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Telecommunications
Glossary
IntraLATA and InterLATA Explained !
- Abbreviated Dialing
- A feature that permits the calling party to dial the
destination telephone number in fewer than normal digits. Abbreviated Dialing numbers must
be set up in advance of their use. Speed Dialing is a typical example of Abbreviated
Dialing.
Account Codes- Also known as Project Codes or Bill-Back Codes. Account
Codes are additional digits dialed by the calling party that provide information about the
call. Typically used by hourly professionals (accountants, lawyers, etc.) to track and
bill clients, projects, etc.
- Agent
- A person or organization that acts on behalf of another. In
the telecommunications industry, Agents typically are independent individuals or companies
that market the services of a carrier as if they were employees of that carrier.
Aggregator- An independent entity that brings several subscribers
together to form a group that can obtain long-distance service at a reduced rate.
Subscribers are billed by the original IXC. The aggregator only provides the initial
set-up of the plan. He usually provides no service after that. Different than a reseller.
- Alternate Access
- A form of local access where the provider is not the LEC,
but is authorized or permitted to provide such service.
- Alternate Access Carriers
- Local exchange carriers in direct competition with the
RBOCs. Normally found only in the larger metropolitan areas. Examples are Teleport and
Metropolitan Fiber Systems.
- Alternative Operator Services
- Operator services provided by a company other than a LECRBOC
or AT&T that is authorized to provide such service.
- ANI - See Automatic Number Identification.
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- Answer Supervision
- The off-hook indication sent back to the originating end
when the called station answers.
ARI
- Automatic Room Identification (Hotel/Motel room number)
Automatic Number Identification
- Originating Number
(1) The number associated with the telephone station(s) from which switched calls are
originated (or terminated).
(2) A software feature associated with Feature Group D (and optional on Feature Group B)
circuits. ANI provides the originating local telephone number of the calling party. This
information is transmitted as part of the digit stream in the signalling protocol, and
included in the Call Detail Record for billing purposes.
(3) ANI may also be used to refer to any phone number.
Baby Bells - See RBOC Backbone-
- Ballot
- A release form that authorizes a customer's long-distance
phone service to be switched to (another) long-distance carrier, or reseller. Also know as
a Letter Of Agency or LOA.
BAN - Billing Account Number
- Used by telephone companies to designate a billing account,
i.e., a customer or customer location that receives a bill. A customer may have any number
of BANs.
Banded Rates
- Tariffed rates which may be changed by the carrier within a
specified range. Frequently, state commissions require notice to the commission prior to
each change. Banded rates are being used less frequently today.
Bell Customer Code
- A three-digit numeric code, appended to the end of the Main
Billing Telephone Number, that is used by Local Exchange Carriers to provide unique
identification of customers.
Bell Operating Company - BOC
- The local (or regional) telephone company that owns and
operates lines to customer locations and Class 5 Central Office Switches. BOCs have
connections to other COs, Tandem (Class 4 Toll) offices and may connect directly to IECs
like WorldCom, AT&T, MCI, Sprint, etc. BOC may refer to the nineteen Bell Operating
Companies that are owned by the seven RHCs (Regional Holding Companies) (not including
Cincinnati Bell or Southern New England Telephone). The BOC role was originally defined by
the 1982 Modified Final Judgement that specified the terms of the AT&T Divestiture).
For Example, the three BOCs: Mountain Bell, Northwestern Bell and Pacific Northwest Bell
are owned by the U.S. West RHC. Each BOC may service more than one LATA, but BOCs are
generally constrained from providing long distance service between LATAs.
Billing Account Number - BAN
- Used by telephone companies to designate a customer or
customer location that will be billed. A single customer may have multiple billing
accounts.
Bill-To-Room
- A billing option associated with Operator Assisted calls
that allows the calling party to bill a call to their hotel room. With this option, the
carrier is required to notify the hotel, upon completion of the call, of the time and
charges.
