Mobile Glossary
Sunday, January 8th, 2006
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3G: 3G is short for “Third Generation†and refers to a variety of services that bring high speed data access to the phone.
3GPP: 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration agreement that was established in December 1998. It’s a co-operation between ETSI (Europe), ARIB/TTC (Japan), CCSA (China), ATIS (North America) and TTA (South Korea).The scope of 3GPP was to make a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phone system specification within the scope of the ITU’s IMT-2000 project. 3GPP specifications are based on evolved GSM specifications, now generally known as the UMTS system. Note that 3GPP should not be confused with 3GPP2, which specifies standards for another 3G technology based on IS-95 (CDMA), commonly known as CDMA2000.
3GPP2: The 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) is a collaboration agreement that was established in December 1998. It’s a co-operation between ARIB/TTC (Japan), CCSA (China), TIA (North America) and TTA (South Korea).The scope of 3GPP2 is to make a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phone system specification within the scope of the ITU’s IMT-2000 project. In practice, 3GPP2 is the standardization group for CDMA2000, the set of 3G standards based on earlier 2G CDMA technology.
Note that 3GPP2 should not be confused with 3GPP, which specifies standards for another 3G technology known as W-CDMA (UMTS).
AMR: Adaptive Multi-Rate
Asynchronous: A way to send information at non-regular intervals. Information is sent as necessary, instead of synchronized with a time signal, as with Synchronous communication.
Backhaul: In wireless networks, the connection from an individual base station (tower) to the central network (backbone).Typical backhaul connections are wired high-speed data connections (T1 line, etc.), but they can be wireless as well (using point-to-point microwave or WiMax, etc.)
BREW: Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless is a solution developed by Qualcomm for downloading small applications and content to mobile phones. Found almost exclusively in CDMA phones. The primary component lets users download and run small software applications on wireless devices, including phones. Such applications might include mobile games, expense tracking software, or interactive map tools. This component of BREW competes with J2ME, a Java technology from Sun Microsystems. BREW and Java are generally not compatible.The BREW subsystem on a phone can also manage graphics and ringtones.The BREW solution also includes a server component which resides on the network. The BREW server manages the network side of BREW downloads, including billing, and can also serve and bill for non-BREW applications and content.
Carrier: A mobile phone operator. In the US the main carriers include Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Cingular, Nextel.
CDMA: Code-Division Multiple Access. CDMA is a digital wireless technology. It’s a general type of technology, implemented in many specific technologies. But the term “CDMA” is also commonly used to refer to one specific implementation: IS-95 - a mobile-phone technology that competes with technologies such as GSM. CDMA is a “spread spectrum” technology, which means that it spreads the information contained in a particular signal of interest over a much greater bandwidth than the original signal. Unlike many competing technologies, CDMA has no hard limit for the number of users who may share one base station (tower). Instead, with CDMA, additional users can connect until the base station determines that call quality would suffer behind a set limit. CDMA systems have been in operation since 1995. CDMA networks operate in the 800 and 1900 MHz frequency bands with primary markets in the Americas and Asia. IS-95 CDMA systems are sometimes referred to as cdmaOne. The next evolutionary step for CDMA to 3G services is cdma2000.
Circuit Switching: A method of transmitting information (voice or data) through a system or network by establishing a persistent, dedicated connection (”circuit”).
CSC: Common Short Codes. These are 5 digit numbers which allow the user to send a text message without entering an entire phone number.
DVB-H: Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld, a new standard for Mobile TV brought to you by Intel, Nokia, Motorola, Texas Instruments and Modeo.
EDGE: Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution, or EDGE, is a digital mobile phone technology which acts as a bolt-on enhancement to 2G and 2.5G General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks. This technology works in TDMA and GSM networks. EDGE (also known as EGPRS) is a superset to GPRS and can function on any network with GPRS deployed on it, provided the carrier implements the necessary upgrades.
EDGE provides Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS), which can be used for any packet switched applications such as an Internet connection. High-speed data applications such as video services and other multimedia benefit from EGPRS’ increased data capacity.
