2011

T1

Common-carrier-provided, point-to-point digital line service used in private data networks and cellular, Wi-Fi and fixed-network backhaul. A T1 (so called because it was first sold by AT&T in the 1960s) delivers 1.544 Mbps capacity that can be split into multiple 64 Kbps channels, and is typically charged by distance. See also E1 and T3.

T3

Common-carrier-provided, point-to-point digital line service typically used in the Internet. A T3 line delivers 44.736 Mbps capacity that can be split into 672 x 64 Kbps voice or data channels, and is typically charged by distance. See also E1 and T1.

T&A (time and attendance)

Business applications used for the collection and tracking of hours worked, scheduled time and nonproductive work time. These applications support the payroll process, project accounting, workforce planning and other business processes.

table driven

A logical computer process, widespread in the operation of communications devices and networks, where a user-entered variable is matched against an array of predefined values.
A frequently used logical process in network routing, access security and modem operation.

tablet

A computing device that weighs less than 4 pounds and is operated by direct screen contact via a pen or touch interface.

tablet PC

Tablet PCs meet all criteria for mobile PCs but are equipped with a pen and on-screen digitizer and are configurable into a tablet format.

tacit knowledge

The personal knowledge resident within the mind, behavior and perceptions of individuals. Tacit knowledge includes skills, experiences, insight, intuition and judgment. Tacit knowledge is typically shared through discussion, stories, analogies and person-to-person interaction and is, therefore, difficult to capture or represent in explicit form. Because individuals continually add personal knowledge, which changes behavior and perceptions, tacit knowledge is, by definition, uncaptured.

TACS (total access communications system)

Analog cellular standard first used in the U.K. for services in the 900MHz frequency band. It allows up to 1,320 channels using 25kHz channel spacing.

takt time

German for "beat" – the pace of production based on customer demand or pull.

TCH (traffic channel)

Channel used for voice, data or signaling.

TCO (total cost of ownership)

A comprehensive assessment of information technology (IT) or other costs across enterprise boundaries over time. For IT, TCO includes hardware and software acquisition, management and support, communications, end-user expenses and the opportunity cost of downtime, training and other productivity losses.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)

A communications protocol based on the U.S. Department of Defense's standards for reliable internetwork delivery of data.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)

A set of protocols covering (approximately) the network and transport layers of the seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) network model. TCP/IP was developed during a 15-year period under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Defense. It has achieved de facto standard status, particularly as higher-level layers over Ethernet.

TD-CDMA (time division duplexing-code division multiple access)

TD-CDMA and its Chinese cousin, TD-SCDMA, are 3GPP-approved time division duplexing (TDD) air interfaces defined by the UMTS 3G cellular mobile phone standard, and used mainly to provide Internet access. In TDD, the same spectrum is shared for the uplink and the downlink via time division. TD-CDMA uses 5MHz channels, each divided into 10 ms frames and each containing 15 time slots (1,500 per second). CDMA is used in each time slot to support multiple users. TD-SCDMA uses 1.6MHz channels.

In much of Europe and Asia, specific UMTS-TDD spectrums of 1,900MHz to 1,920 MHz and 2,010MHz to 2,025MHz have been set aside, and operators were often obliged to buy a TDD spectrum along with the UMTS-FDD paired-frequency spectrum they needed for 3G voice. A band of 2,500MHz to 2,690MHz has been used for TDD in some countries (for example, in the U.S.), and 3.5GHz in others (for example, in the U.K. and New Zealand). Although TD-SCDMA is still undergoing trials in China, TD-CDMA has been deployed in more than a dozen commercial wireless broadband and public-safety networks globally by IPWireless (NextWave). See also TD-SCDMA.

TDD (time division duplex)

Radio transmission technique in which the uplink and downlink share one channel, with the transmit and receive pulses separated by time. Users can be allocated multiple time slots in the uplink and downlink, permitting asymmetric data transmission.

TDM (time division multiplexing)

A data, voice and video communications technique that interleaves several low-speed signals into one high-speed transmission channel.

TDMA (time division multiple access)

Digital modulation technique that allocates a discrete amount of frequency bandwidth to each user to permit many simultaneous conversations. Each caller is assigned a specific time slot for transmission. TDMA provides improved spectral efficiencies over analog systems. A derivative of this standard used in North America is called NA-TDMA. Other TDMA-based cellular systems include GSM, D-AMPS, PDC, DECT and enhanced TDMA.

TDM extension line

A line that terminates with a digital or analog (non-IP) phone set that was shipped, installed, and in use and attached to an IP-enabled PBX or traditional PBX/KTS system.

TDOA (time difference of arrival)

Method of processing cellular phone signals to identify the location of a switched-on mobile phone. Based on triangulation, TDOA determines the position by comparing the time difference of the arrival of the reverse control channel at various cell sites. In ideal circumstances, accuracy is 50 meters to 150 meters, but the average is 150 meters to 200 meters. See also LBS.

TDR (time domain reflectometry)

A technique used to track faults in networks, such as cable breaks or loose connections. A pulse of a known shape is transmitted over the network and an echo is created when the pulse hits an obstacle or cable end. The time lapsed between the sending of the pulse and receiving the echo can be used to locate the origin of the echo and therefore the break. Sophisticated testing equipment is available to perform this test and to analyze the results.

TDS (telecommunications data systems)

A frequency allocation technique based on allotting discrete time slots to users, permitting many simultaneous transmissions.

TD-SCDMA (time division synchronous code division multiple access)

One of the international 3G standards approved by ITU and driven by China, with Datang Mobile Communications Equipment as one of the original conceivers of the technology. TD-SCDMA has been deployed in China as one of the 3G technologies, along with WCDMA and cdma2000, following the issue of 3G licenses in January 2009. See also TD-CDMA.

TDM seat license

A telephony seat that is in use and part of an IP-enabled PBX or traditional PBX/KTS system that terminates with a digital or analog (non-IP) phone set.

telco

A contraction of the term "telephone company." It generally refers to the local-exchange carrier (LEC).

telecom equipment support services

This segment includes enterprise equipment services and infrastructure equipment services.

Enterprise equipment services – Enterprise equipment consists of telecom equipment and systems that are based in business locations, and that connect either with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or to private data voice networks.
Carrier infrastructure equipment services – Infrastructure equipment includes all forms of equipment (and some systems and integrally related services) that combine to form the communications networks used by public service operators worldwide. A good example is the PSTN. Others include IP and other data networks as well as mobile networks. Infrastructure equipment includes six major building blocks: switching, transport, access, signaling, support and mobile infrastructure.

telecommunications carrier

Catch-all/generic phrase covering all entities that provide some form of telecommunication services (fixed and/or mobile; voice and/or data) as their primary business to all or a subset of consumers, enterprises, governments and other telecom service providers.

telecommunications equipment

Telecom equipment now includes mobile devices, PBX equipment (contact center, telephony and IP telephony), and network equipment (LAN and WAN).

Enterprise networking and communications – Enterprise networking and communications includes telecom equipment and systems that are based in consumer and business locations and that connect either with the PSTN or to private data or voice networks.

telecommunications services

Telecom services now include fixed-network services (data retail, Internet retail, voice retail and wholesale) and mobile services.

Fixed-data services – Includes all dedicated/private line, packet and circuit-switched access services (for example, frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode, IP, Integrated Services Digital Network, DSL, multichannel multipoint distribution service [MMDS] and satellite) retail revenue. No differentiation is made between the type of traffic or application carried by these services. All types of transmissions – nonvoice data, image, video, fax, interactive services and even voice – can be carried by these services regardless of whether the source format is analog or digital. All revenue reflects service provider annualized retail revenue – paid for by the business and residential end user of the service; no wholesale or carrier-to-carrier revenue is included.

Fixed-voice services – This reflects retail voice service revenue for all services that are sold as such to end users and includes the provision of local and long-distance services related to voice (calling charges, line rental/subscription and connection fees are included in this category), enhanced voice services, data and fax transmission over the circuit-switched PSTN, and retail voice over IP revenue – paid for by the business and residential end user of the service; no wholesale or carrier-to-carrier revenue is included.

Mobile telecom services – Income from mobile telephone calls and mobile data usage (Short Message Service [SMS] and mobile data access) from all mobile operators in that regional market. Consumer charges are removed. Income from mobile telephone calling charges, mobile data access, SMS charges, line rental/subscription and connection fees are included in this category.

Wholesale/carrier services are not included as a component of business IT spending. Wholesale/carrier services reflect carrier revenue from carrier-to-carrier service transactions.

teledensity

Number of fixed (landline) telephone connections per 100 people in a specified geographic area. Teledensity is often used to compare the level of access to voice and data communications services between metropolitan and rural areas, or between one country and another. The governments of many emerging economies are focused on increasing teledensity as an economic enabler. Because of fixed-mobile substitution, teledensity is decreasing in some countries. See also FMS.

telephony-centric UC approach

These solutions are extensions of IP PBX and unified messaging (UM) products. In many cases, UM is tightly integrated with PBX; in others, the two are offered by separate vendors. The functionality offered is telephony-centric and typically includes: one-number service, supporting phone twinning, softphones (which may be proprietary), remote phones (phone login over the Internet) and fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). Examples of PBX- and IP PBX-centric solutions include all the leading PBX vendors.

TEM (technology-enabled marketing)

Also known as marketing automation, TEM involves analyzing and automating the marketing process. Because the role of technology in all aspects of business is growing, marketing departments must make it a strategic imperative to use information and IT to build competitive differentiation. TEM includes a proactive strategy for using information and IT in marketing, with the ultimate goal of TEM is to allocate marketing resources to the activities, channels and media with the best potential return and impact on profitable customer relationships. The new metrics of customer profitability, customer lifetime value and share of customer will be needed to supplement the traditional metrics of market share and penetration. The components of TEM include:

Data Cleansing: This involves the use of tools for data support (e.g., cleansing, manipulation and reconciliation) to produce quality data and data consistency.
Data Analysis: Also called business intelligence, this involves the use of software for ad hoc query, reporting and analysis capabilities, supporting strategic decision-making processes with a data warehouse or data mart. A data warehouse is a consolidated database that stores all – or significant portions of – the data collected by an enterprise's multiple business systems. Data from online transaction-processing applications and other sources is selectively collected, extracted, integrated, transformed and cleaned. A data mart contains a subset of the data typically found in a data warehouse and is designed to support the unique business intelligence requirements of a specific business process/application requirement.
Content Management Systems: Also known as marketing content management (MCM) systems or marketing encyclopedia systems (MES), this category of applications allow enterprises to view and access marketing content.
Campaign Management System (CMS): A CMS is a database management (DBM) tool used by marketers to design single-channel or multichannel marketing campaigns and track the effects of those campaigns by customer segment over time. CMS applications are also used by sales organizations to execute sales campaigns, such as achieving a specific market share with a particular product by a certain date.

TEO (technology exchange option)

A guaranteed residual value (RV) for equipment at 12-,18-, 24- and 30-month intervals that allows the user to use the RV toward the purchase of additional capacity, features or functionality, or toward trade-in for newer technology. TEOs guarantee that future acquisitions will be at a lower original discount rate or current average selling price.

TERM (technology-enabled relationship management)

The concept of forming one enterprisewide view of the customer across all customer contact channels (i.e., sales, marketing, and customer service and support). It is a complex area, requiring complex solutions to problems of integration, data flow, data access and marketing strategy. A critical component is the database that serves as the customer information repository.

terminal

A device, combining keyboard and display screen, that communicates with a computer. Terminals are divided into different classes depending on whether they are able to process data on their own.

Dumb terminals – display monitor or simple input/output (I/O) devices that send and accept data from a network server or mainframe. They have no built-in processing capabilities. Workers enter data and commands, which are sent to a computer located elsewhere.
Smart terminals – monitors that process limited amounts of information.
Intelligent terminals – devices that contain main memory and a central processing unit (CPU) to perform special display functions. Examples include an information kiosk and AT&T Display Phones.
3270 terminals – IBM display stations used to communicate with mainframes made by IBM and other manufacturers. They are in widespread use, and are widely copied.

terminal emulation

Imitation of a specific terminal (VT100, for example) by a device, such as a PC, through software. PCs often use terminal emulation methods to connect to specific hosts, such as Digital Virtual Address Extensions (VAXs) or IBM mainframes, with which they would otherwise be incapable of communicating.

terminal job

In systems with time sharing, the processing done on behalf of one terminal user from log-on to log-off. See time sharing.

terminal server

A local-area network (LAN) device that allows asynchronous dumb terminals to communicate with a host computer also attached to the LAN. It is useful in minimizing the amount of cabling where several terminals need to be attached to a mainframe.

terminal user

In systems with time sharing, anyone who is eligible to log on. See time sharing.

