Here at Passionate About OSS, we are exactly that – Passionate About OSS (Operational Support Systems). We’re also passionate about BSS, NMS, or any other names you call the tools that help to operationalise your network.
The following table provides a list of nearly 1,000 acronyms / glossary for many commonly used terminologies in OSS/BSS and telco situations. Now includes 5G references.
Acronym | Full Description | Extra Details |
3G | Third generation cellular network | |
3GPP | Third-generation partnership program | Standards body for the cellular network industry |
3GPP AAA | EPCN3AI 3GPP Authentication, Authorization and Accounting Server | |
3GPP AAA Proxy | EPCN3AI 3GPP Authentication, Authorization and Accounting Proxy | |
4G | Fourth generation cellular network | |
5G | Fifth generation cellular network | |
AAA | Authentication Authorization and Accounting | |
AAL | ATM Adaption Layer | |
AbisLink | GSM Abis Link | |
ACD | Automatic Call Distribution | |
ACE | ATM Circuit Emulation | |
ACELP | Algebraic CELP | Voice Compression Technology |
ACM | address complete message | SS7 Notation |
ACR | Attenutation to Crosstalk Ratio | Copper cabling measurement standard |
ACS | Access Control and Security | |
active equipment | The electronic equipment that generates, transmits and receives signals to & from a telecommunications network. | |
AD | Active Directory | |
ADM | Add-drop Multiplexer | SDH Equipment Type |
ADM16 | Add Drop Multiplexer (with a line rate of STM-16) | |
ADPCM | Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation | Voice Compression Technology |
ADSL | Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line | Information Transfer protocol. One style of transmitting information over a network |
AF | Application Function | |
AGR | Annual Growth Rate | |
AGS | Advanced Gaming Service | |
AI | Artificial Intelligence | |
AIOps | artificial intelligence for operations | |
AIS | Alarm Indication Signal | |
AIU | IM Antenna Inventory Unit | |
Alarm | Any detectable event/s within the Operational Network that requires an action by operational staff. This could include general Information alarms that need acknowledgement only, through to Critical alarms that need urgent attention. Alarms are generated by operational network devices / infrastructure or their associated management tools | |
ALink | Core A interface link | |
AMF | 5G Core Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) | |
AMFF | Access & Mobility Management Function | |
AMI | Advanced Metering Infrastructure | |
ANM | answer message | SS7 Notation |
ANSI | American National Standards Institute | |
API | Application Programming Interface | |
APN | AWS Partner Network | |
APS | Automatic Protection Switching | |
AR | Augmented Reality | |
ARPU | Average Revenue per user | |
AS | IMS Application Server (AS) | providing call control and media transformation, such as a softswitch or media gateway |
ASIC | Application Specific Integrated Circuit | |
ASN.1 | Abstract syntax notation one | |
Asset | An asset is something that has intrinsic commercial value, generally where the assets are tracked from a financial perspective for financial calculations. Also sometimes refers to an inventory item or resource that’s stored in Inventory Management or CMDB solutions. This article provides a more detailed breakdown of the differences between asset and inventory management. | |
ATC | Adaptive Transform Coding | Voice Compression Technology |
ATM | Asynchronous Transfer Mode | Transmission protocol that segments user traffic into small fixed sized cells. Cells are transmitted to their destination across various routes, and the original traffic is re-assembled. |
ATSSS | Access Traffic Steering, Switching and Splitting | |
AU | Administrative unit | |
AUC | Authentication Centre | |
AUG | AU group | |
AUSF | Authentication Server Function | |
AV | Anti-virus | |
AWS | Amazon Web Services | |
AZ | Availability Zones (for replication) | |
B links | bridge links | SS7 Notation |
B/OSS | Business and Operational Support Systems | |
BA | Business Analyst | |
Bandwidth | The amount of data transmitted, usually referred to in units of bps) | |
BAS | Building Automation System | |
BAU | Business As Usual | |
BBU | Baseband Unit | |
BCP | Business Continuity Plan | |
BDLA | Bidirectional Line Amplifier | |
BDSL | Broadband Digital Subscriber Line | |
BER | Bit Error Rate | |
BGF | Border Gateway Functions | |
BGP | Border Gateway Protocol (for L3 routing) | |
BGW | Broadband Gateway | |
BI | Business Intelligence | |
BIB | backward indicator bit | SS7 Notation |
bits | Discrete pieces of digital information | |
BLSR | Bidirectional Line Switched Ring | |
BML | Business Management Layer | |
BoM | Bill of Materials | |
bps | bits per second. The rate at which digital information is sent | |
BR | Bidirectional Ring | |
BRA | Basic Rate Access | ISDN Type |
BRD | Business Requirements Document | |
broadband services | A telephone signal is considered a “narrowband” service, because only one signal transmits at a time. But if multiple signals are transmitted simultaneously as different “channels”, it is considered “broadband” | |
BSC | Base Station Controller | |
BSF | Binding Support Function | |
BSN | backward sequence number | SS7 Notation |
BSS | Business Support System | |
BSS | GSM Base Station Subsystem (BSS) | |
BTS | GSM Base Transceiver Station | |
BU | Business Unit | |
C&C | Command & Control | |
C2M | Concept to Market | |
C2S | Complaint to Solution | Workflow type |
CaaS | Container as a Service | |
CAB | Change Advisory Board | |
CAC | Carrier Access Code | |
CAD | Computer Aided Design | |
CAGR | Compound Annual Growth Rate | |
CAN | Customer Access Network | |
CAPEX | Capital Expenditure | |
carriers | Also known as telecommunications carriers or telcos. | |
CAT-5 (also CAT-6, CAT-7, etc) | Category 5 unshielded twisted pair | is an industry standard for unshielded twisted copper wire capable of supporting high speed data traffic (up to 100 MHz for 100 ohm and 120 ohm balanced cables i.e. 100 Mbps LANs and ATM @ 155 Mbps) over short distances. |
CATV | Common Antenna TeleVision (also known as Cable TV) | |
CB | Call Barring | |
CB | Citizen Band | |
CBA | Cost Benefit Analysis | |
CBC | Core Cell Broadcast Centre | |
CBR | Constant Bit Rate | Eg. Describes a quality of service on ATM networks |
CBRS | Citizens Broadband Radio Service | enables enterprises to build their own private 4G/5G networks and result in improved 4G/5G offerings from service providers. 3.5GHz to 3.7GHz that the Federal Communications Commission has designated for sharing among three tiers of users: incumbent users, priority licensees and generally authorized, which is unlicensed. |
CBT | Computer Based Training | |
CC | Call Conferencing | |
CC7 | Common Channel Signalling # 7 | TDM Domain |
CCR | Call Charging Record. | |
CCS7 | Common Channel Signalling # 7 | TDM Domain |
