Telecommunications Acronyms and Definitions
Consider this glossary your very own Rosetta Stone, hopefully helping you crack the code and better understand your phone system, network, and future options. And, if you need a translator, the Teltek team is here to help.
What is telephony?
It’s a little dated, but telephony refers to the science of transmitting your voice over a telecommunications network.
What is bandwidth?
Your level of bandwidth defines your telecom line’s capacity for carrying signals. You need the right amount of bandwidth (spectrum) to transmit a signal without losing information along the way.
What are cloud-based services?
Cloud-Based Services (also see “hosted”) refer to data, services, and telephone services based on off-site servers and equipment that are connected via the internet or “cloud.”
What does PBX mean?
PBX (Private Branch Exchange) is a business telephone system that uses a network made of hardware and software components. The technology manages the routing of calls both inside and outside the organization, and offers advanced call handling features. A PBX can use both VoIP and landline connected calls.
What is an IP-PBX system?
An IP-PBX is a PBX system with IP (Internet Protocol) connectivity, offering more robust features like additional audio, video, and instant messaging communication, integrating with other advanced CRM tools and applications.
What does hosted PBX mean?
This is a service where the call platform and PBX features are hosted at the service provider’s location, like an off-site data center, but connected to your location via the internet.
What is hosted VoIP?
You might also see this called cloud-based PBX and/or hosted PBX. Regardless, in this scenario the PBX hardware and software that handles your business’ calls resides with the provider off-site, and is connected to your facility via the internet. Calls and communications are initiated and routed to the right parties through signaling.
What does analog mean?
This commonly-used term refers to analog signal transmission. Analog telephony has been largely replaced by digital ISDN. However, in many countries, analog telephone lines are still in use.
What does ISDN stand for?
Integrated Services Digital Network. This is a completely digital, high-speed network that allows voice and data to be carried over your existing telephone network.
What is an analog line?
This is the most commonly used service for providing telephone connectivity between employees, departments, and off-campus businesses. An analog line provides service to desk and wall sets, answering machines, fax machines, and alarm circuits.
What is porting?
Porting is the transfer of a phone number from one service provider to another. For example, when you switch from AT&T to Verizon and take your number with you, that’s a port: transferring your existing number from another provider.
What is number portability?
The capability to retain your existing phone number while switching between phone service providers.
What is Call Routing?
Routing a call means that it’s sent along a certain path to reach a specific destination, such as a cell phone. When a call comes into a phone system, it can be routed in a variety of ways. The call may be sent to forwarding phones, to voicemail, or to an auto attendant
What is an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)?
An ISDN is a circuit-switched telephone network system designed to allow digital transmission of voice and data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in better voice quality than an analog phone. It offers circuit-switched connections (for either voice or data) and packet-switched connections for data in increments of 64 kb. The two standard levels of ISDN are the (BRI) Basic Rate Interface and the (PRI) Primary Rate Interface.
What is a router?
A router is a device connected to at least two networks that determines the next network point to forward a packet to. The decision of which way to send each information packet is based on its current understanding of the networks that it is connected to.
What is Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP)?
Short answer? Real Time Transport Protocol is a network protocol designed for smooth streaming of audio and video media through the internet. This is super important for VoIP (calls and data transfer that use the internet).
Need a longer, more technical answer? This one’s for you. An internet protocol that functions for end-to-end network connections to transmit data packets for applications that use audio or video. RTP combines its data transport with a control protocol (RTCP), which makes it possible to monitor data delivery for large multicast networks. Monitoring allows the receiver to detect if there is any packet loss and to compensate for some delay jitter. Both protocols work independently of the underlying transport layer and network layer protocols. The RTP header contains information that tells the receiver how to reconstruct the data and describes how the codec bit streams are packetized. Typically, both Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and H.323, use RTP, which runs on top of the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) Asterisk typically uses UDP ports 10000 to 20000 for its RTP traffic.
What is SD-WAN (Software Defined WAN)?
SD-WAN takes all the benefits of WAN technology a step further. Essentially, it is used to securely connect users across a wider area, ideal for cloud-based services and applications. Using an overlay (a virtual network), it delivers much better performance and capabilities.
In more technical terms, a software-defined wide-area network uses software-based management that tries to eliminate the complexity of packet routing by an understanding of applications, their performance, and the policies that are placed. Using software-defined networking (SDN) technology to prioritize bandwidth allocation and dynamic path selection for critical applications, like voice and video, according to policies and rules has multiple benefits over expensive MPLS. As more companies turn to cloud services for numerous applications the need for SD-WAN is increasing, especially for organizations with hybrid networks or multiple locations.
What is Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)?
SIP is a signaling protocol based upon a set of open standards managed by the IETF for Internet conferencing, telephony, and instant messaging. It is a request-response protocol, dealing with requests from clients and responses from servers initiating an interactive user session. Because of the open standards approach, SIP devices are generally inter-operable between different vendors. In a SIP based VoIP system most of the intelligence is in the IP Phones rather than centrally in the PABX.
What is a switch?
A switch is a device that keeps a record of the MAC addresses of all devices connected to it, then channels incoming data from any of multiple input ports to the specific output port that will take the data toward its intended destination. Think of it as a very, very high-tech version of a person controlling a switchboard in the good old days, connecting calls with their destination.
What is Unified Communications (UC)?
Unified Communications (UC) describes the integration of enterprise communication services where each service is available from a unified user interface. Services typically include telephone calls, voicemail, email, fax, video conferencing, data sharing, and integration with applications that handle a company’s CRM packages. UC can incorporate any and all communications and is not defined by any particular set or piece; rather it is a concept where all of a business’ communications are in one unified system.
What Is UCaaS?
Unified Communications as a Service. Using data centers to host the servers, a provider delivers unified communications as a service over IP. With large, robust internet pipes available at lower costs than in the past, enterprise-sized companies are now paying for communication services in a service provider model. These services can include voice and telephony, conferencing solutions, video, messaging, and different communication apps.
What is a Virtual Private Network (VPN)?
Using tunneling, IP traffic is typically securely encrypted between two endpoints so that the transmission travels securely over a public TCP/IP network. Instead of using a dedicated, real-world connection like a leased line, a VPN uses “virtual” connections routed through the internet from the one end point. For example, you could connect a business’s private network to the remote endpoint site; typically an employee.
What is a network?
A connection of two or more computers, enabling them to communicate with each other. Your network might include servers, cables, satellites, routers, or another transmission device.
What is Nebulosity?
Teltek’s Nebulosity system is a cloud-based VoIP phone system by MetaSwitch that’s designed to give a business access to any telephony feature you need at a cost-efficient price.
What is a POTS line?
POTS lines are old-fashioned copper wires connected to a standard telephone, providing the power and connectivity to the telephone service provider’s central switching system. In other words, POTS lines are traditional analog phone services that businesses use for voice, fax, DSL, and alarm lines, to name just a few.
Do you have questions about telecommunications?
Contact the team here at Teltek! We are here to help!