TES (technology-enabled selling)

Also known as "sales automation" or "technology-enabled sales," this refers to the application of technology to enable selling through all desired sales channels, including field/mobile sales, inside sales/telesales, selling partners (i.e., e-partners), Web selling (i.e., e-sales) and retail sales. The goal of TES is to integrate technology with optimal processes to provide continuous improvement in sales team effectiveness, as well as balance and optimize each enterprise sales channel. The components of TES include:

Field sales: Also known as mobile sales or sales force automation (SFA), this includes applications for salespeople who most often work outside the boundaries of the enterprise and without the benefit of continuous LAN or high-speed WAN connections.
Inside sales: Also known as telesales or inside selling, this involves applications for salespeople who most often work inside the boundaries of the enterprise and with the benefit of continuous LAN or high-speed WAN connections. To perform their jobs, they spend a majority of their time using the phone, the Web or e-mail.
e-partner: Also known as extended selling enterprise (ESE), this includes applications and technologies provided by the enterprise to assist third-party selling channel partners (e.g., brokers, agents, distributors and value-added resellers) in achieving selling objectives.
e-sales: Also known as technology-enabled buying (TEB), unassisted selling or Web selling, this component of TES involves customer-direct, business or consumer Web-selling applications. These are customer-facing technologies and applications that allow consumers and businesses to "sell themselves" and conduct transactions without the assistance of a salesperson.
Retail sales: Includes applications that enable retailers to sell their products to consumers through traditional brick-and-mortar outlets (such as department stores, specialty shops and outlet malls) or via new options such as home shopping, the Internet and warehouse clubs. Merchandising, relationship marketing and e-retailing are typical examples of retail sales applications.

test data generator

Communications instructions for forming files containing sets of information developed specifically to ensure the adequacy of a computer run or system.

tethered remote access

A terrestrial or nonmobile connection of individual users or small workgroups to a data source or network interface beyond the boundary defined by a building or campus. The connection is generally via a wide-area network (WAN), which, in most cases, is outside the sphere of ownership and management of the enterprise making the remote connection.

TETRA (terrestrial trunked radio)

ETSI standard for digital private mobile radio and public access mobile radio technology for police, ambulance and fire services, security services, utilities, the military, public access services, fleet management, transport services, closed user groups, factory site services, mining and other uses. TETRA is a TDMA-based system with four user channels on one radio carrier and 25kHz spacing between carriers.

text analytics

The application of linguistic and/or statistical techniques to extract concepts and patterns that enable the categorization and classification of text-based documents. These applications can transform "unstructured" text into "structured" data for processing in traditional business intelligence (BI)-type applications and in search engine applications. Text analytics can give users insight into previously inaccessible or prohibitively expensive-to-mine data sets.

text analytics program (TAP)

A TAP provides program management for text analytics initiatives. Organizations often accumulate numerous products and prepare categorization models and other analyses for small groups of users; this leads to duplicated efforts and inconsistent best practices. Future-development needs and platform investments may also be improperly specified. To address current and future business needs, a TAP is the best way for business and IT to jointly drive a comprehensive use of text analytics technology.

text mining

The process of extracting information from collections of textual data and utilizing it for business objectives.

text retrieval

Software used for finding units of textual information such as documents by matching a user's search terms to those in a full-text index derived from the collection of textual units.

TFA (trusted financial advisor)

TFAs provide or facilitate access for their clients to consumer banking functions, budgeting and expense-tracking services and financial advice. They also serve as middlemen between individuals and prequalified best-of-breed financial-services vendors, actively seeking out "better deals" for their subscribers. It is not necessary for a TFA to be an existing financial-services provider because TFA functions can be fulfilled by a wide range of firms or by low-cost existing or developmental personal software products. All other functionality offered by the TFA can be outsourced.

THA (time horizon to action)

A measurement used in system compliance efforts, such as euro currency conversion. The THA is the time period between the present and the point at which at which conversion efforts must begin if the compliance deadline is to be met.

THC (time horizon to compliance)

A measurement used in system compliance efforts. The THC is the time period between the present and the point at which all systems must be compliant with a new format or requirement (e.g., euro currency support).

THD (time horizon to decision)

A measurement used in system compliance efforts, such as euro currency conversion. The THD is the time period between the present and the point at which a decision must be reached as to how compliance efforts will proceed (e.g., which systems must be changed, replaced or retired).

thermal printing

Thermal printing is a process that uses the heat from a thermal print head to darken chemically treated paper. Thermal paper is coated paper that reacts to heat. When the paper passes through the printer assembly, it comes into contact with a thermal print head array and the heater elements turn on to activate the thermal coating, creating the image. The only supply item used is thermal paper.

thermal transfer

An output device that creates the desired image one dot at a time, using point-specific heat to transfer ink from a ribbon to a receiving substrate.

THF (time horizon to failure)

Defines the date on which a system will cease to function properly if corrective action is not taken.

thin client

Term used to describe a type of client/server computing where applications are run, and data is stored, on the server rather than on the client. Because the applications are executed on the server, they do not require client-resident installation, although the graphical user interface and some application logic may be rendered to the client.

A common misperception is that a thin-client application requires the use of a thin-client device (i.e., a stripped-down desktop machine that costs less to buy and maintain than a regular PC). However, while thin-client applications enable such devices to be used, they do not require it. In fact, more than 85 percent of devices used to display thin-client Windows applications are regular PCs, typically configured with both "fat-client" applications and access to thin-client ones.

three-schema architecture

A framework for managing access to data that involves three layers or schemas: the external or programming view, the conceptual or data administration view, and the internal or database administration view. Such ideas were developed by an American National Standards Institute/Scalable Processor Architecture subcommittee in 1971 but received little practical implementation by database management system (DBMS) vendors. The principle is that the conceptual schema consists of business rules derived from a semantic data model, which provides independence between programs and data structures. The emphasis has since shifted to computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools and "repository" standards.

throughput

A computer term for the volume of work or information flowing through a system. Particularly meaningful in information storage and retrieval systems, in which throughput is measured in units such as accesses per hour.

tightly bundled UC approach

These solutions provide a broad set of UC functionality. They offer a high degree of integration across the components, which are typically built into a media server handling a broad range of real-time communications functions. Functionality usually includes integrated audio conferencing, Web conferencing, videoconferencing, rich presence, IM and one or more desktop-client options. These sometimes also include softphone functionality, find-me and one-number services, some mobility services, and basic telephony capabilities built around Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). This functionality is integrated with complete PBX capabilities, which are often on a separate application server. These solutions don't provide e-mail, but will integrate with leading e-mail platforms.

TIM (transaction incident management)

The art and practice of ensuring that business transactions enable users, consumers and suppliers to perform business transaction tasks securely and in privacy according to business specifications and service-level agreements. The objectives of TIM are to detect any kind of abnormal incidents in real time and to resolve them rapidly, depending on their levels of business criticality.

time-division signaling

Signaling over a time-division multiplex system in which all voice channels share a common signaling channel, with time division providing the separation between signaling channels.

time-division switching

The switching method for a time-division multiplexing (TDM) channel requiring the shifting of data from one slot to another in the TDM frame. The slot in question can carry a bit, a byte, or, in principle, any other unit of data.

time out

The set time period before a terminal system performs some action. Typical uses include a poll release (when a terminal is disconnected if the time-out period elapses before keying resumes) or an access time out (when a terminal on a local area network is prevented from transmitting for a specified time period).

TISPAN (Telecommunications and Internet Converged Services and Protocols for Advanced Networking)

TLM (technical license management)

The management and control of software via a platform-independent automated facility that:

Ensures that access and use are in alignment with associated licensing agreements.
Provides the basis for determining enterprise use requirements.
Integrates with systems and network management tools.

TLP (transmission-level point)

Any point in a transmission system at which the power level of the signal is measured.

TLS (transport layer security)

Internet-based transaction security provided by the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol.

TMG (trunk media gateways)

A trunk media gateway (TMG) serves as the bridge between a circuit-based trunk switch and a packet-based IP or ATM backbone network. In certain implementations, it completely bypasses the tandem switch (Class 4). It takes care of the PSTN-to-packet-network transition at the trunk level and is connected to the local or trunk exchange. A TMG has a Class 4 interface and supports VoIP and/or VoATM.

T-MPLS (Transport Multiprotocol Label Switching)

TMS (transportation management system)

System used to plan freight movements, do freight rating and shopping across all modes, select the appropriate route and carrier, and manage freight bills and payments.

TOA (time of arrival)

Measures the arrival times of a signal from a mobile device to three network base stations to calculate the location by triangulation. It requires synchronization of base stations, which is not supported by GSM and has a rather long response time (about 10 seconds). Accuracy in ideal circumstances is 50 meters to 150 meters, but 150 meters to 200 meters on average. See also LBS.

token bus

A local network access mechanism and topology in which all stations actively attached to the bus listen for a broadcast token or supervisory frame. Stations wishing to transmit must receive the token before doing so; however, the next physical station to transmit is not necessarily the next physical station on the bus. Bus access is controlled by preassigned priority algorithms.

token passing

A LAN access technique in which participating stations circulate a special bit pattern that grants access to the communications pathway to any station that holds the sequence. It is often used in networks with a ring topology.

token ring

A LAN access mechanism and topology in which a supervisory frame or token is passed from station to station in sequential order. Stations wishing to gain access to the network must wait for the token to arrive before transmitting data. In a token ring, the next logical station receiving the token is also the next physical station on the ring. The ring may be a logical, rather than physical, ring in the case of switched token ring.

total connections

Number of individual (mobile) network connections at the end of a given period. In this regard, multiple SIM cards bearing one number would count as one connection, while two numbers associated with one SIM card would count as two connections. Prepaid SIM cards would count as one connection, provided that they are in operation at the end of the given year. Total connections include connections that are inactive but still in operation.

total IPTV subscribers

The previously described business models define the total IPTV subscriber market, with each representing an STB installed in a home and capable of receiving some form of IPTV. The STB may be free, rented or bought by the customer. Additional services such as premium channels, VOD and person-to-person video-calling can only be sold only after a subscriber has an STB.

In certain specific cases consumers receive IPTV for "free" or by default as part of a "triple play" bundle of wireline voice, IPTV/video and broadband Internet. In other words, IPTV is supplied to them whether they want it or not – they do not really make a choice to buy it.

These subscribers receive from their IPTV provider a "free" STB and access to a small selection of channels, in return for signing a longer-term contract for broadband or a voice/broadband package. This category of IPTV subscriber does not have an equivalent in the existing pay-TV environment. It reflects the need for new IPTV operators to find ways to popularize the service.

Hong Kong provides a good example. The carrier PCCW offers all its long-term broadband customers a "free" STB and access to a small number of channels. Though many of these customers may choose to buy extra channels, a sizable proportion stick with only the free channels – if, indeed, they use the IPTV service at all.

In France, the carrier Free offers all its subscribers a home gateway device with STB capability built-in. All Free's customers who live close enough to its asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)-enabled exchanges receive a selection of basic IPTV channels automatically for no extra payment.

total revenue

AWP multiplied by the sum of the manufacturer's sales to end users.

total service revenue

Sum of value-added service revenue, connection revenue, subscription revenue and call-charge revenue accrued by a mobile communications service provider.

touchpoint

A contact point between an enterprise and its customers. Touchpoints may occur in any channel (e.g., via phone, the Web or direct contact with a salesperson).

touch-sensitive

Refers to the technology that enables a system to identify a point of contact on the screen by coordinates and transmit that information to a program.

TP (transaction processing)

A mode of processing characterized by short transactions recording business events that normally requires high availability and consistent, short response times. A category of application that requires a request for service to be answered within a predictable period that approaches real time, and a transaction that transforms this model from one business state to another. Tasks such as making reservations, scheduling and inventory control are especially complex; all the information must be current.

TPC (Transaction Processing Performance Council)

An organization that has developed several standardized transaction processing (TP) benchmarks, among which are TPC-A, TPC-B, and TPC-C. TPC prohibits testing systems that are specially optimized for benchmarking or lack real-world applicability.

TPC-A (Transaction Processing Performance Council Benchmark A)

A revised and superior version of the debit/credit online transaction processing (OLTP) benchmark. Ratified in late 1989, it came into widespread use in 1990. The major improvements in TPC-A were the requirements for full disclosure and the inclusion of the front-end network and terminals. TPC-A is intended to replace debit/credit as the only industrywide measure for OLTP performance and price/performance. It is a good test since it measures end-to-end performance, but it still is only one test reflecting a single type of transaction.

