Filter
Top Products
Appendix
75
Glossary of Terms
Airtime - Actual time spent talking on the wireless phone.
Most carriers bill customers based on how many
minutes of airtime they use each month.
Antenna - A device for transmitting or receiving signals. The
size and shape of antennas is determined, in part, by the
frequency of the signal they receive. Wireless phones
and the base station must have antennas.
Base Station - The fixed radio transmitter / receiver that
maintains communications with mobile radio
telephones within a given area. (Typically seen as cell or
cell site.)
CDMA – (Code Division Multiple Access) A spread-spectrum
approach to digital transmission. With CDMA, each
conversion is digitized and then tagged with a code. The
mobile phone deciphers only a particular code to pick
the right conversation off the air. The transmitted signal
is just above noise level across the available bandwidth.
Channel - Communications signals transmit along paths
called channels.
Deactivation - The process of rendering a wireless phone
inactive.
DTMF - (Dual-tone Multi-frequency) You send DTMF signals
when you enter numbers by pressing the digit keys.
Frequency - A measure based on time, as one or more waves
per second, in an electrical or lightwave information
signal. A signal’s frequency is stated in cycles-per-
second or Hertz (Hz).
Hands-Free Car Kit - An accessory that permits a driver to
use a wireless phone without lifting or holding the
handset – an important safety feature for automobiles,
and other motorized vehicles.