EVDO:Part of a family of CDMA2000 1x digital wireless standards. 1xEV-DO is a “3G” CDMA standard. EV-DO stands for “EVolution, Data-Only”. In the US 1x-EVDO is primarily being marketed by Verizon as their new broadband service. EV-DO provides data rates over 10 times faster than 1xRTT, the previous data technology for CDMA networks. Unlike other “1x” standards, EV-DO only addresses data - not voice. It requires a dedicated slice of spectrum, separate from voice networks using standards such as 1xRTT. There are currently two main versions of 1xEV-DO: “Release 0″ and “Release A”. Release 0 is the original version, and the first to be widely deployed. Release 0 offers data rates up to 2.4 mbps, averaging 300-600 kbps in the real world. This is much faster than the 50-80 kbps typically offered by 1xRTT technology. Release 0 data rates are identical to 1xEV-DV Release C. Release A integrates most of the faster data technology from 1xEV-DV Release D, and improves latency. These enhancements allow features such a VoIP and video calling. Although EV-DO does not include voice capability natively, Release A is fast enough to support VoIP technology at service levels equal or better to 1xRTT voice technology. This may be a future upgrade path for CDMA carriers if EV-DV development remains stalled. 1xEV-DO is based on a technology initially known as “HDR” (High Data Rate) or “HRPD” (High Rate Packet Data), developed by Qualcomm. The international standard is known as IS-856.
Firmware: Firmware is in-between “hardware” and “software” - hence the name “firmware”. Hardware is any part of the phone that is physical and cannot be changed unless it is physically replaced. For example, Verizon phones are CDMA, while VoiceStream phones are GSM. The two systems are incompatible. The Verizon phone contains a CDMA chip that was designed specifically to deal with CDMA. It’s permanently wired to be CDMA, and could never be upgraded to GSM. Software, meanwhile, refers to things that *can* be changed. In a computer, you can load new software whenever you want. You can even load a whole new operating system. The software is stored in memory chips while in use. As soon as the computer is turned off, whatever was in the memory chips is gone, but a copy is saved on the hard disk. Phones also need to store different types of non-permanent things, such as an operating system, roaming instructions, and your phone book. But there’s no room for a disk of any kind, and it wouldn’t be good if your phone lost its operating system (and thus became useless) every time you turned it off. Which is where firmware comes in. Firmware uses special memory chips that can hold information even when the phone is turned off and battery-less. It’s sort of like hardware, because it acts just like a permanently-wired chip, but it’s also like software because it can be changed at any time. So firmware is technically how your phone stores its phone book – it is also how your phone stores the roaming instructions (PRL) or operating system. You can have your PRL updated and your phone will be able to roam in new areas. Sometimes operating system updates are available that fix bugs in the way the phone works.
Flash Mob: A gathering of people organized spontaneously via txt messaging, the internet or other mobile communication.
Form Factor: Mobile phones come in several different physical styles (form factors). While manufacturers are continually coming up with new types of designs, there are several common categories used on this site to describe form factors: Bar: (AKA candy-bar or block) This is the most basic style. The entire phone is one solid monolith, with no moving parts aside from the buttons and possibly antenna. To prevent keys from being pressed accidentally while the phone is in a pocket, etc., a “key guard” feature is usually provided, requiring a special key combination to “unlock” the keys.
Clamshell: This type of phone is made of two halves connected by a hinge. The phone folds closed when not in use. The top half usually contains the speaker and display with the bottom half containing the keypad.
Flip: This type of phone is a cross between the Bar and Clamshell types. Most of the components of the phone are in one part, but a thin “flip” part covers the keypad and/or display when not in use. The flip may be all-plastic, or it may contain one or two minor components such as a speaker or secondary keys.
Slide: This type is usually designed similarly to a clamshell, with a large main display and speaker in one half, and the keypad and battery in the other half. But the two halves slide open instead of using a hinge. Slide designs allow the main display to be seen when closed, and are generally easier to open and close one-handed.
GPRS: General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a mobile data service available to users of GSM mobile phones. It is often described as “2.5G”, that is, a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generations of mobile telephony. It provides moderate speed data transfer, by using unused TDMA channels in the GSM network.
GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. GSM service is used by over 1.5 billion people across more than 210 countries and territories [1]. The ubiquity of the GSM standard makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs significantly from its predecessors in that both signaling and speech channels are digital, which means that it is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This fact has also meant that data communication was built into the system from very early on. GSM is an open standard which is currently developed by the 3GPP.
HSDPA: High-Speed Downlink Packet Access. The GSM alternative to EVDO
IMS: The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a standardised Next Generation Networking (NGN) architecture for telecom operators that want to provide mobile and fixed multimedia services. It uses a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) implementation based on a 3GPP standardised implementation of SIP, and runs over the standard Internet Protocol (IP). Existing phone systems (both packet-switched and circuit-switched) are supported.
