device which is capable of communication over a line. Common terminals are telephones, fax machines, printers, work stations, routers and VoIP.

Trunk Lines – A concept in modern communications by which a communications system can provide network access to many clients by sharing a set of lines or frequencies instead of providing them individually.

VOIP – Voice over Internet Protocol. A general term for a family of transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications over the internet or other packet-switched networks.

VPN – A Virtual Private Network that is configured within a public network. VPNs enjoy the security of a private network via access control and encryption, while taking advantage of the economies of scale and built-in management facilities of large public networks.

WAN – Wide Area Network. A computer network that covers a broad area, like links across metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries. The largest and most well-known example of a WAN is the internet.

Feel free to print this guide or contact me for a PDF if you want to keep a hard copy handy!

For more information on this and any other  telecom needs you may have, please contact us at Teltek. Teltek is a second generation; family owned and operated telecommunications integrator and certified Avaya Business Partner and NEC Dealer.  Our knowledgeable staff specializes in current Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), digital, hybrid, and key telephone systems in the small to mid-sized market place.  We distinguish ourselves by offering one-stop service and bundling a large variety of products and services such as: communications architecture and consulting, unified messaging, mobility solutions, voice and data cabling, and local, long distance & internet brokerage services. Serving Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, Pennsylvania and other surrounding areas, trust Teltek to coordinate your next phone system repair, cabling project, system installation and office relocation.

Carrie Green, Executive Assistant

www.myteltek.com     

sales@myteltek.com

1.866.9.TELTEK

236 East Main Street     

Westminster, MD 21157

Tags: dummies, help, reference guide, Tech talk, telecommunications, terms

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