Block Calls
- Prevent calls from completing to the requested destination.
May be due to network problems (outage, overload, etc.), or by customer request (e.g.
block calls from-or-to certain NPAs, NXXs, States, LATAs, etc.).
BOC - See Bell Operating Company
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- Bong
- An interactive signal that prompts the originating end user
to enter additional information. For example: 1010555 Bong (Enter Destination) Bong (Enter
Billing information)
BTN - Billing Telephone Number
- The phone number associated, for billing purposes, with the
Working Phone Number.
Bypass
- Access an IEC other than the customer's Equal Access carrier
by dialing 10+CIC Code. (e.g. Bypass to WorldCom by dialing "1010555"). See
Walkthrough, CIC Code
Calling Card
- A telecommunication credit card with an AuthCode for using a
long distance carrier when the customer is away from their home or office (ANI).
Carrier
- A telecommunications provider which owns switch equipment.
Carrier Identification Code - CIC
- A three digit number used with Feature Groups B and D to
access a particular IEC's switched services from a local exchange line. One or more CIC
codes are assigned to each carrier. (i.e. there may be multiple CICs per ACNA). See Bypass
Casual Calling
- Allow any ANI (including undefined ANIs) to access a given
carrier. For example, if the originator is calling from a non-coin phone, they may dial
1010555+destination number and have the call routed through WorldCom and billed to the
originating phone number.
Casual Customer
- Any person or organization that dials any CIC Code. (Not
necessary to presubscribe to the carrier.)
Centrex
- A service that is functionally similar to a customer-premise
PBX, but provided by means of equipment located in a Central Office.
CIC
- See Carrier Identification Code (WorldCom = "555")
Class of Service - COS
- A special limitation on what numbers can and cannot be
called. International, 809, 809 + Canada, 48 contiguous states, etc.
COCOT
- Customer Owned Coin Operated Telephone
Coin Phone
- A coin-operated pay phone with restricted access to some
services (e.g. International calling). Coin phones have subclasses of Public, Semi Public,
and Private.
Collect
- A call that is paid for by the receiving/destination phone
number. Requires approval/authorization of the person being called.
Common Carrier
- A carrier that holds itself out as serving the public (or a
segment thereof) indifferently (i.e., without regard to the identity of the customer and
without undue discrimination). Common carriers may vary rates based on special
considerations and may in fact serve only a small fraction of the general public.
Contract
- A legally-binding agreement between a vendor and a customer
to provide Products, Services or Features in a specified quantity and quality, for a
specified price, during a specified period of time.
Contract Tariffs
- Services and rates based on contracts negotiated with
individual customers, but theoretically available to all customers. AT&T has filed
several hundred contract tariffs.
CONUS-CONtiguous United States
- The 48 contiguous U.S. states. Used primarily to designate
the operating range or authorization of a satellite or radio facility.
Country Code
- Two or three digit codes used for International calls
outside of the North American Numbering Plan area codes. Dial: 011 + country code + city
code + local phone number) (e.g. "011 + 91 + 22 + 123- 4567" 91 = India, 22 =
Bombay)
Cramming
- Cramming refers to unexplained charges on your phone bill for services you never ordered, authorized, received, or used.
Cutover
- The exact date/time that a phone number, circuit, etc. is
scheduled to be (or was) moved from one implementation (carrier, etc.) to another. (e.g.
moving an 800 number from MCI to WorldCom).
Cut-Through Dialing
- "10"+CIC+" #" followed by an AuthCode
for IntraLATA calls.
DA - Directory Assistance
- Phone Number Lookup Service
DAL - Dedicated Access Line
- A non-switched circuit from the customer to a carrier.
DDD - Direct Distance Dialing
- Any switched telecommunication service (like 1+, 0++, etc.)
that allows a call originator to place long distance calls directly to telephones outside
the local service area without an operator.
Deactivation
- A request to terminate service (or the process of
terminating service)
Dedicated Line
- A private line leased from a telecommunications carrier.