The aim of IMS is not only to provide new services but all the services, current and future, that the Internet provides. In addition, users have to be able to execute all their services when roaming as well as from their home networks. To achieve these goals, IMS uses open standard IP protocols, defined by the IETF. So, a multimedia session between two IMS users, between an IMS user and a user on the Internet, and between two users on the Internet is established using exactly the same protocol. Moreover, the interfaces for service developers are also based on IP protocols. This is why IMS truly merges the Internet with the cellular world; it uses cellular technologies to provide ubiquitous access and Internet technologies to provide appealing services.
Java (J2ME): J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) is a language that allows a device to run small, user-installable software applications written especially for mobile devices such as phones.
J2ME applications can provide specific functions such as a tip calulator, they can be games, or they can be custom-written corporate applications. They can be Internet-enabled, so that, for example, a J2ME game might let you play someone else in real time over the Internet. They can be created by anyone - not just the phone manufacturer or your carrier.
You can download new applications to your phone at any time. Most phones allow you to download new applications directly to your phone using the Wireless Internet feature.
Keitai: (pronounced k-tie) The Japanese term for “mobile phone”. The term has achieved cultural significance in Japan, especially among youth, as a way to describe not only the phones and corresponding services, but the entire culture of users and their habits.
MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service. MMS’s are like text messages (SMS) but include images, video or audio.
MVNO: Mobile Virtual Network Operator. A company, such as Virgin Mobile, that does not actually own spectrum or the infrastructure of an actual carrier –MVNO’s provide the marketing and front end of a mobile service while partnering with an established carrier to provide the backend.
Polyphonic Ringtone: Polyphonic ringtones can create multiple notes simultaneously. This produces a more natural and realistic sound for melodies in that it can include melodies. Most polyphonic ringers can also simulate the sound of various instruments, instead of just tones. Different phones support a different number of simultaneous instruments (chords) - anywhere from 4 to 40 or more.
Ringback Tone: Ringback is the ringing sound you hear from your phone when you call someone else. Ringback tones are now offered by many carriers to compliment their booming downloadable ringtone business. For a small fee, users can download a song or sound effect that callers will hear whenever they dial the users number.
Short Code:See CSC.
SIP:Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a protocol developed by the IETF MMUSIC Working Group and proposed standard for initiating, modifying, and terminating an interactive user session that involves multimedia elements such as video, voice, instant messaging, online games, and virtual reality. In November 2000, SIP was accepted as a 3GPP signaling protocol and permanent element of the IMS architecture. It is one of the leading signalling protocols for Voice over IP (VoIP), along with H.323.
SPAM: Unsolicited email or SMS/MMS messages.
SMS:Short Messaging Service. This is a method of sending short, 160 character messages between mobile phones. Known as “Text Messaging” in the U.S
UMA:Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology is a way to provide access to GSM and GPRS mobile services over unlicensed spectrum technologies like Bluetooth and 802.11 (WiFi).
UMA technology makes it possible for subscribers to roam and handover seamlessly between private unlicensed wireless networks, GSM networks, LANs (WiFi), and the public switched telephone network (PSTN) using the same dual-mode Mobile phone.
UMA’s ultimate goal is the convergence of mobile, fixed and Internet telephony (fixed-mobile convergence). UMA lets mobile operators deliver voice, data and IMS/SIP (IP Multimedia Subsystem/Session_Initiation_Protocol) applications to mobile phones on WiFi access networks.
UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is one of the third-generation (3G) mobile phone technologies. It uses W-CDMA as the underlying standard, is standardized by the 3GPP, and represents the European/Japanese answer to the ITU IMT-2000 requirements for 3G Cellular radio systems. To differentiate UMTS from competing network technologies, UMTS is sometimes marketed as 3GSM, emphasizing the combination of the 3G nature of the technology and the GSM standard which it was designed to succeed.
VCC: Voice Call Continuity. An IMS technical requirment standardized by 3GPP
VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol. A technology for transmitting ordinary telephone calls over packet-switched data networks, ie the internet. Also called IP telephony.
WAP:Wireless Application Protocol. An mobile phone language which allows mobile phone users to surf a stripped down, text heavy version of the web. This was what your phone was running 2 years ago.