CCTV | Closed Circuit Television | |
CD | Call Diversion | |
CDMA | Code Division Multiple Access | |
CDN | Content Delivery Network | |
CDR | Call Data Records | |
CE | Customer Edge (Router) | |
CELP | Code Excited Linear Predictive | Voice Compression Technology |
CEM | Customer Experience Management | |
CF | Call Forwarding | |
CGF | Core Charging Gateway Function | |
CGPOMU | Carrier Grade Platform Operation and Management Unit | |
CH/CW | Call Hold / Call Waiting | |
CHAP | Cryptographic Handshake Authentication Protocol | |
CHF | Charging Function | |
CI | Configuration item. Can be physical, logical, virtual or even information assets that need to be recorded and/or tracked, usually for the purpose of delivering a service and/or operate a network/infrastructure. Usually stored in a CMDB | ITIL terminology |
CI / CD | Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (or Continuous Deployment) | |
CIC | Committee on Information and Communications | |
CIF | Cell in Frames | ATM over Ethernet & Token Ring LANs |
CLI | Calling Line Identification | Shows incoming caller number or ID |
CLIP | Calling Line Identification Presentation | Shows incoming caller number or ID |
CLIR | Calling Line Identification Restriction | |
CLNP | Connection Less Network Protocol | |
CM | Configuration Management | |
CMDB | Configuration Management Database | |
CMS | Call Management Services | |
CMS | Content Management System | |
CMTS | Cellular Mobile Telephone Service | |
CNM | Customer Network Management | |
CNNF | Cloud Native Network Function | |
CoC | Cost of Capital | |
conductor | A metallic wire designed to carry signals (eg copper telephone lines). | |
CONS | Connection-Mode Network service. | |
CORBA | Common Object Request Broker Architecture | System interface technique |
CORD | Central Office Re-architected as a Data Centre | Typically cloud-centric data centres at the network edge |
COTS | Commercial Off The Shelf | |
CP | Connection point | |
CP | Control Plane | |
CPE | Customer Premises Equipment | eg modems, routers, etc at customer premises |
CPLD | Complex Programmable Logic Device | |
CPQ | Configure, Price, Quote | Workflow type |
CPU | Central Processing Unit | |
CRAN | C-RAN (Cloud-RAN), sometimes referred to as Centralised-RAN, is an architecture for cellular networks | |
CRM | Customer Relationship Management | |
CS | Caesium Clock | Synch Domain |
CS-ACELP | Conjugate structure Algebraic CELP | Voice Compression Technology |
CSCF | Cell Session Control Function | |
CSMA/CD | Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection | |
CSMGW | Core Circuit Switched (CS) Media Gateway (MGW) | |
CSN | Control System Network | |
CSP | Communcations Service Provider | |
CSTA | Computer Supported Telecommunications Applications | From ECMA. Defines application level CTI functions |
CT | Call Tracing | |
CTIA | Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association | |
CTP | Connection termination point | |
CU | Central Unit | |
CUCP | Central Unit (CU) Control Plane (CP) | |
CU-CP | Central Unit Control Plane | |
CU-UP | Central Unit User Plane | |
D links | diagonal links | SS7 Notation |
DA | Domain Auhority – Predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs) | |
DAS | Distributed Antenna System | |
DB | Database | |
DC | Data Centre or Direct Current depending on context | |
DCF | Dispersion Compensating Fibre | |
DCG | Dispersion Compensating Grating | |
DCIM | Data Centre Infrastructure Management | |
DCME | Digital Circuit Multiplication Equipment | Voice Compression Technology |
DCN | Data Control Network | A network used to carry network management traffic |
DCS | Digital Cross-connect System (qv. DXC) | |
DDF | Digital Distribution Frame | For interconnection of cables at head-end. |
DDS | Digital Data Service | |
DECT | Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications | |
DES | Data Encryption Software | |
DEV/TEST/LAB | A non-production database for development, test or lab purposes | |
DevOps | Portmanteau for Development and Operations | |
DHCP | Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol | |
DIU | Digital Interface Unit | TDM Domain |
DLCI | Data Link Connection Identifier | ISDN “Circuit” identifier |
DNS | Domain Name Server | |
DOCSIS | Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification | |
DOS | Disk Operating System | |
downstream | Transmission of information from the service provider to the customer | |
DPC | destination point code | SS7 Notation |
DPNSS | Digital Private Network Signaling System | |
DR | Disaster Recovery | |
DRA | Diameter Routing Agent | |
DRP | Disaster Recovery Plan | |
DS | Digital section | |
DS1 | A bandwidth unit (1.5 Mbps), described when used for certain transfer protocols | |
DS3 | A bandwidth unit (45 Mbps), described when used for certain transfer protocols | |
DSF | Dispersion Shifted Fibre | |
DSL | Digital Subscriber Lines | ADSL Domain |
DSLAM | Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer | ADSL Domain |
DSR | Diameter Signaling Router | |
DSS | Decision Support System | |
DU | Distribution Unit | |
DVB | Digital Video Broadcasting. Transmission of digital video signals | |
DWDM | Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing | DWDM Domain |
DWH | Data Warehouse | |
DXC | Digital Cross Connect | |
E link | extended link | SS7 Notation |
E1 | A bandwidth unit (2.048 Mbps), described when used for certain transfer protocols | |
E2E | End to End | |
E3 | A bandwidth unit (34 Mbps), described when used for certain transfer protocols | |
EA | Equal Access | TFN Service Type |
easement | Piece of land in which cables, conduits, etc can be placed. | |
EC | Error Correction. | |
EC2 | Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud | |
EDFA | Erbium Doped Fibre Amplifier | |
EIR | Core Equipment Identity Register | |
EKS | Elastic Kubernetes Service | |
ELB | Elastic Load Balancing | |
ELK stack | Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana (Often referred to as Elasticsearch) and used for application / infrastructure log monitoring | |
eMBB | enhanced Mobile Broadband | Network slice – provides higher speeds for applications such as web browsing, streaming and video conferencing |
EMDF | Enhanced Main Distribution Frame | A LAN distribution frame where cables and LAN ports are patched. |
EML | Element Management Layer | |
EMS | Element Management System | |
ENB | LTE eNodeB | |
EOI | Expression of Interest | |
EoL | End of Life (of an asset) | |
EoS | End of Support (by the vendor of an asset type) | |
EP_E1 | NR End Point of the logical link, supporting E1 interface between gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CUUP | |
EP_F1C | NR End Point of the control plane interface (F1-C) between the DU and CU or CUUP | |
EP_F1U | NR End Point of the user plane interface (F1-U) between the DU and CU or CUUP | |