TPM (transaction processing monitor)

The earliest form of platform middleware was the mainframe TPM. Products such as IBM's CICS and IMS and Unisys' TIP have been used on mainframes since the late 1960s. Unix-based distributed TPMs, such as BEA's Tuxedo (now owned by Oracle), NCR's Top End and IBM's Encina, originated in the 1980s. Through the years, these products added support for distributed servers, intelligent desktop clients (rather than dumb terminals) and Web browser clients, and component support using CORBA or Java EE architecture.

TPS (Toyota Production System)

Acronym for Toyota Production System, the approach that Toyota takes to managing its processes; and often thought of as synonymous with lean.

trace packet

In packet switching, a special kind of packet that functions as a normal packet but causes a report of each stage of its progress to be sent to the network control center.

traditional processing

The availability of traditional and basic data processing facilities at the midrange system. Examples include sequential and keyed files, compilers such as COBOL, FORTRAN, PL/I, BASIC and C, interactive access, batch processing, multiprocessing and multitasking.

traffic

Messages sent and received over a communications channel.
Quantitative measurement of the total messages and their length, expressed in hundred call seconds (CCS) or other units.

traffic flow

The measure of the density of traffic on a telephone network expressed in Erlangs.

traffic matrix

Matrix of which the X, Y element contains the amount of traffic originated at node X and destined for node Y. The unit of measurement may be telephone calls or data packets per second, depending on the kind of network.

TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)

The telecommunications regulator in the Republic of India. See also Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

train time

The initialization time for full-duplex operation on a modem.

transaction

A logical update that takes a database from one consistent state to another.

transaction logging

A concept in which a detailed record is kept of all operations in a transaction; in case of a failure, the transaction could be backed out and the former state reconstructed.

transaction monitor

A subsystem that ensures that all transactions against a database leave it in a consistent state or, in case of a transaction failure, returns the database to its pre-transaction state.

transceiver

A device that can transmit and receive traffic. It is used to connect nodes to Ethernet (LAN).

transcoding server

See gateway (transcoding) server.

transducer

A device for converting signals from one form to another, such as a microphone or a receiver.

transfer rate

The speed at which information can be sent across a bus or communications link.

transit VLAN starvation

The condition a switch suffers in a non-ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) network when it becomes congested and cells or cell streams representing Layer 3 virtual local-area network (VLAN) packets are missed or dropped, leading to the VLAN becoming unstable. Also known as beatdown.

translator

A device that converts information from one system of representation into equivalent information in another system of representation.

transmission

Sending information in the form of electrical signals over electric wires, waveguides, or radio.

Transmission Convergence Sublayer

In asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), a protocol for preparing cells for transmission.

transmission speed

The rate at which information is passed through communications lines, generally measured in bits per second (bps).

transmit

To send information from one location to another.

transparency

If a signal passes through a network or facility unchanged, that network or facility is said to be transparent to it.

transponder

Transmitter-receiver device on a satellite that transmits signals automatically when it receives pre-determined signals. The term "satellite transponder" refers collectively to a transmitter-receiver subsystem on board the satellite that processes, amplifies and retransmits a range of frequencies (the transponder bandwidth) to another location/terminal/antenna on the earth. There are many transponders on a typical satellite, each capable of supporting one or more communication channels. In a few limited instances, satellite transponders can transmit directly to other satellites; this is known as satellite mesh topologies. These systems tend to be more expensive to build, and services are more expensive for end users.

transportation planning and scheduling

Specifies how, when and where to transport goods. Transportation planning and scheduling applications may provide weight/size restrictions, merge-in-transit, continuous move, mode or carrier selection, and truckload planning functionality.

treasury and trading

A bank treasury manages the bank's liquidity, along with interest rate and foreign exchange rate risks arising from market conditions. The capital market trading activity, also called "treasury," encompasses different functions. Trading uses many financial instruments across various asset classes; the instruments with which it deals are more complex; a premium is placed on timely information and execution capabilities, because of the speed of capital markets; and transaction volumes tend to be higher than in the bank treasury. Bank treasury operations increasingly are also entering the capital markets to better align a bank's cash flows and exposures. This latter activity is blurring the distinction between the two treasuries.

tree

A type of bus network topology in which the medium branches at certain points along its length connect stations or clusters of stations. Also called a branching bus.

Trellis Coding

A method of modulation that combines both amplitude and phase.

tri-band

Mobile device that supports voice and data communications conforming to one bearer technology, such as GSM, but on three different sets of frequencies. For example, many European and Asia/Pacific countries/markets have licensed deployment of GSM networks on a 900MHz and 1,800MHz spectrum, and in North America GSM has been deployed on 1,900MHz. A tri-band phone enables the user to roam automatically among networks on any of these frequencies in any of these countries, providing its home operator has roaming agreements with local mobile network operators. See also dual-band and dual-mode.

TRIZ

An abbreviation of the Russian expression for "theory of innovative problem solving" consisting of nine distinct action steps that relate to 40 basic principles.

Trojan horse

A form of malicious code that may be deliberately planted to perform a destructive act on a computer. It is effective because it is not what it appears to be. That is, the execution of a Trojan horse may have an undesirable and unexpected effect on the user's work environment, but it is the user who initiates the execution of the code (e.g., by clicking on a button in a graphical user interface that appears harmless). Unlike a computer virus, a Trojan horse is unable to replicate and is not parasitic.

trouble ticket

A record of a customer complaint or problem, usually created in a call or contact center. The ticket remains active until the issue has been resolved.

TRX

Radio transceiver that is part of a BTS. Each TRX supports a number of channels that are dependent on the radio access technology.

TTC&M (tracking, telemetry, control and monitoring)

Specialized ground stations used to track and control satellites and to monitor their performance.

tuning

The process of adjusting computer system control variables to make a system divide its resources most efficiently for a workload.

tunneling

Provides services on a point-to-point basis without the necessity to change the data to accommodate differing network types or protocols.

turnaround time

The time required to reverse the direction of transmission, e.g., to change from receive mode to transmit mode in order to acknowledge on a half-duplex line when individual blocks are acknowledged, as is required in certain protocols. The turnaround time has a major effect on throughput, particularly if the propagation delay is lengthy, such as on a satellite channel.

turnkey system

A complete communications system, including hardware and software, assembled and installed by a vendor and sold as a total package.

Type A, B and C enterprises

A Gartner framework that classifies enterprises or their subdivisions according to a technology adoption profile. Classification is based not only on an enterprise's current technology adoption strategy, but also on whether the strategy is supported by top management and is adequately funded.

Type A enterprises are typically technically aggressive and well-funded, and use information technology (IT) to gain a competitive advantage.
Type B enterprises, which are in the majority, are mainstream IT users with adequate funding that use IT for productivity.
Type C enterprises are technologically conservative and risk-averse, and seek to control IT costs.

Recognizing an enterprise's type offers company strategists a meaningful way to compare an enterprise's use of technology against that of competitors, and to make decisions about when, how and where to adopt new technologies.

UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration)

A specification for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce integration introduced by Microsoft, IBM and Ariba in August 2000. UDDI provides a standard format with which enterprises can describe themselves and their method of conducting e-business transactions within an Internet-based business registry. UDDI is designed to jump-start B2B integration and e-commerce by enabling businesses to publish and locate available Web services, their characteristics and interfaces. More than 200 companies have agreed to support the specification, which is described on the UDDI Web site at www.uddi.org. See Web services.

UI (user interface)

The connection between the user and a computer's hardware or software that permits the user to work productively with a system or a program. User interface design requires significant skill and attention and has become a recognized specialty.

ULP (ultra low power Bluetooth)

Now known as Bluetooth LE (Low Energy). Please refer to Bluetooth LE definition above.

ultra-high-speed broadband Internet

Gartner defines ultra-high-speed broadband Internet as residential services that support download speeds in excess of 50 Mbps. They are based mostly on fiber to the home (FTTH), fiber to the building (FTTB) and 100Base-T Ethernet access technologies.

ultraportable

A computer system that meets all the criteria for a notebook PC but is lighter and may not have an internal floppy disk drive. It typically weighs 4 pounds or less with the battery and weight-saver modules. The keyboard and screen are often compromised to meet weight targets and the unit must be augmented with a standard keyboard and mouse for long-term use.

ultraportable PC

Ultraportable PCs meet all the criteria for mobile PCs but typically weigh less than 4 pounds and have a screen size 11 inches or more but less than 13 inches.

UM (unified messaging)

Messaging system that enables subscribers to collect e-mail, fax and voice mail messages from one message box by using fixed or mobile devices.

UMA (unlicensed mobile access)

See GAN.

UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband)

Brand name for the now-abandoned cdma2000 1xEV-DO Rev. C standard. UMB was intended to support peak download speeds of up to 280 Mbps in a mobile environment, and combines CDMA, OFDM, OFDMA and TDM air interface techniques, plus MIMO and SDMA advanced antenna techniques. The standard was published in September 2007 but Qualcomm ceased development work on UMB in November 2008 in order to focus on LTE.

UML (Unified Modeling Language)

A language for specifying, visualizing, constructing and documenting the artifacts of software systems.

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)

Part of the ITU's IMT-2000 family of 3G mobile communications systems, UMTS will play a key role in creating a mass market for high-quality wireless multimedia communications. It comprises two separate standards: WCDMA for the paired-frequency bands using FDD; and TD-CDMA, which is used in the unpaired TDD bands. See also 3G and WCDMA.

unified communications (UC)

Gartner defines unified communications (UC) as the contextual integration of communications services within business activities, enabling situational awareness across people and information within those activities, delivering seamless transition across applications and platforms...

Read the full unified communications definition

unified communications products

Gartner defines UC products (equipment, software and services) as those that facilitate the use of multiple enterprise communication methods in an integrated way. This can include control, management and integration of these methods. UC products may be integrated with business communication channels (media), networks and systems, as well as IT business applications. These products may be made up of a suite from one vendor or may be a portfolio of integrated applications and platforms from multiple vendors.

universal queue

A process (and technology) whereby all contact channels and media – e.g., phone, interactive voice response, fax, Web and e-mail – are integrated into the same queue to standardize processing and handling.

Unix

Originally developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Unix is a multitasking, multiuser OS, which is portable to multiple server platforms. It also was developed as an open alternative to proprietary minicomputer OSs. Today, Unix can be found on platforms based on Intel's Itanium product family and Xeon, AMD's Opteron, IBM's Power, HP's PA-RISC, Sun and Fujitsu's UltraSPARC and SPARC-64, and other reduced instruction set computer (RISC) platforms.

We segment software running on Unix OSs into these categories:

Sun Solaris

IBM AIX

HP-UX

Mac OS

Other Unix, including Tru64, IRIX and other unspecified Unix

uplink

Communication link from the earth station or ground-based satellite terminal/antenna to the orbiting satellite. See also downlink.

UPOS (unified point of service)

An international initiative to produce an architectural specification that is both operating-system-independent and language-neutral for retail point of sale (POS) systems, standardizing the POS application programming interfaces (APIs). While UPOS specifies the APIs for peripheral devices, such as scanners, printers and cash drawers, JavaPOS and OPOS outline the implementations, mapping the architecture to a retailer's specific hardware and software computing environment.

UPS (uninterruptible power supply)

A device that provides temporary power upon failure of the main power source.

URL (uniform resource locator)

The character string that identifies an Internet document's exact name and location.

USB (Universal Serial Bus)

A commercial desktop standard input/output (I/O) bus that provides a single peripheral connection and vastly increases bus speed. It simplifies peripheral connections via a "daisy chaining" scheme whereby the desktop system has only one I/O port to which all peripherals are connected in a series. Up to 120 peripherals can be connected to a single system.

user provisioning

User provisioning encompasses user account management (creating, modifying and deleting user accounts and privileges) for access to heterogeneous IT resources. Enterprises typically use user provisioning to manage internal user access. User provisioning products act as the single point of administration for legacy and client/server application environments, as well as for corporate utilities, such as e-mail. Most user provisioning products offer password management functionality, delegated administration, a role-based access control model, workflow (a distinguishing feature from earlier consolidated security administration products) and automated fulfillment of the access request. Some products offer synchronization of user profile information among authoritative sources of user identity information.

USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module)

Enhancement of the GSM SIM card that is designed to be used in UMTS networks.

USSD (unstructured supplementary service data)

GSM bearer service similar to SMS. However, unlike SMS messages, USSD messages are not stored and forwarded. USSD acts more like a transactional environment in which a message generates a near-real-time reply. USSD is available on all GSM phones.