Default Carrier
- Your regular Dial-1 carrier. Call 1-700-555-4141 to find
your default carrier.
Dial
- To Place A Call On A Switched Network. The term
"dial" is obsolete - based on rotary dial phones and electromechanical relay
switches (which are nearly non-existent in modern telephone systems.) Touch Tone service
recognizes dual tones that are generated as each telephone key is pressed. Where Touch
Tone service is not available, telephones and switches electronically "pulse"
signals that emulate the older rotary dial telephones. The terms "place" a call
or "originate" a call are more accurate than "dial".
Dial Tone
- Ready To Place/Originate A Call. When the off hook
indication is received at a central office, a dial tone signal is sent to the originating
caller on a switched network to indicate that the switch is ready to accept a number.
Dialer
- Equipment that pulses out a standard dial protocol signal.
Digital
- A device or method that uses discrete variations in voltage,
frequency, amplitude, location, etc. to encode, process, or carry binary (zero or one)
signals for sound, video, computer data or other information. For example, a digital clock
displays the time as discrete numeric values, rather than angular displacement of analog
hands. Digital communications technology generally permits higher speeds of transmission
with a lower error rate than can be achieved with analog technology. When analog signals
are received and amplified at each repeater station, any noise is also amplified. A
digital signal, however, is detected and regenerated (not amplified). Unlike
amplification, any noise (less than a valid signal) is eliminated by digital regeneration.
Directory Assistance - DA
- An information service whereby operators assist customers in
obtaining the telephone number(s) they wish to call.
Equal Access
- (AT&T Divestiture - 1982 Modified Final Judgement) The
provision of one-plus capability to interLATA competitors of AT&T. Customers should be
able to reach the carrier of their choice by dialing 1+ the long-distance number. The MFJ
and the FCC require local exchange carriers to provide equal access (most central offices
now have this capability). Equal Access may also refer to a more generic concept under
which the BOCs must provide access services to AT&T's competitors that are equivalent
to those provided to AT&T.
Facilities-Based Carrier - FBC
- A carrier that uses its own facilities to provide service,
in contrast with resellers, that purchase the services of other carriers and then retail
the services to customers. (Most facilities-based carriers use the services of other
carriers to some extent.)
FCC - Federal Communications Commission
- Regulates interstate communications: licenses, rates,
tariffs, standards, limitations, etc. Appointed by U.S. President .
IC
- Interexchange Carrier - IXC - IEC (IEC is preferred). A
company providing long-distance phone service between LECs and LATAs.
IEC - Interexchange Carrier
- IC - IXC (IEC is preferred). A company providing
long-distance phone service between LECs and LATAs.
IEC Miles - Interexchange Carrier (Long Distance) Miles
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- IXC Miles
- On a Price Quote, the coordinates of Location A and Location
B are used to calculate mileage-dependent line charges.
Interexchange
- Communication between two different LATAs.
InterLATA
- Communication between Local Access Transport Areas. 1982 MFJ
requires LECs to use an IEC for InterLATA services.
International
- Between multiple nations.
Interstate
- Between multiple states. Interstate communications are
regulated by the FCC.
IntraLATA
- Communication within a Local Access Transport Area. 1982 MFJ
allows LEC to handle these calls without an IEC.
Intrastate
- Communication within a single state. Intrastate
communications are regulated by each state's PUC.
IXC
- 1) Interexchange Carrier (IEC is preferred). A company
providing long-distance phone service between LECs and LATAs.
2) Interexchange Circuit. A circuit that connects PoPs.
IXC MilesInterexchange Carrier (Long Distance) Miles
- On a Price Quote, the coordinates of Location A and Location
B are used to calculate mileage-dependent line charges.