EP_MAP_SMSC | 5G Core End Point of MAP interfaceresource specification | |
EP_N10 | 5G Core End Point of N10 interface (between SMF and UDM)resource specification | |
EP_N11 | 5G Core End Point of N11 interface (between AMF and SMF)resource specification | |
EP_N12 | 5G Core End Point of N12 interface (between AMF and AUSF)resource specification | |
EP_N13 | 5G Core End Point of N13 interface (between AUSF and UDM)resource specification | |
EP_N14 | 5G Core End Point of N14 interface (between two AMFs)resource specification | |
EP_N15 | 5G Core End Point of N15 interface (between AMF and PCF)resource specification | |
EP_N16 | 5G Core End Point of N16 interface (between two SMFs)resource specification | |
EP_N17 | 5G Core End Point of N17 interface (between AMF and 5G-EIR)resource specification | |
EP_N2 | 5G Core End Point of N2 interface (between (R)AN and AMF)resource specification | |
EP_N20 | 5G Core End Point of N20 interface (between AMF and SMSF)resource specification | |
EP_N21 | 5G Core End Point of N21 interface (between SMSF and UDM)resource specification | |
EP_N22 | 5G Core End Point of N22 interface (between AMF and NSSF)resource specification | |
EP_N26 | 5G Core End Point of N26 interface (between AMF and MME)resource specification | |
EP_N27 | 5G Core End Point of N27 interfaceresource specification | |
EP_N3 | 5G Core End Point of N3 interface (between (R)AN and UPF)resource specification | |
EP_N31 | 5G Core End Point of N31 interfaceresource specification | |
EP_N32 | 5G Core End Point of N32 interfaceresource specification | |
EP_N4 | 5G Core End Point of N4 interface (between SMF and UPF)resource specification | |
EP_N5 | 5G Core End Point of N5 interface (between PCF and AF)resource specification | |
EP_N6 | 5G Core End Point of N6 interface (between UPF and DN)resource specification | |
EP_N7 | 5G Core End Point of N7 interface (between SMF and PCF)resource specification | |
EP_N8 | 5G Core End Point of N8 interface (between AMF and UDM)resource specification | |
EP_N9 | 5G Core End Point of N9 interface (between two UPFs)resource specification | |
EP_NgC | NR End Point of the control plane interface (NG-C) between the gNB and NG-Core entity | |
EP_NgU | NR End Point of the NG user plane (NG-U) interface between the gNB and the UPGW | |
EP_NLG | 5G Core End Point of NLg interface (between AMF and GMLC)resource specification | |
EP_NLS | 5G Core End Point of NLs interface (between AMF and LMF)resource specification | |
EP_RP_EPS | EPC End Point (EP) of Reference Point (RP) in Evolved Packet System (EPS) | |
EP_Rx | 5G Core End Point of Rx interface (between PCF and AF)resource specification | |
EP_S1U | NR End Point of the logical link, supporting S1-U interface towards a S-GW node | |
EP_S5C | 5G Core End Point (EP) of S5-C interfaceresource specification | |
EP_S5U | 5G Core End Point (EP) of S5-U interfaceresource specification | |
EP_SBI_IPX | 5G Core End Point (EP) of Service Based Interface (SBI) IPXresource specification | |
EP_SBI_X | 5G Core End Point (EP) of Service Based Interface (SBI) Xresource specification | |
EP_X2C | NR End Point of the logical link, supporting X2-C application protocols | |
EP_X2U | NR End Point of the logical link, supporting the X2 user plane (X2-U) interface | |
EP_XnC | NR End Point of the logical link, supporting Xn Application protocols, to a neighbour gNB node | |
EP_XnU | NR End Point of a logical link supporting the Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface | |
EPC | Evolved Packet Core | |
ePDG | EPC evolved Packet Data Gateway | |
EPS | Evolved Packet System | |
ERP | Enterprise Resource Planning | |
ET | End Terminal | DWDM Domain |
Ethernet | A local area network (LAN) protocol. One style of transmitting information over a local area network. | |
ETL | Extract, Transform, Load (of data) | |
eTOM | enhanced Telecom Operation Map | |
eUICC | embedded universal integrated circuit card | aka eSIM |
EUtranCellFDD | LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) radio cell | |
EUtranCellTDD | LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) radio cell | |
EVC | Ethernet virtual connections | |
F link | fully associated link | SS7 Notation |
F&A | Finance and Administration | |
FAD | Full Add Drop | DWDM Domain |
FAR | Fixed Asset Register | |
FAT | Factory Acceptance Testing | |
Fault | A network or other issue that requires resolution. Resolution could be via automated controls or manual work order to a field technician. Sometimes also known as an Alert, Incident or Event |
|
FC | Fully Compliant | |
FCAPS | Faults, Configuration, Accounting / Asset, Performance, Security management | |
FDDI | Fibre Distributed Data Interface | |
FDP | fibre distribution points. Point of interconnect of cables. Allows distribution of signal from head-end to a customer or customers. | |
FE | Fast Ethernet | |
FEC | Forward Error Correction | |
FEP | Front End Processor | |
FERF | Far end receive failure | |
FIB | forward indicator bit | SS7 Notation |
FISU | fill in signal unit | SS7 Notation |
FM | Facilities Management. Management and coordination of telecommunications equipment. | |
FMS | Fibre Monitoring System | |
FOA | Fixed Optical Attenuator | |
FPGA | Field Programmable Gate Array | |
FR | Frame Relay | TFN Service Type |
Frame Relay | Information Transfer protocol. One style of transmitting information over a network | |
FreeRTOS | real-time operating system for microcontrollers | |
FSAN | Full Services Access Network. A network capable of carrying all forms of information with varying bandwidths and urgency of transmission. | |
FSN | forward sequence number | SS7 Notation |
FSP | Fixed Line Service Provider | |
FTAM | File Transfer, Access and Management (ISO 8571). | |
FTP | File Transfer Protocol | |
FTTC | Fibre To The Curb. A style of cable network, where optical fibre carries signals from the head-end to the curb. From the curb to the home, the signal is carried by other cable types (eg normal copper telephone cables or coaxial cables). | |
FTTdp | Fibre to the Distribution Point. Similar to FTTC or FTTN, but closer to the customer premises and with a limited number of connections | |
FTTH | Fibre To The Home. A style of cable network, where optical fibre carries signals from the head-end all the way to the home. | |
FTTP | Fibre to the Premises (same as FTTH) | |
FTTx | Fibre to the Anything (Node, Home, Premises, etc) | |
GB | Gigabyte | |
Gbps | Gigabits per second (1,000,000,000 bps) | |
GDPR | General Data Protection Regulation | |
GGSN | Core Gateway GPRS Support Node | |
Gigabit Ethernet | Similar to 10BaseT Ethernet, except with a theoretical bandwidth of 1Gbps instead of 10Mbps. | |
GIS | Geographical Information Systems | |
GNB | gNodeB | |
GNBCUCP | 5G NR gNB Central Unit (CU) Control Plane (CP) | |
GNBCUUP | 5G NR gNB Central Unit (CU) User Plane (UP) | |
GNBDU | 5G NR gNB Distributed Unit (DU) | |