UTRA (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access)

UMTS system supporting TDD and FDD access.

UTRAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network)

Defines the radio portion of the network, including B nodes and RNCs.

UWB (ultrawideband)

Also known as pulse radio, UWB is an emerging wireless technology that uses pulsed radio techniques to transmit data. The transmitter sends a low-power broadband signal, with each channel ranging from 10 million to 40 million pulses per second. The correlator, which knows the timing code of the transmitter, listens at these intervals and decodes the signal. UWB uses OFDM and very wide frequency bands, occupying several gigahertz of spectrum. The IEEE 802.15.3 Task Group 3a considering UWB standards was disbanded in January 2006 after a long stalemate between two warring factions: MB-OFDM UWB, supported by the WiMedia Alliance, and direct-sequence UWB, supported by the UWB Forum. However, the Alliance announced in March 2009 that it would be disbanded after it had transferred its specifications to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, the USB Promoter Group and the USB Implementers' Forum. See also MB-OFDM.

value

Value can be defined as something of perceived importance (needs and wants) for which you are willing to pay.

value adding

Those activities within a company or supply chain that directly contribute to satisfying end consumers, or those activities consumers would be happy to pay for.

value stream

The specific activities within a supply chain required to design, order and provide a specific product or service.

value stream map

Visual representation of a value stream.

VAN (value-added network)

A private network through which value-added carriers provide special data transmission services.

VAR (value-added reseller)

An organization that buys equipment from a vendor at a discount, adds value (such as application software packaged and sold with underlying system software) and remarkets it.

variable-measure trade item

An item always produced in the same predefined version (e.g., type, design and packaging) that may be sold at any point in the supply chain. However, it may vary in weight and size by its nature, or it may be traded without a predefined weight/size/length.

VAS (value-added service)

Offered by a network or its resellers; generates additional revenue by offering increased benefits to subscribers. Total VAS revenue is calculated from the total of SMS, data-over-cellular and information-service revenue. All other VAS revenue is considered transparent and is included with call charges or subscription revenue.

VB (Visual Basic)

A high-level programming language from Microsoft.

VBA (Visual Basic for Applications)

A version of Microsoft's Visual Basic used to create basic and customized programs.

VBR (variable bit rate)

An asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) quality of service category, defined by the ATM Forum. Both real-time variable bit rate (rtVBR) and non real-time variable bit rate (nrtVBR) are defined. Apart from the traffic parameters for peak cell rate (PCR) and sustainable cell rate (which defines the average bit rate required by the application), additional quality-of-service parameters such as maximum cell transfer delay, cell delay variation and maximum burst size must be agreed upon. The typical application for which it is used is compressed voice and videoconferencing for rtVBR, and response-time-sensitive data such as Systems Network Architecture (SNA) for nrtVBR.

VBScript

A Microsoft proprietary language derived from Visual Basic (VB). Like JavaScript, VBScript is intended for use as a browser-based language, a server-side (Active Server Pages – ASP) language, and an administrative (Windows Scripting Host – WSH) language. Unlike JavaScript, support for it in browsers is limited to Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

VBX (Visual Basic Extension)

A Visual Basic add-on that Microsoft is converting to an Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Custom Controls (OCX) infrastructure.

VC (virtual channel)

In asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), a communications track between two nodes giving the bandwidth needed for a virtual connection across the network.

VC (virtual circuit)

In packet switching, network facilities that appear to users to be an end-to-end circuit, but are in fact a dynamically variable network connection in which sequential user data packets may be routed differently during the course of a "virtual connection." Transmission facilities may be shared by many virtual circuits simultaneously.

VDSL (very-high-bit-rate DSL)

VDSL offers speeds from 13 Mbps to more than 100 Mbps over distances of between 1,000 and 4,500 feet – the shorter the distance, the higher the speed. VDSL comes in both asymmetrical and symmetrical flavors and in different configurations. Most advanced VDSL deployments use VDSL2, which promises up to 100 Mbps bandwidth. We account for all VDSL technologies together in our generic VDSL (VDSLx) category.

VDSL (very high-speed digital subscriber line)

Extremely high-speed digital subscriber line (DSL) connections over short distances.

vector quantization

A source-encoding compression technique based on the division of the data stream into blocks called vectors, which are compared to vectors in a code book, the references of which are transmitted.

vendor

A vendor is the last entity in the chain that brands a product and sells it directly to end users or through a channel. A vendor may design and manufacture its own products, assemble complete systems from components produced by others, or procure products from an original equipment or contract manufacturer. A vendor may also provide services, maintenance or nonmaintenance for its own products or for other vendors' products and may also provide services for IT technologies.

vendor-neutral

A state in which no one vendor can control the definition, revision or distribution of a specification. Vendor-neutral specifications encourage the development of competing yet compatible implementations, freeing the purchaser to choose from a multitude of vendors without suffering a loss of functionality. Vendor-neutral specifications must be comprehensive, consistent, and either publicly available or licensed at a nominal fee. Additionally, they must be defined by a multilateral association that is representative of a broad cross-section of the computer industry, open to new members, publishes the rules of membership and operates according to democratic principles. Preferably, a vendor-neutral specification is supplemented with at least one reference implementation. This reference would be available in a format that allows re-creation – that format would be source code for software implementations – and a set of conformance tests that sufficiently ensure the implementation's integrity under all reasonable conditions of projected use.

Vendor Ratings

Gartner Vendor Ratings assess all the different aspects of a technology provider, such as its strategy, organization, products, technology, marketing, financials and support. These ratings are periodically revised to reflect changes in assessment when a significant internal or external event directly affects the provider.

vendor revenue

Revenue earned by technology providers for the sale of printer, copier and MFP hardware (that is, excluding supplies). It would be calculated by end-user spending minus channel margins.

vendor risk management

Vendor risk management is the process of ensuring that the use of third-party service providers and IT suppliers does not create an unacceptable potential for business disruption or a negative impact on business performance.

vendor/technology provider

The last entity that brands a product and sells it directly to the end users or through a channel. A vendor, also called technology provider, may design and manufacture its own products, assemble complete systems from components produced by others, or procure products from an OEM or contract manufacturer. A technology provider may also provide services for its own products or for other technology providers' products, and may also provide services for other technologies. Subsidiaries with different brands will be considered as a technology provider only if they maintain a separate marketing, sales and support structure independent of the parent company.

vendor total software revenue

This includes the revenue of a manufacturer or vendor that is generated by sales of software and software maintenance and support services. It excludes revenue from professional services and the sale of products manufactured by other vendors.

VF (vector facility)

An attachment to a processor that enables the processor to run programs that issue vector instructions, which are particularly useful in scientific calculations, but are not particularly useful for database operations.

VHDL (VLSI Hardware Description Language)

An industry standard format for describing integrated-circuit logic and behavior.

videoconferencing

Communication by individuals or groups using systems that support image, voice and data transfer over digital networks or telephone circuits. Videoconferencing systems can take the form of large, dedicated units for group meetings or can be integrated with desktop personal computers.

video server

A server that delivers streams of digital video and audio.

video signal

A signal comprising frequencies normally required to transmit pictorial information (1 to 6 MHz).

VIM (Vendor Independent Messaging)

An application programming interface (API) developed to support the exchange of electronic mail among programs from different vendors

VIM (virtually interoperable manufacturing)

A way for manufacturers to gain competitive advantage by integrating business processes across core disciplines and the supply chain, while customizing and integrating the underlying business application products.

virtualization

IT virtualization is the abstraction of IT resources in a way that masks the physical nature and boundaries of those resources from resource users. An IT resource can be a server, a client, storage, networks, applications or operating systems. Essentially, any IT building block can potentially be abstracted from resource users...

Read the full virtualization definition

virtualization software

The virtualization software market includes all software products that are sold as value-added options to run on an x86 server or a desktop to create or manage a specific virtualized environment. Revenue is for new license sales and for maintenance and support services that include new version license sales to update an existing license to a new version, telephone support and on-site remedial support. Revenue does not include professional services. For products to be included in this coverage, they must represent a revenue stream for the company that is separately tracked and not be only part of a bundled product or service.

The virtualization software market is divided into three segments: server virtualization infrastructure, server virtualization management and HVDs. Other forms of virtualization software, such as application virtualization, shared OS virtualization, mainframe virtualization and thin provisioning, are not included in specific virtualization revenue reporting at this time.

virtual network operator

An entity that does not own a telecom network infrastructure but provides telecom services by purchasing capacity from telecom carriers.

virtual storage

A computer that appears to have a much larger memory than its real memory. This is accomplished by software that moves pages rapidly in and out of a high-speed, random-access storage device, usually a disk.

virtual tape library (VTL)

A virtual tape library is a disk appliance that has special software that makes the device appear as a physical tape drive or tape library to the backup application; the device is accessed through standard tape interfaces. The backup software believes it is writing the backup data to a real tape cartridge when it is, in fact, writing to a specially configured file on the disk appliance. Similarly, the backup software will use the appliance for recovery, accessing the device as if the recovery is coming from tape, when it is actually being transferred from disk spindles on the appliance.

At its essence, a VTL is both a disk-based appliance and a tape-like interface.

virus

Software used to infect a computer. After the virus code is written, it is buried within an existing program. Once that program is executed, the virus code is activated and attaches copies of itself to other programs in the system. Infected programs copy the virus to other programs.

visualization

To illustrate information objects and their relationships on a display. Strategic visualization graphically illustrates the strength of relationships by the proximity of objects on the display. Advanced technology can make a significant difference in users' ability to interface to large knowledge repositories. These advances use the distance between objects on the display to reflect the similarity of meaning, similarity of content or other relationships (e.g., association with a group).

visualization-centric data discovery tool

Centrifuge complies with Gartner's definition of a visualization-centric data discovery tool, in that it has an intuitive interface enabling users to explore data with minimal training, a proprietary data structure and a RAM-based performance layer.

VLAN (virtual LAN)

A virtual LAN (local-area network) is a set of systems that, regardless of higher-layer addressing or location, is designated as a logical LAN and treated as a set of contiguous systems on a single LAN segment. Virtual LANs can be proprietary or standardized using the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1Q. Typical grouping parameters for VLANs include the port number of the hub, switch or router, the higher-layer protocol such as Internet Protocol (IP) or Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX), the Media Access Control (MAC) address, and the traditional subnet. The goal of VLANs is to provide simpler administration, simple moves/adds/changes to network devices, and partitioning at the MAC layer.

VLR (Visitor Location Register)

Server in a cellular network that supports roaming functions for users outside the coverage area of their own HLR. The VLR uses Signaling System 7 to obtain information about the user from the HLR, and then establishes a temporary record on the VLR while the user is within the VLR coverage area, ensuring mobility management and call-handling functions.

VLSI (very large-scale integration)

A technology that makes it possible to place the equivalent of between 100,000 and 1 million transistors on a chip.

VM (virtual machine)

A software implementation of a hardware-like architecture, which executes predefined instructions in a fashion similar to a physical central processing unit (CPU). A VM can be used to create a cross-platform computing environment that loads and runs on computers independently of their underlying CPUs and operating systems. A notable example is the Java Virtual Machine, the environment created on a host computer to run Java applets. Although VMs have existed longer than Java, Java has made VMs highly visible (see Java).

VoATM (voice over ATM)

VOC (voice of customer)

Voice of customer; the activities that ensure that customer wants and needs are articulated.

VOD (video on demand)

The ability to offer VOD is an important strength of IPTV, though one that will take some time to mature. VOD is generally seen as additional to the main broadcast channels; it generates very little revenue at present, as users need time to adjust to becoming active rather than passive viewers. VOD is usually offered in combination with multichannel pay-TV services. In a few cases, service providers cannot or do not want to offer multichannel TV, leaving VOD as the only IPTV service available; we classify users in this situation as VOD-only IPTV subscribers.

VOD is a generic term covering several areas. It includes all video content requested on-demand by users. This could be premium movies or libraries of TV shows, sporting events or concerts. It could also include user-created video content. In addition, some IPTV operators are starting to offer the ability to see all the TV programs aired on their multichannel pay-TV channels in the previous 24 or 48 hours on demand. This video content is held in a constantly updated library hosted by their network.

VOD services are sold either on a pay-per-view basis or as monthly subscriptions. Bundling in flat-rate packages with multichannel subscriptions is also common. Our definition of VOD excludes free VOD downloads, which may be used to increase customers' awareness of these services or to generate advertising revenue.