LATA
- Local Access Transport Areas (200 in the U.S.). A geographic
service area defined in the AT&T Modified Final Judgement. The RBOCs (baby Bells) and
GTE are restricted to operations within, but not between, LATAs. Long distance service
within a LATA is provided by the LEC. Service between LATAs is provided by an IEC. LATAs
are represented by a 3-character code, and there are 164 of them across the country.
LEC - See Local Exchange Carrier
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- LEC BAN - Billing Account Number
- 3-digit number appended to the billing phone number used as
the LEC customer number. Groups all ANIs for a customer.
LEC Billing
- Arrangement whereby the Local Exchange Carrier invoices the
customer for some or all telecommunications services.
LEC Card
- The billing arrangement which enables the caller to bill
calls to an authorized calling card issued by a local exchange carrier.
LEC Charges
- Charges that are the responsibility of the local exchange
carrier.
Letter Of Agency - LOA
- A document that authorizes changing the service provider.
(See RespOrg, 800 Portability)
Local Access
- Local Loop. The connection from a subscriber to the Central
Office. The portion of a circuit connecting the LEC's CO with the customer's premise
equipment across the local network.
Local Access Provider
- Any organization that is authorized to provide local access.
(May or may not be the LEC.)
Local Exchange Carrier - LEC
- The local or regional telephone company that owns and
operates lines to customer locations and Class 5 Central Office Switches. LECs have
connections to other COs, Tandem (Class 4 Toll) offices and may connect directly to IECs
like WorldCom, AT&T, MCI, Sprint, etc.
Local Exchange Service
- Local phone calls.
Long Distance Carrier
- A company providing long-distance phone service between LECs
and LATAs.
Message Toll Service - MTS- Pay-by-the-minute switched long distance services. Includes
conventional long distance and measured WATS.
NPA Area Codes, NXX Exchanges and XXXX Line Numbers
- The process for assigning 10-digit (3+3+4) North American
telephone numbers
NASC - 800 Number Administration and Service Center
- The organization that administers the SMS/800 system for the
reservation, registration and administration of all North American 800 numbers for all
carriers. (See 800 Portability, RespOrg and SMS/800)
- NPA - Numbering Plan Areas
- North American "Area Codes." (3 digits: 2-to-9,
0-or-1, 0-to-9. Middle digit to expand soon)
NPA-NXX Routing
- Area Code / Exchange Routing. Route calls based on the
originating ANI NPA-NXX.
- NPA Routing
- Area Code Routing. Route calls based on the originating ANI
NPA (area code.)
NPA Split
- Subdividing an area code, with the creation of a new area
code. This is necessary when the number of telephones in an area code (NPA) grows to an
excessive number.
NUS
- NASC SMS/800 Number Search. SMS application used to find
available 800 numbers and reserve them for up to 60 days.
NXX
- Exchanges (First 3 digits of a 7-digit phone number).
(2-to-9, 0-to-9, 0-to-9) (Digits 4, 5 and 6 in a 10 digit NANP telephone number -
NPA-NXX-XXXX).
OCC - Other Common Carrier
- Not part of the original AT&T system.
Off Hook
- The signal that the telephone receiver has been lifted
(activated). Originating off hook activates a dial tone on switched networks. Destination
off hook completes a call (and activates minute-by-minute billing for long distance
calls).
One Plus - 1+
- Customer ability to access the long distance service
provider of their choice by first dialing 1, then the long distance number. Equal Access
guaranteed by the 1982 AT&T MFJ. 1+ is an outbound service where the calling station
pays the charges.
Operator Service Call - OSC
- A call that is placed through a human or automated operator
(0+).
Operator Service Provider - OSP - OS Provider
- The vendor that supplies operator service.
Outbound
- Outward Sending - Call Originating - Dialing Out
Payphone
- A public (or private) telephone that accepts coins or
encoded credit cards.
Person-to-Person
- Operator assisted phone call - only billed if the specified
person is available.
PIC - Primary Interexchange Carrier
- The IEC that 1+ calls are routed to. Specified by ANI.