GPON | Gigabit Passive Optical Network | |
GPRS | General Packet Radio Service | |
GPS | Global Positioning System | Synch Domain |
GRE | Generic Routing Encapsulation | |
GSM | Global System for Mobile Communications | |
GsmCell | GSM Radio Cell | |
GST | Goods and Services Tax | |
GUI | Graphical User Interface | |
HA | High Availability | |
HDSL | High-Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Line | |
HDTV | High-Definition Television | The next generation of television. Provides greater picture resolution than current television signals. |
HFC | Hybrid Fibre / Coaxial | A style of cable network. Makes use of both optical fibre and coaxial cables to guide information from one point to another. |
HLR | Home Location Register | |
HPA | Higher order path adaptation | |
HPC | Higher order path connection | |
HPT | Higher order path termination | |
HSS | Home Subscriber Server | |
HT | Hub Terminal | LMDS Domain |
HTML | Hypertext Markup Language | |
HTTP | HyperText Transfer Protocol | |
HU | Hub Unit | LMDS Domain |
HV | High Voltage | |
I2I | Idea to Implementation | Workflow type |
IA | Indirect adaptor | |
IaaS | Infrastructure as a Service | |
IAC | Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud | |
IAM | initial address message | SS7 Notation |
IBS | Integrated Business System | |
IC | Integrated Circuit | |
ICMP | Internet Control Message Protocol | |
ICSCF | IMS Interrogating Call Session Control Function (I-CSCF) | |
ICT | Information and Communications Technology | |
ID | Identifier | |
IDC | Internet Data Centre | |
IDS | Intrusion Detection System | |
IDU | In-door Unit | LMDS Domain |
IEEE | Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers | |
IETF | Internet Engineering Task Force | |
IFL | Interfacility Link | LMDS Domain |
iGWB | Charging Gateway | |
IITF | Information Infrastructure Task Force | |
ILD | International Long Distance | |
IM | Inventory Management | |
IMBE | Improved MBE | Voice Compression Technology |
IMS | IP Multimedia Subsystem | |
IN | Intelligent Network | TDM Domain |
integration of voice, video and data | Previously the different types of signals were sent on different networks. However, integration was set up to use a single network infrastructure to carry all types of signals. | |
IO | Input / Output | AMAS Domain |
IOS | Internetworking Operating System | |
IoT | Internet of Things | |
IP | Internet Protocol (RFC-791). | |
IP/MPLS | Internet Protocol / Multi-Protocol Label Switching | |
IPAM | IP Address Management | |
IPS | Intrusion Prevention System | |
IPS / IDS | Intrusion Prevention System / Intrusion Detection System | |
IPSLA | Internet Protocol Service Level Agreement | |
IS | Information Systems | |
ISD | International Subscriber Dialing | |
ISDN | Integrated Services Digital Network | International standard that defines a digital end-to-end network that can support voice, data, image and video simultaneously |
ISM | Information Security Manual | |
ISP | Inside Plant | |
ISP | Internet Service Provider | Allows customers access to the Internet and Internet facilities. |
ISUP | ISDN user part | SS7 Notation |
IT | Information Technology | |
ITIL | Information Technology Infrastructure Library | |
ITSM | IT Service Management | |
ITU-T | International Telecommunication Union’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector | |
ITU-TSS | International Telecommunications Union – Telecommunications Standards Sector | is the new name for CCITT which is an international standards body which is a committee of the ITU, a U.N. treaty organisation. |
IubcLink | Core Iu-bc interface link | |
IubLink | UMTS Iub Link | |
IucsLink | Core Iu-cs interface link | |
IupsLink | Core Iu-ps interface link | |
IVR | Interactive Voice Response | |
JDBC | A SUN JAVA standard for connecting client applications to external databases | |
JIT | Just in Time | |
JSON | JavaScript Object Notation | |
JTAPI | Java Telephony API | From Sun Microsystems, Lucent, et al. Provides CTI in either 1st or 3rd party environment |
kbps | Kilobits per second (1,000 bps) | |
KISS | Keep it Simple Stupid | |
km | kilometre | |
KPI | Key Performance Indicator | |
L2 | Layer 2 (of the OSI stack) | |
L2C | Lead to Cash | |
L3 | Layer 3 (of the OSI stack) | |
LAN | Local Area Network | Small networks of computers, usually in office or campus environments. |
LAN interconnect services | Allows communications between different information transfer protocols | |
LAPB | Link Access Procedure, Balanced | Data link layer protocol in the X.25 protocol stack. LAPB is a bit-oriented protocol derived from HDLC |
LC | Logical Channel | |
LDAP | Lightweight Directory Access Protocol | |
LDCA | Long Distance Charge Area | |
LD-CELP | Low delay CELP | Voice Compression Technology |
LDS | Leased Data Service | TFN Service Type |
LEC | Local Exchange Carrier | |
LEO | Low Earth Orbit | Satellite |
LES/BUS | LAN Emulation Software & Broadcast Unknown Server | |
LL | Logical Link | |
LLC | Logical Link Control standards. | |
LMF | 5G Core Location Management Function | |
LNI | Logical Network Inventory | |
LNS | Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) Network Switch | |
LocationService | MEC Location Service | |
LOF | Loss of frame | |
LOP | Loss of pointer | |
LOS | Loss of signal | |
LPA | Lower order path adaptation | |
LPC | Lower order path connection | |
LPT | Lower order path termination | |
LSP | Label Switched Paths | |
LSSU | link status signal unit | SS7 Notation |
LTE | Line Terminal Equipment | |
LTG | Line Trunk Group | TDM Domain |
LTU | Line Trunk Unit | TDM Domain |
LVP | Logical Virtual Path | ADSL Domain |
M2M | Machine to Machine | |
MaaP | Messaging as a Platform | |
MAC | Media Access Control | |
MACD | Moves / Adds / Changes / Disconnects | |
MAN | Metropolitan Area Network | |
MANO | Management and Orchestration | NFV functional component |
MB | Megabyte | |
MBE | Multiband Excitation | Voice Compression Technology |
Mbps | Megabits per second | |
MCC | Mobile Country Code | is used in wireless telephone networks such as GSM, CDMA, WCDMA or LTE in order to identify mobile user belongs to which country. MCC consists of 3 decimal digits. |
MCN | Media Conversion Node | |
MCU | Metered Call Unit | |
MD | Mediation Device. | |
MDD | Mediation Device Drivers | |
MDF | Main Distribution Frame | For interconnection of cables at head-end. |
MDN | Mobile Directory Number | |
ME | Managed Element | |
MEA | Media Extension Adaptor | Used to extend an adapter or card so that it fits inside a chassis. |
MEA | MEC Mobile Edge Application | |
MEC | Mobile Edge Core | |
MEH | MEC Mobile Edge Host Function | |
MELT | Metrics, Events, Logs, Traces | Telemetry |
MEPM | MEC Mobile Edge Platform Manager | |
MF | multifrequency | SS7 Notation |
MFA | Multi-Factor Authentication | |
MGW | Media Gateway | |
MIB | Management Information Base | SNMP |
MIS | Management Information Systems | |