VoDSL (voice over DSL)

voice application servers

Voice application servers consist primarily of software, operating on Sun or Linux servers located in a service provider network, and functioning in conjunction with other standard network elements such as routers, gateways, integrated access devices (IADs) and telephones. This category is made up of IP-SCPs and IP Centrex platforms.

voice band

A voice-grade channel.

voice browser

System that enables telephone access to voice portal sites. It prepares and presents information to callers. It also interprets commands and enables navigation. Architectures and implementations vary, but many will use VoiceXML or a similar protocol to access the portal application. This is sometimes called a VoiceXML gateway.

voice browser usability group

Group within the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) responsible for developing voice portal usability and best-practice guidelines.

voice digitization

Conversion of an analog voice signal into digital form for storage or transmission.

voice-enabled residential/small-office gateway/router with embedded DSL modem

This device, also known as an xDSL IAD, is part of a voice-over-DSL solution. It enables the bundling of multiple derived voice lines, high-speed data and continuous Internet access over a single DSL connection. It typically combines a DSL modem with a router, firewall and varying plain old telephone service (POTS) port configurations. It can be a wired device or include a wireless access point.

voice encryption

A function that enables a device to transport digitized voice signals.

voice endpoint

The description that defines a voice device, like a telephone, as a terminating device. This could be a physical extension or a logical IP address. This particularly applies to IP telephones where 100% IP system functions are not fully used for voice telephones and terminals.

voice-grade channel

A channel with bandwidth equivalent to a telephone line obtained through the public telephone network. The maximum potential bandwidth of a voice-grade channel is approximately 20 kilohertz (KHz); however, most voice grade channels in a transmission facility are usually spaced 4,000 hertz (Hz) apart, and not all of that bandwidth is generally available to a user due to the presence of noise-limiting loading coils. The telephone network itself is usually defined in terms of channels, with frequencies from 300 to 3,400 Hz.

voice mail

Network system that enables unanswered phone calls to be diverted to a personal answering service. Revenue may be generated by making a connection charge to the service, a subscription charge for the service, or by charging the subscriber for messages deposited or retrieved.

voice-messaging system

Also called voice mail and, incorrectly, voice-processing systems. Voice-messaging systems are hardware and software products that operate with most private branch exchange (PBX), hybrid, or key telephone systems, enabling users to send, receive, and redirect voice messages through office telephone systems and computers. Voice-messaging hardware includes a central processor, analog-to-digital converters, disk storage and input/output ports.

voice-operated device

A piece of equipment that can be controlled by spoken commands.

voice over IP

See VoIP.

voice over wireless local-area network

See VoWLAN.

voice portal

System that uses advanced speech recognition technology and provides access to information on the Internet. Key components of most voice portals are speech recognition, text to speech, information aggregation, categorization software, telephony and Internet interfaces, and administrative interfaces. Optional components include software to support context-sensitive, personalized assistance (for example, an intelligent assistant) and support for VoiceXML.

voice-processing system

A hardware and/or software product that encompass voice messaging, voice recognition, voice response and any other applications that deal with the processing of voice communications.

voice recognition

A hardware and software system that translates human speech into binary text. Also called speech recognition.

voice switching, control and applications

In its widest sense, switching refers to the functions performed in a network that alter the path taken by information as it traverses that network, whether in real time or near real time. In this sense, switching includes packet-routing technologies (for example, Internet Protocol [IP], asynchronous transfer mode [ATM] and frame relay). The markets tracked in the switching category include well-known ones, such as softswitches, call session control function (CSCF), application servers and media gateways.

Signaling defines the control plane of a network and can include in-band or out-of-band connections. It is a specialized, rapidly changing and important topic. Signaling deals with the protocols and technology required to enable network equipment to communicate for the purposes of altering connectivity or getting database information. As such, it includes topic areas such as Signaling System 7 (SS7) common channel signaling, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), H.323, Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), next-generation intelligent networks (NG INs) and advanced intelligent networks (AINs). Data topics include Q.2931 ATM (broadband), Multiprotocol Label Switching Transport Profile (MPLS-TP), Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and routing protocols such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and Routing Information Protocol (RIP).

Transitioning to IP from time division multiplexing (TDM) networks has enabled service providers to provide voice over IP (VoIP) to subscribers in both fixed and mobile networks. VoIP is a term for transmission technologies that allow delivery of voice communications over IP networks, such as the Internet or other packet-switched networks. Other terms frequently encountered and synonymous with VoIP are IP telephony, Internet telephony and voice over broadband (VoBB). Most VoIP systems interface with traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) equipment to convert TDM to IP for transitioning to an all-IP network. VoIP adoption in the consumer and enterprise space has not been as quick as anticipated because of continued reliability issues, consumer lack of understanding, latency, jitter, packet loss and increased security risks. However, ongoing technology developments will improve the quality of service (QoS), as well as ensure a more secure communications network.

Gartner measures VoIP switching equipment by revenue and includes the following market segments: softswitches, media gateways, voice application servers, signaling gateways and session border controllers (SBCs).

VoiceXML

An XML-based language supported by more than 200 companies. It was founded by AT&T, IBM, Lucent and Motorola. The purpose of VoiceXML is to develop interactive voice-controlled applications.

VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol)

The term describes the transmission of IP packetized voice traffic over a communications infrastructure (for example, LAN and WAN). Confusingly, VoIP is not the same as Internet telephony or IP telephony, although the terms are commonly and erroneously interchanged. See also IP telephony and Internet telephony.

VoWLAN (voice over wireless LAN)

Use of VoIP technology and wireless network components to support voice over Wi-Fi.

VP (virtual path)

In asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), the bandwidth between two points on a network used by one or more virtual channels (VCs).

VPA (volume purchase agreement)

An agreement between a computer vendor and a customer under which the vendor grants discounted prices in return for the customer's commitment to purchase a minimum quantity of products.

VPDM (virtual product development management)

A vision that describes a new application realm combining characteristics of computer-aided design (CAD), product data management (PDM) and Web technologies focused primarily on the front end of the design process, where the greatest competitive gains for design innovation occur. While PDM and enterprise resource planning (ERP) technologies have proven themselves in the detail and production stages of product design, they are not yet effective in the conceptual product design stage, which has a much different process model and functional demands, particularly when interenterprise collaboration on large design projects is required.

VPDN (virtual private data network)

A data networking service offered by the provider in a virtually private mode, using virtual private network (VPN) technologies.

VPL (virtual private LAN)

VPLS (virtual private LAN service)

VPN (virtual private network)

System that delivers enterprise-focused communication services on a shared public network infrastructure and provides customized operating characteristics uniformly and universally across an enterprise. The term is used generically to refer to voice VPNs. To avoid confusion, IP-based data services are referred to as data VPNs. Service providers define a VPN as a WAN of permanent virtual circuits, generally using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) or frame relay to transport IP. Technology providers define a VPN as the use of encryption software or hardware to bring privacy to communications over a public or untrusted data network.

VR (virtual reality)

A computerized process, usually including special equipment, that projects the user into a simulated three-dimensional space. It gives the user the sensation of being in the simulated environment and the ability to respond to the simulation.

VRAM (video random-access memory)

A type of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) used in high-speed processing of visual data.

VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language)

A means of rendering 3-D worlds from mathematical equations or descriptions. A VRML browser can create shapes and text within a navigable 3-D context. The v.2.0 specifications further enhance the immersive experience, allowing for such real-world events as interaction between "visitors" and collision detection when a user "bumps into" an object or other users.

VRS (voice response system)

Specialized technologies designed for providing callers with verbal and faxed answers to inquiries without assistance from a person. They provide account information, fulfill requests for mailable items, pre-screen callers for script customization, interact with host systems (read and write) and produce reports.

VRU (voice response unit)

An automated telephone answering system consisting of hardware and software that allows the caller to navigate through a series of prerecorded messages and use a menu of options through the buttons on a touch-tone telephone or through voice recognition.

VS (Visual Studio)

A Microsoft package of several applications development (AD) tools with complementary, albeit overlapping, focuses, including Visual Basic, Visual C++ and Visual J++.

VSAT (very small aperture terminal)

Small-sized earth station used in the transmit/receive of data, voice and video signals over a satellite communication network, excluding broadcast television. A VSAT consists of two parts: a transceiver placed outdoors in direct line of sight to the satellite, and a device that is placed indoors to interface the transceiver with the end user's communications device, such as a PC. The transceiver receives or sends a signal to a satellite transponder in the sky. The satellite sends and receives signals from a ground station computer that acts as a hub for the system. Each end user is interconnected with the hub station via the satellite, forming a star topology. The hub controls the entire operation of the network. For one end user to communicate with another, each transmission must first go to the hub station, which then retransmits it via the satellite to the other end user's VSAT.

VSAT data throughput speeds have increased significantly throughout the years and now can provide multimegabit service in downstream and upstream. Antenna/dish sizes usually range from 1.2 meters to approximately 3 meters in diameter. Generally, these systems operate in Ku-band and C-band frequencies, but with the launch of Ka-band satellites by a number of operators in North America and Asia/Pacific, and with newer Ka-band satellites planned for Europe, high-bandwidth, bidirectional VSAT services for enterprise, government and other users will increasingly migrate to these satellites.

VSF (voice store-and-forward)

A processor-controlled system that enables voice messages to be created, edited, sent, stored and forwarded. Users access and operate the system by means of any 12-button dial pad in response to voice prompts from the system.

VSF (Virtual Server Facility)

A feature of second-generation Advanced CMOS-ECL (ACE) technology that effectively allows a user to physically partition a system into multiple systems, all within the cabinetry of the bigger system.

VSM (value stream mapping)

The process of charting out or visually displaying a value stream so that improvement activity can be effectively planned.

VTS (virtual tape subsystem)

Tape library hardware and software extensions that utilize direct-access storage device (DASD) buffers to multiply the tape device count, throughput and storage density of tape library systems.

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)

Nonprofit group based in the U.S. that develops and recommends standards for the Web.

WAC (Web authorization and control)

An access-control technology that works at the Web server, enabling an administrator to define generic user roles and authorize the user access to Web-based data and resources across multiple Web servers, generally at the sub-uniform-resource-locator (URL) level. Solutions are likely to include a central server where a user presents authentication credentials and then receives an encrypted "cookie" or embedded information in the URL. The URL or the cookie is then acknowledged by each of the Web servers in the systems running the WAC agent.

WAE (WAP application environment)

The components used to develop applications for WAP devices. It essentially consists of WML, WMLScript and WTAI specifications.

wafer

A thin, flat piece of semiconductor material used in integrated circuits.

WAG (wireless application gateway)

A server-based gateway that provides wireless access to enterprise applications. WAGs plug into the enterprise's application infrastructure, separating the data from the presentation layer and avoiding redundant development efforts. Leading WAGs provide secure access to any data source and the ability to render the data to any device (e.g., PDA, wireless telephone, pager or desktop). A WAG server can be deployed either as an internal platform installed within the enterprise, or as an outsourced platform hosted by a third party operating as a service bureau.

WAM (web access management)

Web access management (WAM) offers integrated identity and access management for Web-based applications. Initial implementations focused on external user access. However, the growing use of portals for employee access is also driving demand for WAM solutions. Most products offer self-service password reset, delegated administration (including user self-service), a role-based access control model, workflow and automated fulfillment of the access request.

WAM (Web authorization management)

A building block of an extranet. In addition to authorization and management features being offered as part of an e-commerce system, there are security software products that work with Web servers and e-commerce systems, allowing administrators to define generic user roles and authorize user access to Web-based data and resources across multiple applications (generally at the sub-URL level).

WAN (wide-area network)

A communications network that connects computing devices over geographically dispersed locations. While a local-area network (LAN) typically services a single building or location, a WAN covers a much larger area such as a city, state or country. WANs can use either phone lines or dedicated communication lines.

WAN performance monitor

A tool or toolset (hardware and software) to allow monitoring of wide-area network (WAN) traffic and problems.

WAN replacement

Wide-area network (WAN) replacement uses Internet-based virtual private networks (VPNs) or managed VPN services to connect branch offices.

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)

Open, global specification that enables users of wireless devices to access and interact with wireless information services and applications. WAP specifications are based on Internet standards, with extensions to reflect the wireless device environment. Specifications in WAP architecture are arranged in a protocol stack consisting of application, session, transaction, security and transport layers. The application layer includes WML and WMLScript for content and Wireless Telephony Application Interface (WTAI) for telephony service capabilities.

WAP browser

A microbrowser used to locate and display information on WAP-enabled devices. WAP browsers perform the client-side functions required to render Web content to a WAP device. See also microbrowser.

