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Something we've missed? Let us know what words or terms you'd like to see added to our glossary in future updates.
- 1X
- Get mobile, fast!
1XRTT, or "1X" is a new generation of North America's leading
wireless technology: CDMA.
TELUS Mobility's national 1X network means:
- less blocked and dropped calls
- longer battery life for 1X-ready handsets
- More wireless Web features
- FAST data speeds, outpacing a high speed dialup modem, giving you an average
experience of 40-60kpbs with a theoretical maximum of 144kbps... and it's wireless!
1XRTT stands for "single carrier radio transmission technology".
- airtime
- The total time that a wireless device is connected and in use for voice or data transmission.
- alphanumeric paging
- One type of paging service that allows users to receive not only voice and numeric messages,
but also text messages, sent by e-mail, from the Internet, or by special paging dispatch software.
- analog
- The first generation of wireless (cellular) service, originally rolled out in the mid 1980's.
Analog service offers fewer features, inferior call quality, little privacy, and shorter battery life, but often
has more widespread coverage than digital service.
- anytime minutes
- Airtime in a service plan that can be used at any time of day, any day of the week. If an
unlimited evenings & weekends feature is subscribed, anytime minutes will be offset for use as "peak" or
"weekday" minutes.
- billing cycle
- Each account is prescribed a billing cycle. This is the date on which airtime is calculated
against the service plan, and the bill is printed and mailed.
- bluetooth
- Bluetooth is a technology allowing wireless links between all kinds of mobile devices -
wireless phones, PDA's, notebook computers, and more - when they come in proximity to one another
(approximately 30 metres) without the need to buy or carry connection cables. For example, a bluetooth
handsfree device can provide handsfree use of a wireless phone without the need to plug into the handset
itself, allowing the user more freedom to move.
- call forwarding
- a feature that allows users to forward incoming calls to another number. To activate,
dial *72 + area code + phone number +SEND. To deactivate, dial *720 +SEND
- call waiting
- a feature that allows users to recieve an alert of a second incoming call.
To switch to an incoming call waiting, press SEND. To return to the original party, press SEND again.
- calling line id
- a feature that causes the phone number, if available, of an incoming call to show on the handset's display
before the call is answered.
- cell
- the area that is serviced by a particular cell site
- cell site
- the transmission and reception equipment that connects a cellular phone or wireless device to the network,
usually mounted on top of buildings or on standalone towers.
- CDMA
- Code Division Multiple Access. Developed by Qualcomm, this is the digital technology employed by TELUS
Mobility's PCS network, giving users access to the most advanced features, superior call quality, fewer dropped calls,
greater privacy and longer battery life than traditional analog networks.
- CDPD
- Cellular Digital Packet Data. A technology used to send digital data over vacancies in the existing
analog voice network. CDPD uses RC4 airlink encryption, so is very secure, and
offers theoretical throughput of 19.2Kbps, with real-world applications of around 11-12Kbps.
- coverage
- The geographic area serviced by a wireless network.
- CRTC
- Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission. The governing body that oversees the use of radio
frequencies in Canada.
- Digital PCS (personal communications service)
- TELUS Mobility's wireless phone service solution, offering a wide range of handsets, service plans,
and features.
- Direct Connect
- TELUS MiKE's feature that allows users to connect with one another on the same network at the
touch of a single button, similar in fashion to a 2-way radio.
- dispatch
- The term used to describe the 2-way functionality of Direct Connect.
- dual-mode
- A feature on some wireless handsets that allows it to operate on both digital and analog networks,
offering the user greater coverage and quality of service than single mode or analog handsets.
The handset is programmed to automatically select, depending on availablility, digital versus analog service to maximize
quality of service for the user.
The most common type of dual-mode handsets operate in digital mode at 1900MHz and in analog mode at 800MHz.
Some dual-mode handsets operate in both digital and analog modes at 800MHz.
- ESN
- Electronic Serial Number. On a digital PCS handset, an 11-digit number or 8-digit hex number
located on a label underneath the battery.
- Flex paging technology ™
- Motorola's high-speed paging coding scheme. This technology allows for much longer pager battery life.
- iDEN
- Integrated Digital Enhanced Network. Developed by Motorola and used by TELUS MiKE, this technology combines
digital voice, data, and dispatch radio in one network.
One iDEN's primary features is its capability to support dispatch radio service, so users can make either two-way radio
communication or phone calls.
- IMEI
- International Mobile Equipment Indentifier. On a TELUS MiKE handset,
a 15-digit number located on a label underneath the battery.
- i-tap text input
- A handset technology that allows users to quickly and easily enter text into a wireless
handset using the phone's keypad. Similar to T9 text input.
- Li-ion (lithium ion) battery
- A newer type of rechargeable battery used in wireless phones. Li-ion batteries are
lightweight and last longer than Ni-Cad and NiMH varieties. Li-Ion batteries do not suffer from any "memory effect".
- Li-poly (lithium polymer) battery
- The newest type of rechargeable battery used in wireless phones. Li-poly batteries are lighter,
smaller and longer lasting than Li-ion. Li-poly batteries do not suffer from any "memory effect".