ML | Machine Learning | |
MME | Mobility Management Entity | |
MML | Man Machine Language. | An ITU-T recommendation for the man-machine interface to operation and maintenance functions in telephone exchange. |
MMOF | Multi-Mode Optical Fibre | |
mMTC | massive Machine Type Communications | Network slice – extends LTE (Long Term Evolution) IoT (Internet of Things) capabilities to support a huge number of devices with enhanced coverage and long battery life |
mmWave | Millimeter wave | |
MNC | Mobile Network Code | is also used in wireless telephone networks in order to identify mobile user belongs to which mobile network. MNC consists of 2 or 3 decimal digits. |
MNIB | Management Network Information Base. | |
MNP-SRF | Core Mobile Number Portability-Signaling Relay Function | |
MOA | Managed Object Agent | |
MobileEdgePlatformService | MEC Mobile Edge Platform Service | |
MOR | Multi-wavelength Optical Repeater | |
MOS | Mean Opinion Score | A Measure Of Voice Quality |
MPEG | Motion Picture Experts Group | A standard method for compression of video signals |
MPEG-1 | One standard of the MPEG family. Typically used for computer video compression. | |
MPEG-2 | Another standard of the MPEG family. Typically used for broadcast video compression. | |
MPLS | Multiprotocol Label Switching | |
MPLS-TE | Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Traffic Engineering | |
MPLS-TP | Multi-Protocol Label Switching Transport Profile | |
MP-MLQ | Multi Pulse Maximum Likelihood Quantisation | Voice Compression Technology |
MR | Mixed Reality | |
MS | Mobile Station | Hand held Unit (mobile handset) |
MS | Multiplex section | SDH Domain |
MSC | Mobile Switch Centre | aka Mobile-service Switching Centre |
MSOH | Multiplexer Section Overhead | |
MSP | Multiplexer Section Protection | |
MSP | Maintenance Service Provider | |
MSS | Multiple Subscription Services | |
MS-SPRING | Multiplexer Section Shared Protection Ring | |
MST | Multiplex section termination | |
MSU | message signal unit | SS7 Notation |
MTBF | Mean Time Between Failures | |
MTBR | Mean Time Between Repairs | |
MTOSI | Multitechnology Operations System Interface | |
MTP | message transfer part | SS7 Notation |
MTTF | Mean Time To Failure | |
multimedia services | Transmission of multiple “media” (ie audio, video, data, image signals) over a single communication line | |
MUX | Multiplexer | |
MVNO | Mobile Virtual Network Operator | |
MVP | Minimum Viable Product | |
N/A | Not Applicable | |
N3IWF | Non-3GPP Interworking Function | |
NaaS | Network as a service | |
NAP | Network Access Point | |
NAT | Network Address Translation | |
NBI | Northbound Interface | |
NBV | Net Book Value (ie financial value remaining after depreciation is subtracted) | |
NC | Not Compliant | |
NDIS | Network Device Interface Specification | |
NDSF | Non-Dispersion Shifted Fibre | |
NE | Network Element | Equipment in the Network |
Near-RT RIC | Near Real-Time RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller) | |
NEF | Network Exposure Function | |
NEMS | Network Element Management System | Vendor Software to control network elements |
NEXT | Near End Crosstalk | Copper cabling measurement standard |
NFR | Non-Functional Requirements | |
NFS | Network File System, (RFC-1094). | |
NFV | Network Function Virtualisation | |
NFVI | Network Function Virtualisation Infrastructure | |
NFVO | Network Function Virtualisation Orchestrator | |
NGEIR | 5G Core NG Equipment Identity Register | |
NGOSS | New Generation Operations Systems and Software | |
NIC | Network Interface Card | |
NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology | |
NLD | National Long Distance | |
NLDO | National Long Distance Operator | |
NLDSC | National Long Distance Service Code | |
NLR | Natural Language Recognition | |
NLSR | Natural Language Speech Recognition | |
NMC | Network Management Control | |
NML | Network Management Layer | |
NMS | Network Management System | Vendor Software to control network elements |
NNI | Network node interface | |
NOC | Network Operations Centre | |
NodeB | UMTS NodeB | |
Non-RT RIC | Non-RealTime RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller) | Orchestration and Automation function described by the O-RAN Alliance for non-real-time intelligent management of RAN (Radio Access Network) functions |
NPV | Net Present Value | |
NRCellCU | 5G NR Cell Central Unit (CU) | |
NRCellDU | 5G NR Cell Distributed Unit (DU) | |
NRF | NF Repository Function | Network Functions register themselves with the NRF, which maintains the overall inventory of active network functions. Other network functions can “discover” services and functions by interfacing with the NRF. |
NRSectorCarrier | 5G NR Sector Carrier | |
nrt-VBR | Non Real Time Variable Bit Rate | Describes a quality of service on ATM networks |
NRZ | Non Return to Zero | |
NSN | National Significant Number | |
NSSF | Network Slice Selection Function | |
NTP | National Telecom Policy | |
NTP | Network Time Protocol | |
NTU | Network Termination Unit | |
NWDAF | 5G Core Network Data Analytics Function | |
NZDSF | Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted Fibre | |
O&M | Operations and Maintenance | |
O2A | Order to Activate | Workflow type |
O2P | Order to Payment | Workflow type |
O2S | Order to Service | Workflow type |
OA | Optical Amplifier | DWDM Domain |
OADM | Optical Add-drop Multiplexer | |
OAM | Operation Administration and Maintenance | |
OC-12 | 622M/b/s (SONET transmission rate) | |
OC-192 | 10Gb/s (SONET transmission rate) | |
OC-3 | 155Mb/s (SONET transmission rate) | |
OC-48 | 2.5Gb/s (SONET transmission rate) | |
OCH | Optical Channel | |
OCS | Online Charging System | |
OctopOSS | I refer to OSS as The OctopOSS because an OSS can be like a giant octopus. Just when you think you have all the tentacles covered, another whacks you on the back of the head | |
ODA | Open Digital Architecture, framework by TM Forum. Blueprint for cloud-based open digital platforms | |
ODBC | Open Database Connectivity | |
ODF | Open Digital Framework, by TM Forum | |
ODF | Optical Distribution Frame | |
ODN | Open Data Network | |
ODPR | Optical Dedicated Protection Ring | |
ODS | Operational Data Store | |
ODU | Out-door Unit | LMDS Domain |
OEM | Original Equipment Manufacturer | |
OH&S | Operational Health and Safety | |
OLA | Optical Line Amplifier | |
OLTE | Optical Line Terminating Equipment | |
OMAP | operations, maintenance, and administration part | SS7 Notation |
OMC | Operation & Maintenance Centre | |
OMS | Optical Multiplexer Section | |
OMSP | Optical Multiplexer Shared Protection | |
ONU | Optical Network Unit. | Converts electrical signals to optical signals for transmission over optical fibres |
OOB | Out of Band | Management traffic is carried via a separate network path to all other network traffic |
OPC | originating point code | SS7 Notation |
OPEX | Operational Expenditure | |