WAP Forum

Founded in 1997 by Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Unwired Planet (now Phone.com), the WAP Forum is responsible for publishing and developing Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) specifications. The WAP Forum works closely with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). The goal of the WAP Forum is to provide an industry standard to foster interoperability among wireless devices.

warehouse simulation

A detailed mathematical or computer model of all relevant activities of a distribution center. The simulation recreates the center's activities , determines how long the activities take and considers any physical constraints. Warehouse simulations typically focus on capacity planning, throughput calculations, inventory analysis, and the overall performance and cost impacts of selected logistics strategies.

WASP (wireless application service provider)

Vendor that provides hosted wireless applications so that companies do not have to build their own sophisticated wireless infrastructure.

waste

All those activities that occur within a company or wider supply chain that do not add to the value of a product or service supplied to a final consumer.

waste walk

Going to the source or going to see where the action occurs (rather than seeing it through someone else's eyes).

WATS (wide-area telephone service)

A telephone company service providing reduced costs for certain telephone call arrangements. It may be IN-WATS or 800-number service, for which calls can be placed to a location from anywhere at no cost to the calling party, or OUT-WATS, for which calls are placed from a central location. The cost is based on hourly usage per WATS circuit and on distance-based zones, or bands, to which (or from which) calls are placed.

WBS (work breakdown structure)

Work breakdown structure; another form of process mapping.

WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access)

UMTS standard for 3G digital mobile networks, using CDMA technology. It is the evolution path for GSM and EDGE to UMTS and offers increased voice capacity and theoretical peak data speeds of up to 2 Mbps. The 3GPP task group continues to work on the evolution of WCDMA toward 4G and has defined a series of evolutionary steps:

R.99 (Release 99) – Specifications (completed in 1999) for the original version of WCDMA, a 3GPP standards project to define the requirements and basic framework for UMTS 3G mobile networks. R.99 defined the UTRA and the basic features of this early 3G development.

R.4 (Release 4) – Specifications (released in 2004) for the next evolution beyond R99. R4 was the first step toward an all-IP core network, adding separation of the control channel from the connection in the circuit-switched core network, and basic VoIP routing.

R.5 (Release 5) – Specifications (released in 2005) for the next evolution beyond R4. R.5 extends WCDMA to include HSDPA and HSUPA for high-speed packet data services and IMS for multimedia and converged IP network support. It added IP transport in the UTRAN.

R.6 (Release 6) – Specifications (completed in 2006) for the next evolution beyond R5. R.6 extends WCDMA to include MBMS for mobile TV services, PoC and EUDCH for enhanced uplink speeds and system capacity. R.6 adds IMS Phase 2 and UMTS/WLAN interworking.

R.7 (Release 7) – Also known as LTE, the specifications (frozen at the end of 2007) for the next evolution beyond R.6. It will add radio enhancements, MIMO, end-to-end IP telephony and evolved EDGE. See also LTE.

R.8 (Release 8) – Further extension of LTE and SAE capabilities prior to the advent of 4G. R.8 is likely to add OFDMA for the downlink and SC-FDMA for the uplink in the UTRAN. R8 specifications were frozen in December 2008. See also LTE and SAE.

WCS (Wireless Communications Service)

WDP (Wireless Datagram Protocol)

Enables WAP to be bearer-independent by adapting the transport layer of the underlying bearer service and presenting a consistent data format to the higher layer of the WAP protocol stack.

wearable computer

Devices that can be carried or worn on the human body and used by an individual for networked computing. Wearable computer form factors include handheld devices, badges, personal clothing and jewelry.

Web

The web (short for World Wide Web) is a hypertext-based global information system that was originally developed at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva. It is a subset of the Internet, technically defined as the community on the Internet where all documents and resources are formatted using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML, and the related Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP), make it easy to find and view data and documents stored on computers connected to the Internet. HTML creates the links ("hyperlinks") that enable the user to move among many Web documents with the click of a mouse.

Web analytics

The use of a range of quantitative analyses to understand Web site performance and visitor experience. These analyses include usage levels and patterns on an individual and aggregate level. Data sources may include clickstream data from the Web server log, Web transaction data, submitted data from input fields on the Web site and data in the Internet customer repository. The results may be used to improve site performance (from a technical and content perspective), enhance visitor experience (and thus loyalty), contribute to overall understanding of customers and channels, and identify opportunities and risks.

Web ATM

An umbrella term for several different versions of technology that link the Internet and an automated teller machine (ATM) networks.

Web conferencing and shared work spaces/team collaboration

Web conferencing products are synchronous in nature and support interaction between participants in a meeting or presentation format. Web conferencing consists of real-time electronic meeting and content delivery, screen and application sharing, text chat, and group document markup with electronic whiteboarding, augmented by audio, data and video. More-advanced features include integrated voice over IP audio, file sharing, remote control, content archiving, media streaming and polling.

Shared work spaces are team-oriented collaboration tools that provide virtual work spaces for sharing documents and files, supporting asynchronous and real-time collaboration activities, such as threaded discussions, document-based collaboration and chat functions.

Other forms of collaboration that are not included in this market definition include IM and chat, videoconferencing, audioconferencing, and a wide variety of social software, such as blogs, communities of practice, social bookmarking and tagging, expertise location, social network analysis, and wikis. A blog represents a form of asynchronous but collective Web publishing, usually in a journal-writing style. A community of practice represents a group of people engaged in joint experiences and shared practices, and it is similar to a network of Web bloggers. A wiki is a discussion system that includes server software for Web-based editing of, and commenting on, content created by others. Wikis include a simple text syntax for creating pages and linking pages in real time.

Web crawler

A piece of software (also called a spider) designed to follow hyperlinks to their completion and to return to previously visited Internet addresses.

Web e-mail

An e-mail option that requires only a browser. A user can walk up to any Internet-connected device (e.g., a PC or airport kiosk), launch a browser, connect to a Web mail server, enter a user name and password and check e-mail.

Web-enabled

Refers to any application or document that uses the Internet as a communication backbone while exploiting Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) as a means to link to other applications or content.

Web hosting

A service in which a vendor offers the housing of business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce Web sites via vendor-owned shared or dedicated servers and applications for enterprises at the provider-controlled facilities. The vendor is responsible for all day-to-day operations and maintenance of the Web site. The customer is responsible for the content.

Web integration servers

Web servers that directly support Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP); execute a proprietary, high-level 4GL or scripting language; and include one or more adapters for databases, legacy systems and packaged applications. Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based Web integration servers are similar; however, they also use XML data internally within the server and externally with clients and other applications.

Web phone

A cell phones equipped with a microbrowser and network data capability through Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) or other Web integration technologies. These devices differ from smart phones (see separate entry) in that the latter are more data-centric, offering network-independent (offline) applications such as contact management and expense reporting.

Web server

The central location that hosts Web pages or a Web site and enables a remote "client" (system or program) to access the material held.

Web services

A software concept and infrastructure – supported by several major computing vendors (notably Microsoft and IBM) – for program-to-program communication and application component delivery. The Web services concept treats software as a set of services accessible over ubiquitous networks using Web-based standards and protocols.

Specifically, a Web service is a software component can be accessed by another application (such as a client, a server or another Web service) through the use of generally available, ubiquitous protocols and transports, such as Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP). Joint efforts between IBM and Microsoft, with the support of other vendors such as Ariba and Iona Technologies, have produced agreement on a basic set of XML-based standards for Web service interface definition, discovery and remote calling. They include:

Web Services Description Language (WSDL) for describing Web service interfaces

Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) as the means for users to publish and locate available Web services, their characteristics and interfaces

Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), which enables an application to call a Web service

See HTTP, .NET, SOAP, UDDI, WSDL and XML.

Web services software

Deploying Web-services-enabled software will be an evolutionary process, not a revolutionary one. The majority of software vendors have committed to supporting Web services software standards within their established product lines, but it will take more than four years to evolve these immature standards, build up skills, and plan, build and test for new versions of software that gradually incorporate these standards. Web services standards will be deployed through multiple markets, such as integration suites, AD tools and some enterprise application segments.

Website

A collection of files accessed through a Web address, covering a particular theme or subject, and managed by a particular person or organization. Its opening page is called a home page. A Website resides on servers connected to the Web network and is able to format and send information requested by worldwide users 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Websites typically use HTML to format and present information and to provide navigational facilities that make it easy for the user to move within the site and around the Web.

Web TV

Web TV services enable a user to access the Web on a television set using a special remote control and a decoder that sits on top of the TV. Services are offered by various types of provider – e.g., TV broadcasters, satellite operators, and telecom operators. The connection can be provided over various media – analog or digital telephone lines, cable network or satellite links – depending on local infrastructure.

WECA (Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance)

Now known as the Wi-Fi Alliance. See Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Alliance.

WEP (wired equivalent privacy)

Feature used to encrypt and decrypt data signals transmitted among WLAN devices. An optional IEEE 802.11 feature, WEP provides data confidentiality equivalent to a wired LAN that does not employ advanced cryptographic techniques to enhance privacy. WEP makes WLAN links as secure as wired links. See also WPA.

WfM (Wired for Management)

A blueprint, developed by Intel in partnership with and supported by leading information technology (IT) vendors, for making PC-based systems – including desktops, mobile systems and servers – universally manageable. The initiative encompasses advances in hardware and software that enable system management software applications that provide management to the desktop, mobile system or server, and the integration with systems management tools and frameworks. The innovations in hardware and software collectively enterprises should understand, evaluate and incorporate into all PC acquisitions.

WFM (workforce management)

A system intended to maximize the use of agent labor by projecting incoming call volumes and scheduling staff to meet needs exactly, by time of the day, day of the week, week of the month, etc. WFM systems use historical calling records, which are collected from the automatic call distribution system, to project future calling patterns and volumes for specified time frames. Features include:

Call volume forecasting

Calculation of the required number of agents, based on the desired average speed of answer

Agent scheduling

Meeting and vacation planning

Reporting

"What if" analysis

wholesale carrier

An entity that owns/operates a telecom network and sells network capacity to other telecom service providers.

Wibree

Please refer to Bluetooth Low Energy (see entry above).

WiBro (wireless broadband)

Mobile wireless broadband service for handsets and laptops first offered commercially in South Korea in June 2006 by KT and SK Telecom. WiBro was originally intended as a South Korean standard, but it has been harmonized with the IEEE 802.16-2005 mobile WiMAX standard. WiBro emerged from a South Korean MIC-sponsored project to develop a standard for high-speed portable Internet (HPi). The former MIC had hoped that HPi would lead to new global opportunities for South Korean industry, similar to those arising from its early adoption of CDMA.

Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity)

Certification mark issued by the Wi-Fi Alliance to certify that a product conforms to the 802.11b, g and a standards for WLANs.

Wi-Fi Alliance

Non-profit international association formed in 1999 to certify interoperability of WLAN products based on IEEE 802.11 specification. See also WECA.

Wi-Fi mesh

Mesh topology network based on Wi-Fi standards but typically linked together by proprietary extensions. The Wi-Fi Alliance Task Group 802.11s is developing an IEEE standard for Wi-Fi mesh. See also mesh network.

WiGig

The provisional name for a 60 GHz in-room wireless technology which is being developed by a group of companies known as the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WGA). The goals of WGA are to develop and promote a technology capable of short-range transmission at speeds of at least 1 Gbps at 10 meters range; the Alliance envisages that some implementations will exceed 6Gbps. WiGig is intended to be a general-purpose standard which will be used for a wide range of devices including PCs, handheld equipment and consumer electronics. Potential applications include media streaming, PC docking, general-purpose networking and file transfer.

WiHD (wireless HD)

Consumer electronics industry special interest group set up to define a next-generation standard for a wireless digital interface for streaming high-definition (HD) content among source devices and HD displays. The first version of WiHD aims to achieve 4 Gbps data rates using the unlicensed 60GHz frequency band.

WIM (WAP identity module)

Used in Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) and application-level security functions. A WIM can be used to process and store user identification and authorization information. It also can be used to store encryption and authentication keys, and to perform encryption and digital signature functions on the module. A WIM can be a hardware device, such as a smart card or SIM.

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)

Refers to the standards body known as the WiMAX Forum and to the broadband wireless technology based on the IEEE 802.16 standard. See also 802.16, 802.16-2004, 802.16e-2005 and 802.16m.

WiMAX-certified Sub-11GHz BWA

We define the WiMAX Forum-certified sub-11GHz IEEE 802.16-2004 and IEEE 802.16-2005 as follows:

Fixed wireless: Client terminals are located at a stationary location.