- Java (or J2ME) ready
- Java version 2 micro edition is a smaller version of the popular programming language developed by Sun
Microsystems. A J2ME-ready handset can have java applications loaded in, allowing the user
to take the applications everywhere they go. Applications range from games to mortgage calculators and more.
- message waiting indicator
- A function of the network that alerts a handset when there is a text or voice message waiting. An
envelope shaped indicator will light up on the handset's display to indicate the presence of a message waiting.
- MiKE
- TELUS Mobility's all-in-one wireless solution, offering consumers and businesses a wide range
of handsets that offer not only phone, but also 2-way radio communication, paging, and wireless data service.
- MiKE online
- A feature that allows a user of the MiKE network to use his/her handset as a modem for a
handheld or notebook computer.
- minibrowser
- A shrunken-down version of an Internet browser, as a feature on
most wireless handsets, that allows the user to access sites on the wireless Web.
- NiCd (nickel cadmium) battery
- An older type of rechargeable battery used in many wireless phones. NiCd battery
life is often shortened by the "memory effect", which prevents it from accepting a full charge.
- NiMH (nickel metal hydride) battery
- A newer type of rechargeable battery used in wireless phones that lasts longer and
retains its charge better than Ni-Cad batteries. NiMH batteries do not suffer from any "memory effect".
- numeric paging
- One type of paging service that allows users to receive only voice and numeric messages.
- Pay & Talk assistant
- Dial #123 to reach this IVR which allows users to add money to a Pay & Talk account using
a Pay & Talk card or a major credit card. Users can also use credit in their account to purchase features for
their Pay & Talk service, such as unlimited evenings and weekends, or a pocket web "surf" package.
- per second billing
- The method employed by TELUS Mobility for billing calls made within its network, in which
users are charged only for the number of seconds they used, with no rounding up to the next minute.
- PCS online
- A feature that allows a user of the PCS network to use his/her handset as a modem for
a handheld or notebook computer.
- PIM (personal information manager)
- A software feature that organizes frequently used information such as names, addresses,
telephone numbers and appointments. Many wireless phones come with built-in PIMs.
- POS (or wireless POS)
- Point-of-sale. A solution for processing secure wireless debit and/or credit card transactions.
- roaming
- Using your wireless phone in an area outside its home service area.
- SAR
- Specific absorption rates. SAR measures the amount of radio
frequency emissions absorbed by human tissue when using your cell phone.
SAR data is used by clinical researchers studying the potential relationship
between wireless phones and cancer.
Importantly, government and independent agency studies have shown no evidence of a link between
the use of wireless handsets and any harmful effects on human health.
- SIM card or smart card
- subscriber identity module card. A card that is about the size of half your thumb,
used in some handsets that holds personal information, such as phone numbers and addressbooks.
- single-mode
- A handset that offers only one mode of service: either digital or analog. A digital
single-mode handset operates at 1900MHz, while an analog single-mode handset operates at 800MHz.
- standby (or standby time)
- When a handset is powered on, but is not engaged in any voice or data call.
Standby time is the approximate length of time that a fully charged battery will last in standby mode only,
under ideal conditions, before needing to be recharged.
- system access fee
- A basic fee charged by all wireless providers for access to their network.
This fee covers not only network maintenance and expansion, but also subsidies and lisencing fees paid
by the network to the CRTC and other governing bodies.
- T9 text input
- A handset technology that allows users to quickly and easily enter text into a
wireless handset using the phone's keypad. Similar to i-tap text input.
- talk (or talk time)
- When a handset is powered on, and is engaged in a voice or data call. Talk
time is the approximate length of time that a fully charged battery will last while on a continuous
call, under ideal conditions, before needing to be recharged.
- text messaging
- A feature that allows text messages to be received on a wireless handset.
There are two types of text messaging: 1-way, in which a user can only receive messages, and 2-way
in which a user can both receive, send, and reply to messages from their wireless handset.
- tri-mode
- A feature on some wireless handsets that allows it to operate on both digital and
analog networks. In digital mode, a tri-mode handset can operate at two different frequencies, 800MHz
and 1900MHz, offering the user greater coverage and quality of service than dual mode, single mode or analog handsets.
The handset is programmed to automatically select, depending on availablility, digital (at 800MHz
or 1900MHz) versus analog service to maximize quality of service for the user.
- voice-activated dialing
- A feature on most wireless handsets allowing the user to place a call to numbers stored
in memory by simply speaking the name, rather than using the keypad to recall the number.
- voicemail
- A network feature that transfers unanswered calls to an electronic mailbox
where callers can leave messages, to be retrieved by the user at a later time.
- voice memo recorder
- A handset feature that allows users to record either personal voice memos,
or portions of calls for later retrieval.
- WAP
- Wireless Application Protocol. A global standard developed to make Internet services
available for mobile users through the use of a minibrowser.
Although WAP is based on Internet technology, WAP and the Internet live side by side.
That is, WAP devices generally
do not access Internet sites, and Internet devices generally do not access WAP sites.
To access WAP sites, one needs a TELUS Mobility Web ready
handset, and any Pocket Web feature.
- Web ready
- The term used to describe a handset that has a minibrowser, and thus can access sites
on the wireless Web, or can be used as a modem together with a handheld or notebook computer.
- wireless data
- Describes a service that allows users to use their mobile device to transfer
data across the TELUS Mobility network.
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