Glossary of Terms
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1G
First Generation cellular technology (or 1G) is defined as two-way analog voice communications in a mobile environment.More info from Wikipedia
2G
Second Generation cellular technology (or 2G) is defined as two-way digital voice communications in a mobile environment. Data was limted to short message service (SMS) messages that are sent across the digital control channel. GSM, D-AMPS and cdmaOne are examples of 2G technologies. 2G cellular later added low bandwidth data support with technologies such as GPRS, EDGE or 1xRTT.More info from Wikipedia
3G
Third Generation cellular technology (or 3G) is defined as two-way simultanous digital voice and data communications in a mobile environment. Examples of 3G technologies are UMTS or EVDO.More info from Wikipedia
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is the standard that defines wireless standards for GSM and related technologies. Compare this to 3GPP2, which defines the cdmaOne standard and related technologies.3GPP homepage
4G
Fourth Generation cellular technology (or 4G) is defined as two-way data centric mobile communications. Voice is supported as a data application through voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Examples of 4G technologies are LTE Advanced or WiMAX 16m.More info from Wikipedia
Base Station
Equipment installed at a cell site that facilitates wireless communications for a cellular network.More info from Wikipedia
CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access is a spread-spectrum channel access method that allows multiple users to use the same spectrum. CDMA is often used synonymously with the cdmaOne/CDMA2000 protocol standard, but UMTS (as part of the 3GPP GSM standard) also uses CDMA.More info from Wikipedia
Cell Site
A physical location that houses the radio equipment that an operator used for the radio access network. An operator can have hundreds or thousands of cell sites to provide cellular coverage or capacity in a given market.More info from Wikipedia
Distributed Antenna System
Instead of using a single multi-element antenna to provide coverage, the equipment uses a network of physically separate antennas connected to a common source to provide wireless coverage within an areaMore info from Wikipedia
EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution is a part of the 3GPP standard, first deployed in 2003. It supports peak datarates of up to 1 Mbps, with about 400 kbps typical. It is considered a 2.5G protocol.More info from Wikipedia
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission is an agency in the US Federal government that is responsible for, among other things, regulating radio spectrum usage and defining the associated devicesFCC homepage
Femtocell
A small cellular base station designed for use in a home or small business and connects back to the operator’s network via a broadband connection (such as DSL or cable).More info from Wikipedia
HSDPA
High Speed Downlink Packet Access is an enhancement to the 3GPP UTMS standard that improves base station to mobile station data rates. It supports downlink speeds of up to 14 Mbps and is considered to be a 3.5G standard.More info from Wikipedia
HSUPA
High-Speed Uplink Packet Access is an enhancement to the 3GPP UTMS standard that supports greater mobile to base station data rates. It supports uplink speeds of up to 5.76 Mbps.More info from Wikipedia
IEEE
The Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers is a standards body and professional organization. For telecommunications, they are responsible for defining the original WiMAX standards (called IEEE 802.16).IEEE Home Page
IEEE 802.16
The IEEE standard that defines WiMAX. The IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard defines WiMAX for mobile applications. The 802.16m standard supports an advanced air interface with data rates of up to 100 Mpbs for mobile applications.More info from Wikipedia
IP
Internet Protocol (IP) an Open System Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model Layer 3 protocol that defines how information is sent over a transmission medium.More info from Wikipedia
LTE
3GPP Long Term Evolution is part of the 3GPP GSM mobile communications standard. It is considered to be 3.9G -- a transitional air interface between 3G and 4G. It is defined as being all IP based, using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) as its modulation technique and supporting 100 Mbps in the downlink (base station to mobile station communications channel).More info from Wikipedia
PCS
Personal Communications System defines an area of radio spectrum at 1900 MHz (or 1.9 GHz) in the United States covering 1850-1910 Mhz and 1930-1990 MHz. The spectrum is divided into six frequency blocks, labeled A through F. The FCC auctioned the initial A and B blocks in 1995.More info from Wikipedia
SAC
A Site Acquistion Company works for the wireless operator and is responsible for acquiring new sites within an RF search ring.SDC
A Site Development Company is responsible for building a new site -- constructing the tower, running cables, and otherwise completing the civil works to make the site ready for the RF equipment.UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is a 3G cellular standard as defined by 3GPP. Unlike the earlier versions of the 3GPP standard (GPRS or EDGE), UMTS uses code division multiple access (CDMA) for multiple access.More info from Wikipedia
WiMAX
WiMAX is a cellular communications standard defined by the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE). It is defined by three standards: IEEE 802.16d, IEEE 802.16e and the upcoming IEEE 802.16m standard. It is an all-IP technology that supports fixed and mobile applications.More info from Wikipedia