Semimobile wireless:

Portable: Client terminal support for roaming between base station coverage areas at pedestrian speeds.

Nomadic: Client terminal is transportable to secondary fixed locations with no connection while in transit.

Mobile wireless: Client terminal support for roaming at vehicular speeds without dropping a session.

WiMedia Alliance

Industry body supporting and developing the UWB standard. The Alliance announced in March 2009 that it would be disbanded once it had transferred its specifications to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, the USB Promoter Group and the USB Implementers' Forum. See also Bluetooth and UWB.

windowing

A display technique that uses multiple screen segments to display different items of information. The display can take two forms: tiling (breaking up the screen into discrete segments) and overlapping (producing a three-dimensional effect by having a screen segment partially or fully obscure another segment).

Windows CE

Windows CE is an OS for resource-constrained embedded applications. Windows Mobile is built on top of Windows CE, but CE is used to support many other devices and applications, not all of which are mobile, including set-top boxes. See also Windows Mobile 6.

Windows client

Microsoft's Windows client operating environment is targeted and priced for consumer and business end users. This category includes all Windows predecessors, as well as Windows XP and Vista.

Windows Live Messenger

An enterprise IM service operating via Microsoft Exchange servers but compatible with MSN IM.

Windows Mobile 6, 6.5 and 7

Windows Mobile 6 runs on top of the Windows CE 5 OS and replaced Windows Mobile 5. Windows Mobile 6 was not a major upgrade – that is, users didn't immediately notice significant differences from devices with the last version of Windows Mobile 5. The next major upgrade, Windows Mobile 7, has been delayed and is now scheduled for release in 2010. In the meantime, Microsoft introduced enhancements to the OS in the form of version 6.5 in February 2009, providing improved browsing and touchscreen functionality. The main thrust of Windows Mobile 6 is to provide a level of compatibility between Windows Mobile and Exchange Server 2007, Windows Vista and Office 2007, and the upcoming Office Communications Server and Windows Live. Three versions of Windows Mobile 6 have been defined:

Professional (previously known as Pocket PC Phone Edition): Supports data-centric devices with touchscreen displays used in a two-handed operation. Generally, this version offers the largest number of third-party software titles and the largest number of Windows Mobile devices in use.

Standard (previously Windows Mobile for Smartphones): Supports voice-centric devices designed for one-handed operation (no touchscreens), typically in a candy-bar-shaped form factor.

Classic (previously Pocket PC): Supports devices that lack cellular connectivity; sales of this category are rapidly declining.

Windows server

These are Microsoft's 32-bit and 64-bit server operating environments for more-powerful hardware platforms, including multiprocessor and multicore platforms, and that include networking and sharing features not found in Windows client OSs. Products here include all Windows server predecessors, as well as Windows 2003 Server and Windows 2008 Server.

WIPS (wireless intrusion prevention system)

Operates at the Layer 2 (data link layer) level of the Open Systems Interconnection model. WIPS can detect the presence of rogue or misconfigured devices and can prevent them from operating on wireless enterprise networks by scanning the network's RFs for denial of service and other forms of attack.

wireless data communication

Form of communication that uses the radio spectrum rather than a physical medium. It may carry analog or digital signals and may be used on LANs or WANs in one- or two-way networks.

wireless IM (wireless instant messaging)

See mobile IM.

WISP (wireless Internet service provider)

At minimum, a provider of wireless gateway services that connect the wired Internet to one or more wireless bearer services.

WLAN (wireless local-area network)

LAN communication technology in which radio, microwave or infrared links take the place of physical cables. The 802.11 family of standards issued by the IEEE provides various specifications covering transmission speeds from 1 Mbps to 54 Mbps. The four main physical-layer standards are 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n. See also Wi-Fi and WLAN.

WLL (wireless local loop)

Wireless connection of a telephone to a fixed telephone network. See also mobile WLL.

WML (Wireless Markup Language)

Defined as part of the WAP for rendering WAP content on a mobile device.

WMLScript

Similar to JavaScript, WMLScript is a scripting language based on WAP's WML programming language. See also WML.

workflow management

There are two types of workflow management:

Internal and external process integration – a workflow approach that allows for the definition of business processes that span applications, including those that come from different vendors. This usually requires a standards-based commercial workflow development environment

Automated events or processes – a workflow approach that enables automated tasks (e.g., the automation of steps in a marketing campaign or a sales process) to be performed

workforce analytics

An advanced set of data analysis tools and metrics for comprehensive workforce performance measurement and improvement. It analyzes recruitment, staffing, training and development, personnel, and compensation and benefits, as well as standard ratios that consist of time to fill, cost per hire, accession rate, retention rate, add rate, replacement rate, time to start and offer acceptance rate.

work management

A set of software products and services that apply workflow structure to the movement of information as well as to the interaction of business processes and human worker processes that generate the information. Work management streamlines and transforms crucial business processes and thus can improve results and performance.

workstations

Workstations have typically been high-end complex instruction set computer (CISC), Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing (EPIC) or reduced instruction set computer (RISC)-based CPU architectures with high-performance graphics, OS and system architecture. In general, workstations must include a 32-bit or 64-bit multitasking OS, as well as configurations that support high-resolution graphics capabilities and three-dimensional (3-D) graphics functionality. The workstation market includes traditional Unix workstations, such as Linux, and workstations running Windows XP/Vista or other advanced OSs.

WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)

Security solution developed as a migration step toward 802.11i. Wi-Fi vendors introduced WPA in late 2002, before 802.11i was ratified. WPA formalized the choice for encryption but left open the choice of authentication. WPA was used as an improvement over the vulnerable WEP but was superseded by WPA2.

WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2)

Final version of WPA agreed on by the Wi-Fi Alliance; implements all aspects of the ratified 802.11i security standard and is mandatory in the Wi-Fi certification process. WPA2 is backward-compatible with WPA and can be implemented in two versions – WPA2 personal and WPA2 enterprise. See also 802.11i.

WPKI (wireless public-key infrastructure)

Proposed method for handling public and private keys, and digital certificates on the client (handset) side. The standards for WPKI and WTLS are complementary.

WPP (Wireless Performance Prediction)

See 802.11t.

WRED (weighted random early detection)

WSP (Wireless Session Protocol)

In the WAP framework, this layer links the Wireless Application Environment (WAE) to two session services:

Connection-oriented service operating above the Wireless Transaction Protocol (WTP).

A connectionless service operating above the WDP.

WTAI (Wireless Telephony Application Interface)

Specifies how WAP applications can access mobile phone functionality (for example, to initiate a call or send an SMS message).

WTLS (Wireless Transport Layer Security)

Within the WAP framework, WTLS provides security functions similar to those of the secure sockets layer protocol used on the Web. Vendors such as Entrust, Baltimore Technologies and Certicom have announced software development toolkits to enable application developers to build WTLS support into WAP gateway and cell phone software. The initial focus of WTLS is the use of digital certificates at the WAP gateway to provide strong authentication to the cell phone that it is connected to a legitimate server. This involves cell phones being pre-loaded with root certificates signed by certificate authorities with which the wireless device manufacturer has entered into trust relationships.

WTP (Wireless Transaction Protocol)

In the WAP framework, WTP runs on top of a datagram service, such as WDP, to provide a simplified protocol suitable for low-bandwidth mobile applications. The protocol offers three classes of transaction service:

Unreliable one-way request.

Reliable one-way request.

Reliable two-way request/respond.

XHTML Basic (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language Basic)

Supported in WAP 2.0, XHTML Basic is a subset of the XHTML constructs that enable authors to create Web content deliverable to a range of devices (including mobile phones, PDAs, pagers and TV-based Web browsers). The standard is the result of collaboration by a number of participants, including AOL, IBM, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems.

XML (Extensible Markup Language)

A W3C open standard for describing data using embedded tags. Unlike HTML, XML does not describe how to display elements on the page but rather defines what the elements contain. It has become the standard for business-to-business transactions, electronic-data interchanges and Web services.

XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language)

XSL associates presentation characteristics (e.g., layout) with the markup used in Extensible Markup Language (XML). One of the XML family of languages developed by the World Wide Web Consortium, XSL is used to create XML "stylesheets," which describe how XML documents are presented. XSL provides independent control of presentation from content and can describe output of the same content to different formats (e.g., audio or print).

XSL is made up of three components:

XSL Transformations (see XSLT)

XML Path Language (see XPath)

XSL Formatting Objects, an XML vocabulary for specifying formatting semantics

XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations)

A component of Extensible Stylesheet Language (see XSL), XSLT controls views of Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents and the ordering of XML elements. It is used to create new content structures from existing structures or subsets, based on interest, access privileges or security, and it transforms XML structure to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

X-Windows

The software system written for managing windows under Unix. A graphics architecture, application programming interface (API) and prototype implementation developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, X-Windows defines a client/server relationship between the applications program and the workstation. It is not, however, a complete graphical user interface (GUI), but rather the basis upon which one can be built.

Yahoo Messenger

Free public IM service.

zero latency

A goal to keep moving goods or information in the supply chain to provide near-real-time information management and reduce in-transit inventory costs.

ZigBee

Proprietary initiative based on IEEE 802.15.4 operating in the 2.4GHz band, with data rates less than 220 Kbps over 75 meters. It is designed for "command and control;" therefore, it does not support audio or video, but it can be used to send text messages and voice. A ZigBee network can control lights, fire or smoke detectors, thermostats or home-security systems. It can be used as a cable replacement technology. The ZigBee Alliance consists of 15 major promoters and 193 participating members. It is responsible for developing applications, as well as a certification process, program, logo and marketing strategy. It is a spinoff of the Home Radio Frequency Working Group.

ZLE (zero-latency enterprise)

Any strategy that exploits the immediate exchange of information across technical and organizational boundaries to achieve business benefit. For example, technical boundaries exist between different operating systems, database management systems and programming languages. "Immediate" implies being fast enough to bring all of the business benefits that simultaneous knowledge can potentially achieve. Latency cannot literally be zero in any real system because computers need time to "think."

1xRTT (cdma2000 1x RTT)

A 2.5G transmission technology; an evolution of cdma2000 that adds voice capacity and supports peak downlink data rates of up to 144 Kbps in a single 1.25MHz channel, typically delivering 80 Kbps to 100 Kbps in the field.

2G (second generation)

The second generation of wireless networks designed to improve on analog with digital circuit-switched solutions. The three main 2G technology standards are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), which is based on European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards, time division multiple access (TDMA) IS-136 and code division multiple access (CDMA). The Japanese personal digital cellular (PDC) standard was similar to IS-136. GSM and IS-136 are TDMA technologies. 2G services typically support data rates of 9.6 Kbps, 14.4 Kbps and up to 64 Kbps in certain IS-95B deployments.

2.5G

Enhancements that provide packet data capabilities over 2G networks. 2.5G improves the available data rates supported by the air interface, thereby permitting the introduction of new, data-oriented services and applications. The increased data rates rise to a theoretical maximum of 384 Kbps, although in the field available data rates may often be as low as 20 Kbps. General packet radio service (GPRS) is an example of a 2.5G technology.

3G (third generation)

3G wireless networks support peak data rates of 144 Kbps at mobile user speeds, 384 Kbps at pedestrian user speeds and 2 Mbps in fixed locations (peak speeds), although some initial deployments were configured to support only 64 Kbps. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) coordinates 3G standards through its International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) project and incorporates the key standards bodies, Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and 3GPP2. See also High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and Long Term Evolution (LTE).

3GDSL (third-generation DSL)

3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project)

3GPP2 (Third Generation Partnership Project 2)

3.5G

A broad term referring to enhancements that provide high-speed data extensions to 3G (wideband code division multiple access [WCDMA]) that go beyond the 384 Kbps downlink and 64 Kbps uplink provided by basic WCDMA. The term 3.5G covers technologies such as High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) and HSPA+.

3GPP (Third-Generation Partnership Project)

Collaborative project among various standards bodies, such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and enterprise application integration-41 (EAI-41), under the auspices of the ITU, which is developing global specifications for the evolution of 3G technologies. 3GPP focuses on the evolution of GSM and WCDMA, while 3GPP2 focuses on the evolution of cdma2000.

4G (fourth generation)

Also known as International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)-Advanced (IMT-A), 4G is the subject of a global standardization effort involving the ITU, 3GPP, 3GPP2, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), vendors and operators that aims to define the next-generation local-area and wide-area cellular platform. Spectrum assignments in the 450MHz to 470MHz and 698MHz to 872MHz bands were decided at the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2007 (WRC-07). Standardization has continued through 2009, and fully commercial services should be introduced by 2012.

