List of telephony terminology
This is a list of telephony terminology and acronyms which relate to telephony networks.
A
[edit]- Advanced Intelligent Network, (AIN), see also IN or Intelligent Network
- Automatic number announcement circuit (ANAC)
- Automated Attendant
- ACD - Automatic Call Distribution
- Articulation score
B
[edit]- Blue box - a device that was used to bypass the normal long-distance call switching tones typically used to obtain free calls.
C
[edit]- Call originator - (or calling party, caller or A-party) a person or device that initiates a telephone call by dialling a telephone number.
- Call waiting - a system that notifies a caller of another incoming telephone call by sounding a sound in the earpiece.
- Called party - (or callee or B-party)
- Caller
- Calling party
- Conference call (multi-party call)
- COCOT
- Cut – unexpected, and usually sudden, termination of call, line or service
D
[edit]E
[edit]F
[edit]- Fax - (contraction of facsimile) a device connected to the telephone network to enable documents to be scanned and sent to a receiving fax machine
- Frame - A distribution frame, a set of open wiring racks where circuits are cross connected to trunks and equipment
H
[edit]- Handoff
- Handover
- Help desk
- Howler tone (see ROH tone)
- Hunt Group
I
[edit]- Infrastructure
- Intelligent Network (IN)
- Interface functionality
- Inside plant
- Intelligent Network Interface Device (iNID) - replaces the Network Interface Device outside a subscriber's house like when customers subscribe to AT&T's U-verse brand of services.
- Interactive voice response (IVR)
- ISDN User Part (ISUP)
L
[edit]O
[edit]P
[edit]- Patch-through access
- Permanent signal
- Person-to-person
- Plain old telephone service, or "POTS"
- Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
- Pupinization
R
[edit]- Receiver Off-Hook tone (ROH)
- Red telephone box
- Red box
- Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC)
- Ringer equivalency number (REN)
- Ringing signal
- Rural radio service
S
[edit]T
[edit]- Tandem signaling
- Tandem switch
- Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP)
- Telemarketing
- Telephone
- Telephone booth
- Telephone call
- Telephone card
- Telephone directory
- Telephone exchange
- Telephone tapping
- Teletraffic engineering
- Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
- Trap and trace
- TWX
V
[edit]W
[edit]- Western Union
- Wide Area Telephone Service (WATS)
- WATS line
- Wireless network
- Wireless Telephony Applications Interface (WTAI)
- Wi-Fi