OPS | Optical Protection Switching | |
ORAN | Open RAN | |
OSC | Optical Supervisory Channel | |
OSI | Open System Interconnection | |
OSP | Outside Plant | |
OSS | Operational Support System | Software to control NEMS |
OSSaaS | OSS as a Service | |
OT | Operational Technology | |
OT | Operational Team | |
OTAF | Over The Air activation Function | |
OTASP | Over The Air Service Provisioning | |
OTDR | Optical Time Domain Reflectrometry | Test equipment used to identify faults or degradations on optical fibre links |
OTH | Optical Transport Hierarchy | |
OTR | Optical Transport Repeater | |
OTT | Over the Top | Method of delivering service over another service provider’s infrastructure (eg public Internet) |
OXC | Optical Cross Connect | |
P2O | Prospect to Order | Workflow type |
P2P | Plan to Production | Workflow type |
PaaS | Platform as a Service | |
PABX | Private Automatic Branch Exchange | Small telephone network/switch for customer premises. It provides local connectivity and switching coupled with connections to the public carrier network. |
PAL | Phase Alternation By Line | |
PAP | Password Authentication Protocol | |
PBC | Policy based charging | |
PC | Personal Computer | |
PC | Partially Compliant | |
PCF | Policy Control Function | |
PCI | Peripheral Component Interconnect | |
PCIA | Personal Communications Industry Association | |
PCM | Pulse Code Modulation | |
PCRF | Policy Control and Charging Rules Function | |
PCS | Personal Communication Service | |
PCSCF | IMS Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) | |
PDA | Personal Digital Assistant | |
PDH | Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy | |
PDSN | Packet Data Switching Node | |
PE | Provider Edge (Router) | |
PEE | Power, Energy and Environmental (PEE) | |
PFC | Policy Feature Card | |
PGW | EPC PDN Gateway or Packet Gateway | |
PLC | Programmable Logic Control | |
PLMN | Public Land Mobile Network Identifier | is a combination of MCC and MNC. It is unique value and globally used to identify the mobile network that a user subscribed. |
PM | Project Manager | |
PM | Project Management | |
PM | Performance Management | |
PMBOK | Project Management Body of Knowledge | |
PMD | Polarisation Mode Dispersion | |
PMI | Project Management Institute | |
PMO | Project Management Office | |
PMP | Project Management Plan | |
PNF | Physical Network Function | |
PNI | Physical Network Inventory | |
PNNI | Private Network to Network Interface | |
PoC | Proof of Concept | |
POH | Path overhead | |
POI | Point Of Interconnect | Interconnect to other carriers’ networks |
PON | Passive Optical Network | |
POP | Point of Presence | |
POTS | Plain Old Telephone Service | Standard telephone lines. Originally designed to carry analogue information. |
PP | Path Protection | |
PPP | Point-to-Point Protocol | |
PPV | Pay Per View. The customer signs up for and pays for access to specific programming. | |
PRA | Primary Rate Access | ISDN Type |
PRINCE2 | A project management methodology | |
Problem | A problem is the cause of one or more incidents / events. It is a data object that allows aggregation of related incidents / events, and is then used to coordinate further investigation and remediation effort. | |
PROD | Production database instance | |
PROPEX | Project OPEX | Accounting mechanism used by some organisations |
PRS | Premium Rate Service | TFN Service Type |
PSTN | Public Switched Telephone Network | Telecommunications network |
PSU | Public Sector Unit | |
PVC | Permanent Virtual Circuit | ATM Domain |
PVP | Permanent Virtual Path | ATM Domain |
Q2C | Quote to Cash | Workflow type |
QA | Quality Assurance | |
QAM | Quadrature Amplitude Modulation | |
QoS | Quality of Service | |
R&D | Research And Development | |
R2A | Request to Answer | Workflow type |
R2C | Request to Change | Workflow type |
RADIUS | Remote Authentication Dial In User Service | |
RAM | Random Access Memory | |
RAN | Radio Access Network | |
RANCID | Really Awesome New Cisco confIg Differ | |
RAS | Remote Access Server | Equipment to allow remote dial-up access to a network |
RBOC | regional Bell operating company | SS7 Notation |
RCA | Root Cause Analysis | |
RCL | release complete message | SS7 Notation |
RCS | Residential Cabling System | |
RCS | Rich Communication Services | This messaging service is designed to replace current short messages with a system that is richer, provides phonebook polling, and can transmit in-call multimedia. 5G may facilitate a shift away from basic SMS messaging, ushering in an era of RCS, where mobile messaging can become much more interactive and flexible, more akin to what we now know as iMessaging through platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. |
RDBMS | Relational Database Management System | |
RDN | Relative distinguished name | |
RDS | Relational Database Service | |
reach | the maximum distance over which a signal can be transmitted without significant degradation | |
REL | release message | SS7 Notation |
REST or RESTful | Representational State Transfer | REST is a form of API for transferring information between systems. Eg when used for web APIs, it leverages HTTP |
RF | Radio Frequency | |
RFI | Ready for Installation | |
RFI | Request for Information | |
RFP | Request for Proposal | |
RFQ | Request for Quote | |
RIC | RAN Intelligent Controller | RIC is a suite of Software Apps to enable SDN functionalities in open RAN networks. Responsible for all RAN operation and optimization procedure like radio connection management, mobility management, QoS management, edge services, and interference management, radio resource management, higher layer procedure optimization, policy optimization in RAN, and providing guidance, parameters, policies and AI/ML models to support the best effective network operation. |
RNC | UMTS Radio Network Controller | |
RNI | Radio Network Inventory | |
R-NIB | Radio-Network Information Base | Used by RIC near-RT |
RNP | Radio Network Planning | |
RO/RW | Read Only / Read Write | |
ROI | Return on Investment | |
ROM | Read Only Memory | |
ROM | Rough Order of Magnitude | |
ROS | Robot Operating System | |
RPC | Remote Procedure Call (RFC-1057). | |
RPE | Regular Pulse Excited | Voice Compression Technology |
RRH | Remote Radio Head | |
RRP | Recommended Retail Price | |
RS | Regenerator section | |
RSOH | Repeater Section Overhead | |
RSP | route set prohibited test message | SS7 Notation |
RSR | restricted test message | SS7 Notation |
RSS | Rapid Site Solution | |
RST | Regenerator section termination | |
RSVP | Resource Reservation Protocol | |
RT | Remote Terminal | LMDS Domain |
RTU | Remote Testing Unit | Fibre Monitoring |
RTU | Remote Terminal Unit | |
RU | Rack Units | |
RU | Remote Unit | LMDS Domain |
RX | Receive/Receiver | |
S3 | Amazon Simple Storage Service | |
SA | Section adaptation | |
SaaS | Software as a Service | |
SAN | Storage Area Network | |
