• Home

• Preface

• Alexander Graham Bell

• Telecommunications history

• How the telephone works

• Phone FUN facts

• Why the Phone Works When the Lights GO OUT

• FTTP (Fiber to the Prem)

• Future of Telecommunications

• Crossword Puzzle

• Word Search

• Glossary

• Credits

• Speech by Thomas Watson

Telecom Glossary .... cont

High-definition A system standard for transmitting a television signal with far greater resolution than specified by the current NTSC standard in North America.

Magnetic field The portion of space near a magnetic body or a current carrying body in which the magnetic forces act upon objects.

Micron One thousandth of a meter or 1/25,000 of an inch. A micron can be used to specify the core diameter of fiber optic network cabling.

Monopolistic Exclusive ownership or control of a service or commodity by a single person, company or group eliminating any competition.

Multiplexing Transmitting two or more signals over a single channel.

Off-hook Lifting the handset off the cradle creates an off-hook condition, This completes the electrical loop signaling the central office for dial tone.

Ohm’s Law The law that for any circuit, the electrical current is directly proportional the voltage and is inversely proportional to the resistance.

On-demand The ability to automatically suspend and resume a physical connection on demand. This ensures that the users holding time charges are proportional to their useful holding time not the total holding time.

Optical Communications The transmission or exchange of voice or data by way of a fiber optic network

Packet A short fixed-length section of data that is transmitted as a unit in an electronic communication network.

Party Line A single telephone circuit connecting two or more subscribers within the exchange.

Patent A license or agreement with the Patent Office that gives an inventor exclusive proprietary claim to an invention, trademark.

Phonograph An instrument for reproducing sounds by means of the vibration of a stylus or needle following a spiral groove on a revolving cylinder or disk also called a record.

Playstation 2 A computerized interactive video game console that can be attached to a television. It can accommodate one or two players and has a large variety of game cassettes to choose from.

POTS Plain Old Telephone Service, a simple non-enhanced analog telephone circuit.

Power Plant An electric utility generating station

Protocol A set of rules or guidelines governing the treatment and especially the formatting of data in an electronic communications system.

Receiver The portion of the telephone handset that converts the electrical impulses it receives into audible speech and sound.

Ringing Signal Any AC or DC signal transmitted over a line or trunk for the purpose of alerting a person or device at the distant end of the circuit to an incoming call.