PIC Charges
- A LEC charge for changing the PIC. Often paid by the new
IEC. If a LEC sends a PIC charge to a customer, the new IEC will typically credit the
customer's account.
PIC Freeze
- A PIC Freeze prevents the long distance from being switched
for the specified ANIs. Useful to prevent slamming, or the unauthorized switching of long
distance services.
PIC Request
- A request record sent to a LEC asking for an ANI to be
activated, deactivated or changed in some way.
PIC Response
- A response record sent by a LEC (corresponding to a previous
PIC Request) with a response code that indicates whether the request was performed. (Some
LECs return non-standard PIC Response codes.)
PICC
- National Access Fee, LD Line Charge, Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge, Presubscribed Line Charge, Regulatory Related Charge, FCC Primary Carrier 1st Line, or Carrier Line Charge
Point Of Presence - POP
- The physical access location interface between a local
exchange carrier and an Interexchange Carrier fiber network. The point to which the
telephone company terminates a subscriber's circuit for long distance service or leased
line communications.
Point-To-Point
- Non-switched, dedicated communication circuit.
POP - (See Point Of Presence)
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- POTS - Plain Old Telephone Service
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- Primary Interexchange Carrier
- The long distance company that is automatically accessed
when a customer dials 1+.
Private Line
- Uses dedicated circuits to connect customer's equipment at
both ends of the line. Does not provide any switching capability (unless supported by
customer premise equipment). Usually includes two local loops and an IEC circuit.
Provisioning
- The process by which a requested (ordered) service is
designed, implemented and tracked (providing the subcomponent parts).
PUC - Public Utilities Commission
- The agency regulating intrastate phone service.
Rate Element
- A recurring fixed charge for IEC or LEC service at the
lowest level. A local loop may have multiple rate elements associated with it, which make
up the fixed portion of the monthly bill. For example: Local Access, Local Mileage,
Entrance facilities, Channel Termination, Interexchange, etc.
Rates and Tariffs
- Standards published by AT&T, OCCs,LECs, and IECs that
define service availability, cost and provisioning procedures.
RBOC - Regional Bell Operating Company
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- Rebiller - See Reseller
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- Regional Bell Operating Companies - RBOC
- One of the seven "Baby Bell" Companies created by
the 1982 Modified Final Judgement that specified the terms of the AT&T Divestiture.
The seven RHCs include: NYNEX, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, Southwestern Bell, U.S. West,
Pacific Telesis, and Ameritech. "RBOC" is sometimes used informally to refer to
the Regional Holding Companies defined in the 1982 MFJ. (See Bell Operating Companies -
There are 19 BOCs).
Regulators
- FCC, PUC, Federal Courts (e.g. MFJ), etc.
Reseller - Also known as Rebiller
- A long-distance carrier (IEC) that does not own a network,
but leases bulk capacity and resells portions of it at a higher rate.
Residential Customer
- An individual (non-business) telephone system subscriber.
Responsible Organization - R/O
- With 800 Portability,the Number Administration Service
Center (NASC) allows the RespOrg to make changes such as carrier, termination, 800 call
routing (by time of day, location.) A Letter Of Agency (LOA) must be on file to change the
RespOrg for each customer/account.
Slam
- An end user that is PICed without their permission. An RBOC
Slam Fee must be paid for each slam.
SMS - Service Management System
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- SMS Customer Record
- All information related to one 800 number, effective date
and time, etc.
Speed Dialing
- A service to abbreviate and accelerate frequently dialed
numbers.
State Tax
- A collection of tax types that each state is allowed to
charge. Tax jurisdiction (which state can charge tax for a call) is based on the
two-out-of-three rule: where it originates, where it terminates, where it is being billed
to - if two match, that state can charge the tax.
Surcharge
- An additional charge on top of a base rate for a specified
reason.
Switch
- A device (like a DMS-250 or a PBX) that responds to
originator signals and dynamically connects the caller to the desired communication
destination.
