Digital Telephone > Glossary

ANI - Automatic Number Identification -- A function of the telephone that transmits (and eventually displays) the billing telephone number of an incoming call (such as Caller ID).

Anonymous Call Blocker -- This calling feature enables users to block incoming calls from parties that may try to hide their Caller ID.

Bandwidth -- The way by which the capacity of a transmission is measured. Various measurement terms vary widely, and include analog (hertz-"S" cycles per second) and digital (bits per second). Some common measurements include Kbps (kilobits per second) and Mbps (megabits per second).

Conference Bridge -- A device that is commonly used to connect multiple people or parties over a phone line. Conference bridge companies can hire employees to monitor conference calls and act as booking agents for the service.

Find-me/follow-me -- A calling feature that enables calls to find callers wherever they may be, by ringing multiple phone lines (e.g., cell phone, home phone, and work phone) simultaneously.

Internet Telephony -- The means by which the human voice is transmitted over the Internet. Internet Telephony usually simply consists of a direct or dial-up connection to the Internet, which allows the human voice to be transmitted in packet form (see packets) to its intended destination.

Modem - Modulator-Demodulator -- A device that adapts a computer to cable or an analog telephone line by converting digital pulses to audio frequencies and vice versa.

Packet -- A unit of data, logically grouped. Ideally, packets are transmitted over a network so that each packet can be sent along the most optimal route. Packets are put together on one end of a communication and reassembled on the receiving end.

PBX -- Stands for Private Branch Exchange. Also known as PABX (Private Automatic Branch Exchange). Initially, PBX systems resembled switchboards at small telephone companies. Users would use an operator to take and make telephone calls. Eventually, users were able to dial directly, without the use of an operator. Currently, computer telephony platforms are able to route incoming calls automatically.

POTS -- Stands for Plain Old Telephone Service, the familiar model of a single phone line coupled with a single phone number.

Service Provider -- An entity (usually a business) that provides service and support to customers or clients by responding to requests and maintaining operational integrity.

Speech Recognition -- Speech recognition describes a group of special technologies that allow callers to speak words, phrases, or utterances that are used to control applications. Speech recognition can also be referred to as technology that uses the spoken word as input, and has an effect on the logical flow of the program in question.

Telephony -- From Greek meaning "far sound", telephony is the science of transmitting or converting voice signals over a distance, and then re-converting them to an audible sound at the far end.

VIP Ringing -- This calling feature allows users to identify specific callers to their line (usually via a special ring tone).

VoIP -- Stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol -- the process of making and receiving voice transmissions over any IP (Internet Protocol) network. IP networks include the Internet and private data networks between corporate offices. One of the main advantages of VoIP is that users can connect from virtually anywhere, typically enabling callers to make telephone calls without incurring typical analog telephone charges (e.g., long-distance calls).

Voice over Cable -- The process of making and receiving voice transmissions over state of the art private networks. Voice over cable converts voice signals from your telephone into digital signals called discrete packets. The packets travel over cable wires and are converted back into a voice signal at the other end.