GLOSSARY OF TERMS C

A  -  B -  C  -  D  -  E -  F  -  G  -  H  -  I

 

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S -  T -  U  -  V -  W -  X -  Y -  Z

Cable Television Providers (CATV) - Television distribution system in which station signals, picked up by elevated antennas, are delivered by cable to subscriber's receivers. CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) - Enacted in October 1994, CALEA is a law defining the statutory obligation of telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing electronic surveillance. Call -1 - In communications, any demand to set up a connection. 2. A unit of traffic measurement. 3. The actions performed by a call originator. 4. The operations required to establish, maintain, and release a connection. 5. To use a connection between two stations. Call Forwarding - A service feature, available in some switching systems, whereby calls can be rerouted automatically from one line, i.e., station number, to another or to an attendant. Note: Call forwarding may be implemented in many forms. Call Waiting - In telephony, a service feature that provides an indication to a terminal already engaged in an established call that one or more calls are awaiting connection. Caller ID - A network service feature that permits the recipient of an incoming call to determine, even before answering, the number from which the incoming call is being placed. CALLS - Coalition for Affordable Local and Long Distance Services - Industry coalition that put forth the proposal for the Commission to consider. Members include AT&T, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, Verizon, SBC, and Sprint. They represent four of the five largest local exchange companies and two of the three largest long distance companies. Carterphone - Carterphone was a company in the telephone-patch business - tying the earphone of the telephone to the microphone of a business band radio in order to provide telephone services to offshore oil rigs. AT&T sued Carterphone, alleging an 'incompatible' connection to the telephone system. AT&T lost on appeal, leading to the situation today where you can buy a telephone instrument at the local drugstore, take it home and plug it into the jack on the wall. CDMA (code division multiple access) - A digital cellular technology that uses spread-spectrum techniques. Unlike competing systems, such as GSM, that use time-division multiplexing (TDM), CDMA does not assign a specific frequency to each user. Instead, every voice channel uses the full available spectrum. Individual conversations are encoded with a pseudo-random digital sequence Cell Site - Also called base station, is the central radio transmitter/receiver that maintains communications with a mobile telephone with a given range. A cellular network is made up of many cell sites, all connected back to the mobile telephone switching office (MTSO) via landline or microwave. Cellular Mobile Radio Telephone System (CMRTS) - "Cellular" service. A high capacity land mobile telephone system wherein channels assigned to the system are divided among several geographical "cells" covering a defined service area. A cellular system is capable of re-using the same channels in different cells within the service area. The use of many small cells in an area, with low transmitter powers, permits the intensive re-use of channels, thereby increasing system capacity Cellular Technology - This term, typically used for all cellular phones regardless of the technology use, derives from cellular base stations that receive and transmit calls. Both cellular and personal communications service (PCS) phones use cellular technology. Central Office (CO) - A common carrier switching center in which trunks and loops are terminated and switched. Synonyms exchange, local central office, local exchange, local office, switching center, switching exchange, telephone exchange. Centrex (CTX) - A service offered by Bell Operating Companies that provides functions and features comparable to those provided by a PBX. Note: "Centrex ® C.O." indicates that all equipment except the attendant's position and station equipment is located in the central office (CO). "Centrex ® C.U." indicates that all equipment, including the dial switching equipment, is located on the customer's premises. Channel - (1) The smallest subdivision of a circuit or transmission system by which a single type of communication service is provided (e.g., a voice or data channel). (2) Communications path via a carrier or microwave radio. (3) In data communications, a path for electrical transmission between two or more points. Synonyms: circuit, facility, line, link or path. Churn - A term used to describe the turnover rate of subscribers to a service, product or provider. Circuit - 1. The complete path between two terminals over which one-way or two-way communications may be provided. 2. An electronic path between two or more points, capable of providing a number of channels. 3. A number of conductors connected together for the purpose of carrying an electrical current. 4. An electronic closed-loop path among two or more points used for signal transfer 5. A number of electrical components, such as resistors, inductances, capacitors, transistors, and power sources connected together in one or more closed loops. Circuit Switching - (1) Method of communications where an electrical connection between calling and called stations is established on demand for exclusive use of the circuit until the connection is released. (2) Switching system that completes a dedicated transmission path from sender to receiver at the time of transmission. Class of Service - A sub-grouping of telephone users for the purpose of rate distinction. Note: Examples of class of service sub-grouping include distinguishing between (a) individual and party lines, (b) Government and non-Government lines, (c) those permitted to make unrestricted international dialed calls and those not so permitted, (d) business, residence, and coin-operated, (e) flat rate and message rate, and (f) restricted and extended area service. Collocation - The placement of competitors' equipment on telephone company premises so that they may interconnect directly with the local telephone exchange. Common Carrier - The term used to describe a telephone company. It is a telecommunications company that is available for hire on a non-discriminatory basis to provide communication transmission services, such as telephone and telegraph, to the public. Common Language Location Identifier Codes (CLLI) - A CLLI code is an 11-character standardized geographic identifier that uniquely identifies the geographic location of places and certain functional categories of equipment unique to the telecommunications industry. Communications Act of 1934 - The first communications legislation that established the FCC to regulate interstate and foreign communications by wire or radio. It sets forth the duties and responsibilities of common carriers engaged in wire and radio communications, all of which are subject to FCC regulation. This act also established the principle of universal service. Communications Assistant (CA) - A person who translates conversation from text to voice and voice to text between two end users of the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS). This service allows a person with hearing or speech disabilities to communicate with anyone else via telephone at no additional costs. Competitive Access Providers (CAPS) - Common carriers which provide local service and compete against local telephone companies' access services that connect customers to long distance companies. These carriers often use fiber optic networks. Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) - A communications company that provides or is seeking to provide local telephone service in competition with the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC). Generally classified as a "facilities-based carrier" (if they offer service using their own network infrastructure), or as a "reseller" (if they offer service through resale of unbundled ILEC service elements). Note: Also known as a NEC - New Entrant Carrier Convergence - In this context, convergence means that providers of communications systems can deliver products and services that compete with the products and services now delivered by othernetworks. One example would be a cable company providing local phone service or a local phone company providing video services. Cramming - Cramming is the illegal practice of adding charges to consumers' phone bills for products or services without proper authorization from the customer. Crosstalk - A term used to describe a situation which occurs when a receiver on one communications channel inadvertently receives information being sent by a neighboring communications channel - may be either radio or wireline. Custom Local Area Signaling Service (CLASS) - A grouping of optional enhancements to basic local exchange service that offers special call handling features to residential and single-line business customers (e.g. call waiting, call forwarding and automatic redial). Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) - Telephone terminal devices, such as handsets and private branch exchanges (PBXs), located on the customer's premises. Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) - Any information about the specific service agreement provided to the customer by their telephone company; any specific information about the customer's usage of their telephone service; and, any trade secrets, marketing data or other information of a proprietary nature supplied to a telephone company by its customers to facilitate provisioning the customer's telephone service.

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