Switched Access
- Nondedicated local access between the customer's premise and
the serving wire center which is interconnected to the company's point-of-presence for
origination or termination of service.
- Switched Access Service
- A class of LEC services that provides the link from the
customer's premise to the IEC PoP for switched circuits.
Switched Resellers
- Resellers that utilize their own switching hardware (and
sometimes their own lines) and the lines of other IXCs to provide long-distance service to
its subscribers. They provide their own billing and service.
Switched Services
- All dial up long-distance services including conventional
residential and WATS (most have incremental use charges). (See Message Toll Service)
Switching Fee
- A per-line fee (usually around 5$) imposed by the LEC to
reprogram their switching system to change your default carrier. Subscribers must usually
pay this fee when switching to a reseller. Some resellers will reimburse the subscribers
for this fee.
Switchless Reseller
- A reseller of long-distance services that does not utilize
any of its own lines, or (switching) equipment. All actual service and equipment is
handled by the IXC. Billing is usually done, by the reseller themselves, to the customer.
T1/DS-1
- (Facility) The equivalent of 24 multiplexed voice grade
channels. 1.544 million bits per second (1.5Mbps)
T2/DS-2
- (Facility) The equivalent of 4 multiplexed T1 channels.
6.312 million bits per second (6.3Mbps)
T3/DS-3
- (Facility) The equivalent of 28 multiplexed T1 channels.
44.736 million bits per second (45Mbps)
T4/DS-4
- (Facility) The equivalent of 6 multiplexed T3 channels.
274.176 million bits per second (274Mbps)
Tariff
- A public document filed with the FCC or a PUC that outlines
services and rates. Usually, all customers are offered the same rate for a specific
service, based on published constraints.
- TDD - Telecommunications Device for the
Deaf
- Telco - Telephone Company
- The local or regional telephone company that owns and
operates lines to customer locations and Class 5 Central Office Switches. Telcos have
connections to other COs, Tandem (Class 4 Toll) offices and may connect directly to IECs
like WorldCom, AT&T, MCI, Sprint, LDDS, etc.
Third Party Billing
- Use of an outside service bureau for bill processing such
as: call rating, customer invoicing, collections, etc.
- Time of Day Routing
- Route calls based on the time the call originates. (e.g.
direct morning calls to East Coast operators and afternoon calls to West Coast operators,
etc.). SMS/800 supports 15 minute time intervals.
Toll
- A rated call (Contrast CDR - unrated call detail record).
Tolls appear on the Invoice Detail.
Toll Call
- A call with incremental use (minute-by-minute) charges.
(Often through a Class 4 Toll Office).
Toll Fraud
- A crime in which a "hacker" obtains
telecommunication services by: breaching computer security, using or selling stolen
long-distance credit-card codes, or, accessing a PBX and using its communication
facilities illegally. Toll Fraud is estimated to cost U.S. companies $1.2 billion/year.
Two Out Of Three Rule
- When determining state tax jurisdiction, there are three
locations to consider: originating station, destination station, and the location that the
bill is sent to. If two out of three are the same, then that state receives the tax.
USF
- Universal Service Fund Charge or Universal Service Charge, Carrier Universal Service Charge, Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge
Vanity Number
- A specific 800 or 888 number (may spell something).
Verified Account Codes
- See Account Codes. A finite list of carrier-verified,
predefined Account Codes.
Voice Mail
- An automatic answering service with the ability to record a
message. Unlike simple answering machines, Voice mail uses a programmable computer system
with options such as temporary call routing, monitoring and reporting, etc.
Voice Mail Box
- The assignment of one user/number on a voice mail system.
WATS - Wide Area Telephone Service
- Flat rate, or special rate pay-by-the-minute (measured)
billing for a specified calling area. May be outbound or inbound (e.g. 800).
Wireless
- Radio waves, cellular, satellite, microwave, etc.
WTN - Working Telephone Number
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