Key 4G features are likely to include: support for peak data transmission rates of 100 Mbps (wide area) and 1 Gbps (fixed/low mobility); seamless hand-over between different wireless bearers; and an all-Internet Protocol (IP) core and radio transport for voice, video, multimedia and data services, as well as call control/signaling. 4G is likely to require orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), software-defined radio (SDR) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technologies. LTE is the ITU-defined evolution path for the GSM family to 4G, but WiMAX 802.16m is also a candidate.

5S

Five-part checklist to help eliminate waste in the workplace: In Japanese – "Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and Shitsuke"; loosely translated as "Sort, Straighten, Sanitize, Standardize and Sustain." Using the 5S approach is frequently a "kaizen event."

5 whys

A form of root-cause analysis that entails asking "why" (at least) five times until the underlying causes of an outcome are understood.

7 wastes

A framework of seven types of activity that do not add value; originally defined by Toyota: overproducing – producing product before there's a valid order; unnecessary waiting – lengthened cycle time, which reduces agility; unnecessary transportation – unnecessary transportation of material between sites; overprocessing – processes longer or more complex than necessary; unnecessary inventory – buildup of work-in-process or raw materials; unnecessary movement – inefficient workplace; layout causing extra work; and too many defects – poor process quality and too much rework. This list was extended by Gartner and others to include an eighth waste: asset underutilization or other underutilization of resources. The eight wastes are often referred to by the acronym "DOWNTIME," meaning "Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Nonutilized resources, Transportation, Inventory, Motion and Excessive processing."

8-step process of successful change:

A change management methodology defined by John Kotter. (See Kotter, John P., "Leading Change," Harvard Business Press, 1996, ISBN-13: 9780875847474.)

802.11

See Wi-Fi and wireless LAN (WLAN).

802.11-2007

Previously known as 802.11m, 802.11-2007 was approved in March 2007 and merges into a single authoritative document all previous amendments to the original 802.11 standard (a, b, d, e, g, h, i and j). It does not currently include 802.11n. See also 802.11a through to 802.11j.

802.11a

Standard for the physical layer of WLANs operating at 5GHz. The number of available channels depends on the country where the system is operating, with 13 channels available in the U.S. and 11 more pending local ratification of the global ITU agreement governing these frequencies. The maximum link rate is 54 Mbps per channel, but maximum user throughput will be about half this, and the throughput is shared by all users of the same radio channel. Frequency bands for 802.11a may differ in different parts of the world. See also Wi-Fi and WLAN.

802.11b

Standard for the physical layer of WLANs operating at 2.4GHz. It has 11 defined radio channels, which provide three non-overlapping channels when deployed. The maximum link rate is 11 Mbps per channel. Data rates fall off as the distance between the user and the radio access point increases. See also Wi-Fi and WLAN.

802.11d

Supplement to the Media Access Control (MAC) layer in the base 802.11 WLAN standard. It aims to promote worldwide use of 802.11. It will enable access points to communicate information on the permissible radio channels and at power levels acceptable to user devices. The current 802.11 standards cannot operate legally in some countries, and the purpose of 802.11d is to add features and restrictions to WLAN systems that would enable them to operate in the specific regulatory guidelines of these countries. See also Wi-Fi and WLAN.

802.11e

Supplement to the MAC layer to provide quality of service (QoS) support for LAN applications. The amendment was approved in 2005 and was integrated into the standard as part of 802.11-2007. This applies to all 802.11 physical-layer standards (a, b and g). The purpose is to provide classes of service with managed QoS levels for data, voice and video applications.

802.11f

Recommended practice document. It aims to achieve access point interoperability within a multivendor WLAN network. The document defines the registration of access points within a network and the interchange of information among access points in case of the handover of users. See also Wi-Fi and WLAN.

802.11g

Physical-layer standard for WLANs in the 2.4GHz radio band. It has 11 defined channels that, when deployed, provide three nonoverlapping radio channels with a maximum link rate of up to 54 Mbps per channel. Support for complementary code keying modulation makes 802.11g backward compatible with 802.11b. The addition of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and packet binary convolution coding modulation schemes achieves higher link rates. See also Wi-Fi and WLAN.

802.11h

Supplement to the MAC layer to meet the regulatory provisions for European 5GHz WLANs. It was integrated into the standard as part of 802.11-2007. European radio regulations for the 5GHz band require products to have transmission power control (TPC) and dynamic frequency selection (DFS). TPC limits the transmit power to the minimum needed to reach the farthest user, while DFS selects the radio channel at the access point to minimize interference with other systems (interference with radar systems is of particular concern). See also Wi-Fi and WLAN.

802.11i

Supplement to the MAC layer to provide improved WLAN security. It applies to all 802.11 physical standards (a, b and g). The purpose is to provide an alternative to Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) with new encryption methods and authentication procedures. A key part of 802.11i is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1X. See also 802.1X, WEP, Wi-Fi, WLAN, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and WPA2.

802.11j

The 802.11j standard specifies 802.11 WLAN operation in the 4.9GHz to 5GHz band to conform to Japanese radio operation rules for indoor and outdoor radio use. The standard was finalized in 2004. This specification paved the way for public safety bands at 4.9GHz in other geographic locales. Public-safety channels are dedicated for such use and although still "public," these channels are not available for general use. 802.11j also defines uniform methods that let access points move to new frequencies or change channel width for better performance or capacity – for example, to avoid interference with other wireless applications.

802.11m

An obsolete term for a maintenance effort to re-craft the master 802.11 specification incorporating the various amendments that have been approved to date. This task was completed in 2007, and the new master specification is now known as 802.11-2007. See also 802.11-2007.

802.11n

A extension of 802.11 technology intended to increase the network speed up to 600 Mbps and to improve the operating range. 802.11n accomplishes these improvements through changes in the MAC layer, frequency banding (which expands the communication channel from 20MHz to 40MHz) and the addition of MIMO technology, which uses multiple antennas at the source (transmitter) and destination (receiver) to optimize speed and range. 802.11n is not expected to be ratified by the IEEE 802.11n task group until the first half of 2010, with certification in place later in 2010. Pre-802.11n Draft 2 equipment may be certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance to be compatible with the final standard.

802.11r-2008

An amendment ratified in 2008 that governs the way roaming clients communicate with access points for reassociation, reauthentication and QoS resources. It is aimed at refining the transition process and minimizing latency as a mobile client moves among access points.

802.11s

An IEEE working group formed in July 2005 that is defining a protocol for autoconfiguring paths among access points in a wireless mesh network distribution system. The original 15 proposals were whittled down to two sets of ideas in January 2006 – one from the Wi-Mesh Alliance (WiMA), led by Nortel and other communication organizations, and the other from the SEEMesh group backed by Intel, Nokia, Motorola, NTT DoCoMo and Texas Instruments. In March 2006, these two groups merged to create a single joint proposal, which the IEEE working group has approved.

802.11t

Also called Wireless Performance Prediction (WPP). The goal of the 802.11t project is to provide a set of recommended measurement methods, performance metrics and test recommendations that enable manufacturers, independent test labs, service providers and end users to measure the performance of IEEE 802.11 standard equipment and networks. 802.11t will not be considered a standard.

802.11u

Concerned with improvements to internetworking with external networks. 802.11 has focused on providing service for pre-authorized users. 802.11u covers users that are not pre-authorized but have a relationship with an external network. This will permit a limited set of services, such as emergency calls.

802.11v

Intended to deal with wireless network management. 801.11v will focus on the configuration of client devices while they are connected to IEEE 802.11 networks. The standard may include cellular-like management paradigms, such as listing only access points that have a cooperative arrangement with the user's home service.

802.11w

Targeted toward increasing the security of WLAN management frames. WLAN data is encrypted, but management frames are not. Although vulnerability is low and mostly related to denial-of-service attacks, this would be a last step in completely securing all aspects of WLAN transmissions. The adoption of 802.11w would remove threats caused by malicious systems that attack through repeated disassociation requests appearing to be sent by valid equipment. 802.11w will work with 802.11r and 802.11u.

802.15

Working group of the IEEE focusing on standards for short-distance wireless networks, such as wireless personal-area networks (WPAN). WPANs address wireless networking of portable- and mobile-computing devices, such as PCs, PDAs, peripherals, cell phones, pagers and consumer electronics, enabling these devices to communicate and interoperate with one another.

802.16 (WiMAX)

The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Standards is developing standards and recommended practices to support the development and deployment of broadband wireless metropolitan-area networks (WMANs). 802.16 was designed to bring broadband wireless connectivity into buildings from an ISP or other carrier, offering an alternative to wired T1 and DSL lines in the last mile. It can be used to provide high-speed connectivity among Wi-Fi networks across large campuses and to create a WMAN throughout a city, suburb or region. The WiMAX Forum promotes 802.16 standards and provides interoperability certification. See also 802.16-2004, 802.16e-2005, 802.16m.

802.16-2004 (fixed WiMAX)

Originally known as 802.16d, this approved standard uses 2GHz to 11GHz frequencies, which can penetrate walls and other dense objects. 802.16-2004 provides transmission to stationary devices and replaces prior 802.16 and 802.16a specifications. The WiMAX Forum industry certification process for 802.16-2004 has been in place since early 2007.

802.16a

Approved in 2002, the original (and now obsolete) 802.16a standard provided for up to 70 Mbps of shared point-to-multipoint transmission in the 10GHz to 66GHz frequency bands, as far as 37 miles.

802.16e-2005 (mobile WiMAX)

Originally known as 802.16e, 802.16e-2005 is an evolving extension of 802.16-2004 for mobile use in the 2GHz to 6GHz band. It enables people to communicate while walking or moving at vehicular speeds. Products conforming to 802.16e-2005 may be used as infrastructure for fixed, semi-mobile and mobile networks. WiMAX Forum compliance and interoperability certification testing for 802.16e-2005 began in late 2007, and it was admitted into the IMT-2000 3G standard. In June of 2009 the WiMAX Forum announced that certification will replace wave testing with a testing procedure in three modules for more clarity and transparency. Those modules encompass radiated performance testing and network conformance testing for all profiles in a commercial retail launch, which will enable any operator to bring forward requirements on the networking side to be included. Certification of Tri-Mode devices for 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz is due to begin in 1Q10.

802.16m

The 802.16 Task Group m (TGm) is working on a draft standard that will define a new air interface supporting data rates of up to 100 Mbps for mobile applications and 1 Gbps for fixed applications. 802.16m will require 20MHz or more of bandwidth and, as with LTE, will likely use OFMDA, MIMO and spatial division multiple access (SDMA). TGm is aiming to complete the standard and to submit it to the IEEE for approval by late 2009. 802.16m will support both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) simultaneously, so this will assist operators that do not have access to FDD spectrum. In the IMT-A discussion, LTE-A and 802.16m could be compatible, but this would inhibit the principle of backward interoperability with 802.16e.2005.

802.1X

The IEEE WLAN security standard 802.11i includes the 802.1X framework for authentication. 802.1X uses Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), which works on wired and wireless LANs for message exchange during the authentication process. In a wireless LAN with 802.1X, there are three main components:

A supplicant – Client software on a device requesting authentication for the network.

An authenticator – Access point to which the user is trying to connect.

An authentication server – Returns an accept or reject message to the access point.

A client is authenticated to the network through a series of EAP messages exchanged among the supplicant, authenticator and authentication server.

802.20 (mobile wireless broadband)

Unlike the 802.16 task group, the IEEE 802.20 task group has been working on a specifically mobile wireless broadband standard. This group originally included proprietary wireless broadband vendors such as ArrayComm, Flarion Technologies (acquired by Qualcomm in 2005) and IPWireless (now NextWave Wireless), which already have commercial deployments. However, because of a lack of any real progress, during 2004 this group suffered defections to 802.16e-2005, and the 802.20 standards effort is not expected to survive. 802.20 aims to provide high-speed wireless connectivity to mobile users even when they are traveling at speeds of up to 250 km per hour.

802.22

Developing technology for use in the metropolitan-area network (MAN) and beyond for frequency bands of 900MHz and below (replacing the U.S. analog TV spectrum).

802.3af

Part of 802.3-2005, clause 33 is commonly referred as 802.3af or Power Over Ethernet (PoE). 802.3af is a technology that transmits up to 12.95W of usable electrical power, along with data, to remote devices over standard twisted-pair cable in an Ethernet network. See also 802.3at and PoE.

802.3at

A future standard that is being worked on by the IEEE 802.3at task group. It is commonly referred to as PoE+ and will boost the usable power transmitted to over 30W using category five or higher cable. See also 802.3af and PoE.

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