SAR | Segmentation And Re-assembly | As used in network packets |
SAT | Site Acceptance Testing | |
SAX | Small Automatic Exchange | Remote CDMA |
SBC | Session Border Controller | |
SBS | Stimulated Brillouin Scattering | |
SCADA | Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition | |
SCCP | signaling connection control part | SS7 Notation |
SCE | Service Creation Environment | IN Domain |
SCP | Service Control Point | IN Domain / SS7 Notation |
SCP | Services Code Point | |
SCP | Service Communication Proxy | provides a single point of entry for a cluster of a given type of Network Functions |
S-CSCF | IMS Serving Call Session Control Function | |
SDCA | Short Distance Charging Area | |
SDDC | Software Defined Data Centre | |
SDH | Synchronous Digital Hierarchy | ITU-TSS international standard for transmission of high capacity digital signals over optical fibre. |
SDL | Shared Data Layer | |
SDM | Space Division Multiplexing | |
SDN | Software Defined Network | |
SDTV | Standard Definition Television | |
SEAL | Substation Ethernet Access Link | |
SECAM | Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire | |
SED | Spatially Enabled Database | |
SEO | Search Engine Optimisation | |
SEPP | Security Edge Protection Proxy | |
SES | Simple Email Service | |
SFVN | Secure Fast Virtual Networking | |
SGSN | Serving GPRS Support Nodes | |
SGW | Serving Gateway | |
SGW | EPC Serving Gateway | |
SGW | Core Signalling Gateway (Sgw) | |
SIA | Service Imapact Analysis | |
SID | TM Forum’s Shared Information / Data model | |
SIEM | Security Information and Event Management | |
SIM | Subscriber Identity Module | |
SIP | Session Initiation Protocol | a signalling protocol, widely used for setting up and tearing down multimedia communication sessions such as voice and video calls over the Internet. Other feasible application examples include video conferencing, streaming multimedia distribution, instant messaging, presence information and online games. |
SIT | Site Acceptance Testing | |
SLA | Service Level Agreement | Contract to ensure certain service standards are met. |
SLS | signaling link selection | SS7 Notation |
SMDS | Switched Multimegabit Data Service | |
SME | Small / Medium Enterprise | |
SME | Subject Matter Expert | |
SMF | Session Management Control Function | |
SML | Service Management Layer | |
SMOF | Single Mode Optical Fibre | |
SMP | Service Management Point | IN Domain |
SMPP | Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol | Supports transfer of short message data between External Short Messaging Entities (ESMEs), Routing Entities (REs) and SMSC |
SMS | Short Messaging Service | |
SMSC | Short Messaging Service Center | |
SMSF | Short Message Service Function | |
SMTP | Simple Mail Transfer Protocol | |
SNCP | Sub-Network Connection Protection | |
SNMP | Simple Network Management Protocol | |
SNR | Signal to Noise Ratio | |
SNS | Simple Notification Service | |
SOC | Security Operations Centre | |
SOC | Service Operations Centre | |
SOE | Standard Operating Environment | |
SOH | Section overhead | |
SOHO | Small Office / Home Office | |
SONET | Synchronous Optical NETwork | is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for transmission of high capacity digital signals over optical fibre, used in the USA and Canada. |
SP-GW CP | Service / Packet Gateway Control Plane | |
SP-GW UP | Service / Packet Gateway User Plane | |
SPI | SDH physical interface | |
SPM | Self Phase Modulation | |
SPVP | Switched or Soft Permanent Virtual Path | ATM Domain |
SQL | Structured Query Language | |
SQS | Simple Queuing Service | |
SRL | Structural Return Loss | Copper cabling measurement standard |
SRS | Stimulated Raman Scattering | |
SS7 | Signalling System # 7 | SS7 Notation |
SSO | Single Sign-on | |
SSP | signal switching Point | SS7 Notation |
SSU | Synchronisation Supply Unit | Synch Domain |
STB | Set-Top Box | |
STD | Subscriber Trunk Dialing | |
STM | Synchronous transfer mode | |
STM-1 | 155Mb/s (SDH transmission rate) | SDH domain |
STM-16 | 2.5Gb/s (SDH transmission rate) | SDH domain |
STM-4 | 622Mb/s (SDH transmission rate) | SDH domain |
STM-64 | 10Gb/s (SDH transmission rate) | SDH domain |
STP | Signal Transfer Point | SS7 Notation |
STP | Shielded Twisted Pair | is a generic name for any cable constructed with a pair of twisted wires surrounded by a metallic shield. |
STT | Set-Top Terminal | |
STU | Set Top Unit. The box at the customer premises that decodes signals sent from the head-end. | |
SU | signal unit | SS7 Notation |
SWOT | Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats | |
T1 | A bandwidth unit (1.5 Mbps), described when used for certain transfer protocols | |
T2 | Amazon compute instance | |
T2C | Termination to Confirmation | Workflow type |
T2R | Trouble to Resolve | |
T3 | A bandwidth unit (45 Mbps), described when used for certain transfer protocols | |
TAM | TM Forum’s “The Application Map” | |
TAPI | Telephony Application Programming Interface | From Microsoft & Intel. Provides first party CTI |
TAS | Telephony Application Server | |
TB | Terabyte | |
TBC | To Be Confirmed | |
Tbps | Terabits per second (1,000,000,000,000 bps) | |
TCAP | transaction capabilities application part | SS7 Notation |
TCO | Total Cost of Ownership | |
TCP | Transmission Control Protocol (RFC-793). | |
TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol | |
TDM | Time Division Multiplexing | |
TDMA | Time-Division Multiple Access | |
telecommunications traffic | Signals (information) being transmitted on telecommunications networks | |
TFA | transfer allowed message | SS7 Notation |
TFP | transfer prohibited message | SS7 Notation |
TFR | transfer restricted message | SS7 Notation |
TGNO | Trunk Group Number | TDM Domain |
Ticket or Trouble Ticket | A mechanism to assign tasks to different users and monitor performance of the user as well as the process. | |
TM Forum | Telemanagement Forum | Standards body supporting the OSS/BSS / telco industry |
TMA | Tower Mounted Amplifier | |
TMF | Telemanagement Forum (TM Forum) | |
TMN | Telecommunication Management Network. | Name of an area where standardisation bodies such an ANSI, ITU-T and ETSI are currently defining standards. |
TNA | Technology Neutral Architecture | |
TNE | Type of Network Element | |
TNGF | Trusted Non-3GPP Gateway Function | |
TNMS | Telecommunications Network Management System | |
TNOC | Telecommunications Network Operations Centre | |
TOGAF | The Open Group Architecture Forum | |
ToIP | Telephony over IP. A method of routing telephone calls through the Internet, rather than the PSTN (telecommunications networks). | |
TOSCA | Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications | |
TR | Trouble Report | |
TRA | Trouble Report Answer | |
TS | Time Slot | TDM Domain |
TSAPI | Telephony Service Application Program Interface | From Novell & Lucent. Provides third party CTI in a LAN environment and which uses CSTA |
