Telecommunication Acronyms

Telecommunications is like a lot of other industries in that they tend to have their own language built around acronyms, portmanteaus, and technical terminology.

Here is a small sampling of Telecom Acronyms:

UNE – Unbundled Network Element
AC – Account Consultant
LSO – Local Service Office
LENS – Local Exchange Network System
LERG – Local Exchange Routing Guide
LNP – Line Number Portability
TN – Telephone Number
NPA – Number Plan Area
NXX –Network Exchange
CSR – Customer Service Record
SLC – Subscriber Line Charge
LOR – LEC Order Record
SWBT – Southwestern Bell Telephone
LEC – Local Exchange Carrier
ATN – Account Telephone Number
FOC – Firm Order Commitment
LIDB – Line Identification Database

Digital Signals Mean Less Noise

Analog and digital signals are both subject to impairments or “noise”.  In an analog signal this noise is heard as static on the other end of the call.  But on a digital signal this noise is eliminated when the signal is repaired en route.

Both analog and digital signals reduce their strength when traveling long distances (regardless of the transmission media).  They decrease in volume, fade and are more susceptible to interference such as static and other electromagnetic energy.  However, digital signals can be “repaired” better than analog signals.

When a digital signal loses strength and fades over distance, there is equipment on the line to regenerate the signal.  This equipment knows that each bit is either a one or a zero and it recreates it.  Any noise (or static) is discarded during the repair process.

In an analog signal, the process of strengthening the signal is to amplify all of the waves in the transmission.  This includes the noise or static that was picked up along the way.

People who first used digital wireless telephones rather than their analog wireless counterparts commented on the improvement in voice clarity.

Binary Digital Transmissions Mean Better Clarity

While analog signals use waves that oscillate back and forth, digital signals are transmitted in the form of binary bits.  The word binary means “made up of two parts”.  In telecommunications, the term binary refers to the fact that there are only two values for transmitted voice and data bits: on and off (1 and 0).

“On” bits are depicted as 1’s and indicates the presence of a signal or voltage.  “Off” bits are depicted as 0’s and indicates no signal or voltage.

The fact that digital transmissions are only on or off is one reason why digital services are a better choice for voice.  Because when the digital signal starts to break down on long transmissions, rather than amplify the whole transmission (including the static or noise), only the “on” bits can be amplified.

This allows for a much more accurate voice and data signal over a long distance.

3G System Capabilities

3G System Capabilities

Capability to support circuit and packet data at high bit rates: 144 kilobits/second or higher in high mobility (vehicular) traffic 384 kilobits/second for pedestrian traffic 2 Megabits/second or higher for indoor traffic

Interoperability and roaming

Common billing/user profiles: Sharing of usage/rate information between service providers Standardized call detail recording Standardized user profiles

Capability to determine geographic position of mobiles and report it to both the network and the mobile terminal

Support of multimedia services/capabilities: Fixed and variable rate bit traffic Bandwidth on demand Asymmetric data rates in the forward and reverse links Multimedia mail store and forward Broadband access up to 2 Megabits/second

Analog Signals and Noise

An analog telephone signal is similar to water moving through a pipe.  The further the water has to move, the less strength the signal.

Simarlarly, the signal being analog, weakens as it travels over great distances no matter the medium (copper, coax cable, air, etc.).  This causes the analog signal to fade or weaken.  In voice converstaion this is presented as the voice getting softer and less distinct.

In addition to becoming weaker, the signal picks up little bits of electrical interference or “noise”.  Power lines, lights and electrical equipments all inject noise into the signal in the form of electrical energy.

In analog signals this noise is heard as static.

To overcome resistance and boost the signal strength, an analog signal is periodically strengthened with a device called an amplifier.

Amplifying a weakened analog signal is not without problems.  In analog services, the amplifier that boosts the signal can not tell the difference between the signal and the noise.  So both end up getting amplified.

In a voice telephone call that is carried by analog signals people will hear static on the line whenever this happens – but they can still (hopefully) hear what is being said.

When noise on data transmissions is amplified however, the noise may cause errors in the transmission.

Analog Services Frequency (Hz)

Analog transmissions move down the phone lines as electromagnetic waves.  The way analog signals travel is expressed in frequency.

Frequency refers to the number of times per second that a wave oscillates or swings back and forth in a complete cycle from its starting point to its end point.

A complete cycle happens when a wave starts at a zero point of voltage, goes to the highest point of voltage on the wave and then down to a negative voltage and back to zero.

The higher the speed of frequency, the more complete cycles of a wave are completed in a period of time.  This speed or frequency is stated in hertz (Hz).

For example, a wave that oscillates back and forth 20 times per second is said to have a speed of 20 hertz or 20 cycles per second.

Analog vs. Digital Telecom

The telephone network as we know it today was originally made for voice telephone calls.  It was the telegraph that was invented in 1840 that that was used for short messages of a text variet.  Then the phone was invented in 1876 it was used to send voice transmissions and voice transmissions only.

Spoken words are sent as analog sound waves – just as people speak in an analog format (with waves).  Phone calls were sent in analog form from the 1870’s all the way up to the 1960s.

Nowadays much of the public telecom network is now digital, but there are still many many analog services in use – and parts of the telephone network are analog.  The majority of telephones that plug into home telephone jacks are analog instruments.  Most TV signals and telephone lines and internet lines are digital, but the equipment and the drops of the last mile may be analog.

As more of us use our computers to communicate (VOIP), and as calling volume increases, the analog format designed for lower volumes of telecom traffic is proving inefficient.  Digital signals are faster, have more capacity, and contain fewer errors than analog waves.

High speed telecom signals sent on ISDN service, within computers, via fiber lines and between most telcom company offices are digital.  With the excpetion of most current TV and portions of cable TV wiring, analog services are used for slow speed transmissions.

When you think of the “plain old telephone service” (POTS), you’re thinking of traditional analog services.