Access
line
A line for voice,
data or video reaching from a telecommunications
company’s central office to a point near or
on a customer’s site.
Access line
equivalent
A term used
to indicate the number of equivalent access lines
that one high-capacity data line such as T1 or ISDN
represents. The use of access line equivalents provides
a more accurate base of comparison for overall connection
capacity, as well as for financial metrics such
as average revenue per unit.
ADSL 2+
An advanced
form of DSL technology with bandwidth that enables
a greater range of services to be transmitted over
existing copper line infrastructure.
CDMA (Code
Division Multiple Access)
A wireless digital
technology in which a unique code is assigned to
each word in a conversation. These codes are then
scrambled and sent over a wireless channel from
one wireless phone to another. CDMA’s unique
coding structure filters all the codes and reassembles
them in the correct order so that significantly
more people can carry on a separate conversation
on the same frequency without causing interference
or static. CDMA 1X is the next generation of CDMA
technology.
Cell site
An arrangement
of wires and metal rods used in transmitting and
receiving radio waves. In a wireless system, antennae
are mounted on radio structures at cell sites. Smaller
antennae are mounted on automobiles as part of a
mobile phone installation and directly on portable
and transportable wireless phones.
Churn rate
The percentage
of customers disconnecting service each month. All-in
churn represents the percentage of the
total customer base that disconnects service each
month. Post-pay churn represents
the percentage of the customer base on post-pay
service plans that disconnects service each month.
Post-pay service plans are those in which customers
are billed in arrears for service, such as customers
who are on contract.
CLEC (Competitive
Local Exchange Carrier)
A company that
competes with the established local telecommunications
company to provide voice and data communications
services. CLECs were a development of the Telecommunications
Act of 1996.
Digital Subscriber
Line (DSL)
A DSL line transmits
simultaneous voice and high-speed data over existing
copper telephone wires without the need of additional
phone lines.
easyedge(SM)
U.S. Cellular’s
suite of wireless data services. easyedge consists
of easyedge Phone Download Service, easyedge
Picture Messaging and easyedge Wireless Modem Service.
Federal
Communications Commission (FCC)
An independent federal agency of the U.S. government,
authorized by the Communications Act of 1934,
responsible for managing private and commercial
communications spectrum and regulating communications
services in the United States.
Footprint
The area in which a wireless service provider
has operations or is licensed to provide service.
FTTP (Fiber-to-the-Premises)
A fiber-optic network that connects directly
from the carrier network to the user premises.
Another fiber-optic network is FTTC (Fiber to
the Curb), which connects from the carrier network
to the curb, and from there to the premises by
copper wire or coaxial cable.
ILEC (Incumbent
Local Exchange Carrier)
An independent local telephone company
that formerly had the exclusive right and responsibility
to provide local transmission and switching services
in its designated service territory.
Major Trading
Area (MTA)
An area defined by the U.S. government
and used by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to designate personal communication service
market areas.
MMS (Multimedia
Messaging Services)
The next generation of text messaging.
In addition to voice and text, audio-visual content
can be exchanged allowing much richer content
including, photography, voice and video clips.
PCS (Personal
Communications Service)
Originally meant to describe digital service
offered at a higher frequency (1900 MHz) than
wireless, it is now used as a generic term for
all digital (versus analog) wireless.
PON (Passive Optical
Network)
A fiber-based network built without active
electronics. Because a PON uses optical splitters
rather than costly active electronics, it is less
expensive to build and maintain than a network
that uses active electronics. PONs are still more
expensive than copper-based networks. A PON is
usually used in a local loop to connect customers
to the central office. BPON (Broadband Passive
Optical Network) is a broadband PON.
POPs (Population
equivalents)
The population of a market multiplied
by the percentage ownership of that market.
Roaming
Use of a wireless phone outside the home-service
area. Roaming can incur additional charges to
the customer, depending on the customer's calling
plan. If a customer roams on a different carrier's
network, that customer’s wireless provider
pays a negotiated amount to the other carrier.
VoIP (Voice over
Internet Protocol)
A technology used to transmit voice over
a data network using Internet Protocol, such as
the Internet or intranet networks.
Wi-Fi (Wireless
Fidelity)
A technology that provides short-range,
high-speed data connections between mobile data
devices (such as laptops) and nearby Wi-Fi access
points (hardware connected to a wired network).
Wireless
Voice and data telecommunications technology
that uses the radio-frequency spectrum rather
than wires for transmitting and receiving voice,
data and video signals.
Wireline
A wireline telephone network versus a
wireless network.
WNP (Wireless
Number Portability)
Number portability is a service that will
enable landline and wireless phone customers to
keep their existing phone number when switching
from one service provider to another within the
same local calling area.
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