TSG | Time Stage Group | TDM Domain |
TT | Trouble Ticket | |
TTM | Time to Market | |
TTP | Trail termination point | |
TU | Tributary unit | |
TUG | Tributary unit group | |
TWAG | Trusted Wireless Access Gateway | |
TX | Transmit/Transmitter | |
U2C | Usage to Cash | Workflow type |
U2P | Usage to Payment | Workflow type |
UAT | User Acceptance Testing | |
UBR | Unspecified Bit Rate | Describes a quality of service on ATM networks |
UDM | 5G Core Unified Data Management (UDM) | |
UDM-FE | Unified Data Management Front-end | |
UDP | Universal Demarcation Point | Converts optical signals to electrical signals after transmission over optical fibres. |
UDR | United Data Repository | |
UDSF | Unstructured Data Storage Function | The UDSF provides service interfaces to store, update, read and delete network function data. Allows other network functions such as the PCF, SMF and AMF to remain largely stateless. |
UE | User Equipment | Mobile devices |
UGW | Universal Gateway | |
UHF | Ultra High Frequency | |
UI | User Interface | |
UI / UX | User Interface / User Experience | |
ULR | Useful Life Remaining | |
ULR=0 | Number of devices older than the useful life apportioned to the asset (in the case of Cumulus, assets are depreciated over a useful life of 5 years) | |
UMTS | Universal Mobile Telecommunications System | |
UPF | User-Plane Function | |
UPS | Uninterruptible Power Supply | |
upstream | Transmission of information from the customer to the service provider | |
UR | Unidirectional Ring | |
URL | Universal Resource Locator | |
uRLLC | Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications | Network slice – enables mission-critical applications, industrial automation, new medical applications, and autonomous driving that require very short network traversal time |
URSP | UE (User Equipment) Route Selection Policies | Helps device registration per subscriber, per slice |
USCDB | Unified Subscriber Center Database | |
USN | Unified Serving Node | |
UTP | Unshielded Twisted Pair | is a generic name for any cable consisting of two twisted wires that are not surrounded by any shielding from the potential effects of electromagnetic emissions. |
UtranCellFDD | UMTS Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) radio cell | |
UtranCellTDDHcr | UMTS Time Division Duplex (TDD) high chip rate (HCR) radio cell | |
UtranCellTDDLcr | UMTS Time Division Duplex (TDD) low chip rate (LCR) radio cell | |
UX | User Experience | |
V.35, X.21, EIA-530 and G703/G.704 | Information Transfer protocols. Styles of transmitting information over a network | |
V5 | Interface Type | TDM Domain |
VAN | Value-Added Network | |
VAR | Value Added Reseller | |
VAS | Value Added Services | |
VBR | Variable Bit Rate | Describes a quality of service on ATM networks |
VC | Virtual Container | SDH “payload” |
VC | Virtual Circuit | ATM Domain |
VC11 | Virtual Container | Carries T1 SDH “payload” |
VC12 | Virtual Container | Carries E1 SDH “payload” |
VC3 | Virtual Container | Carries T3 SDH “payload” |
VC4 | Virtual Container | Carries STM1 SDH “payload” |
VC4-4C | Virtual Container | Carries 4 x VC4 (to aggregate STM4) SDH “payload” |
VCI | Virtual Circuit Identifier | ATM Domain |
vCPU | Virtual CPU (Central Processing Unit) | |
vDC | virtual Data Centre | |
VDSL | Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Lines. Information Transfer protocol. One style of transmitting information over a network. Similar to ADSL, but supports larger bandwidths. | |
VHF | Very High Frequency | |
Video conference | Transmission of video and audio signals over telecommunications networks. | |
VIM | Virtualised Infrastructure Manager | |
VIP | video information provider | |
VIP | Virtual IP (address) | |
VLAN | Virtual Local Area Network (LAN) | |
VLR | Visitor Location Register | |
VM | Virtual Machine | |
VMS | Voice Mail Service | |
VNE | Virtual Network Environment | |
VNF | Virtual Network Function | |
VNFFG | VNF Forwarding Graph | Defines traffic flows between VNFs |
VNFM | Virtual Network Function Manager | |
VoATM | Voice over ATM | |
VoD | Video on Demand | Video signal is transmitted over telecommunications network and allows the customer full control (fast forward, rewind, pause, etc). Allows the customer a selection of videos to choose from. |
VoFR | Voice over Frame Relay | |
voice mail | Records messages when someone is not able to answer their phone. | |
VoIP | Voice over IP | |
VP | Virtual Path | ATM Domain |
VPC | Virtual Private Cloud | |
VPI | Virtual Path Identifier | ATM Domain |
VPI/VCI | Virtual Path Identifier / Virtual Circuit Identifier | ATM Domain |
VPLS | Virtual Private LAN Service | |
VPN | Virtual Private Network | Segregates network for individual client groups. |
VPRN | Virtual Private Remote Network | Creates multi-protocol VPNs via the Internet |
VR | Virtual Reality | |
VROOM | Very Rough Order of Magnitude | |
VSAT | Very Small Aperture Terminal (Satellite) | |
VSB | Vestigial Side Band | |
VT | Virtual Tributary | |
VXC | Virtual Cross-Connect | |
W-AGF | Wireline Access Gateway Function | |
WAN | Wide Area Network | is a network which encompasses inter-connectivity between devices over a wide geographical area. Such networks generally require access to the public network and operate over long distances. |
WBS | Work Breakdown Structure | |
WC | Will Comply | |
WCS | Wireless Control System | |
WDM | Wavelength Division Multiplexing | |
WDV | Written Down Value (ie the financial value of an asset after it has been depreciated | Financial (depreciation) term |
Web | World Wide Web | |
Web TV | Allows access to the World Wide Web (an Internet service), using a television. | |
WFM | Workforce Management | |
Wiki | What I Know Is – a framework for collaborating on and storing information | |
WIN | Wireless Intelligent Network | |
WINF | WINForum; Wireless Information Networks Forum | |
WLL | Wireless in Local Loop | |
WO | Work Order | Work Orders are a record of information about changes to network / infrastructure, including details of activities to be undertaken, primarily by field technicians. This could be work triggered by a Fault, project work or maintenance work. |
WWW | World Wide Web | |
WYSIWYG | What You See Is What You Get | |
X.25 PLP | X.25 Packet Level Protocol, layer 3 of ITU-T X.25. | |
X.29 | ITU-T X.29 | recommendations for the interwork between a packet-mode DTE and a non packet-mode DTE in a packet switched transmission environment. |
XaaS | Anything as a Service | |
xDSL | Describes the family of DSL technologies (eg ADSL, VDSL, etc) | |
XML | eXtensible Markup Language | |
XPM | Cross Phase Modulation | |
XR | Extended Reality |
Here at Passionate About OSS, we are exactly that – Passionate About OSS (Operational Support Systems). We’re also passionate about BSS, NMS, or any other names you call the tools that help to operationalise your network.