home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
-
-
- PHREAKER'S DICTIONARY
-
-
-
- A & A BUREAU--ABUSE AND ANNOYANCE BUREAU. THE PERSONNEL IN THIS
- LINE OF WORK SPEND THEIR TIME HELPING CUSTOMERS GET RID OF NUTS,
- OBSCENE CALLERS, HARASSING COLLECTORS, ETC.
-
- ACCESS--THE EXISTENCE OF PATHS WITHIN A NETWORK FROM AN INPUT
- TERMINAL TO A SET OF OUTPUT TERMINALS IN THE ABSENCE OF TRAFFIC
- IS INDICATED BY THE TERM, ACCESS. FULL ACCESS PERMITS CONNECTING
- TO ALL OUTPUT TERMINALS BY UNIQUE PATHS; MULTIPLE ACCESS
- INDICATES THAT ALL OUTPUT TERMINALS CAN BE REACHED IN MORE THAN
- ONE WAY; PARTIAL ACCESS REFERS TO THE ABILITY TO REACH ONLY A
- FRACTION OF THE OUTPUT TERMINALS.
-
- ACCESSIBILITY--(AVAILABILITY)--THE NUMBER OF TRUNKS OF THE
- REQUIRED ROUTE IN A SWITCHING NETWORK WHICH CAN BE REACHED FROM
- AN INLET.
-
- ADAPTOR--A DEVICE DESIGNED TO SWITCH A NUMBER OF VOICE-FREQUENCY
- TELEPHONE CHANNELS COMING FROM A NON-TIME-DIVISION SWITCHING
- SYSTEM TO A TIME-DIVISION MULTIPLEX HIGHWAY.
-
- ALTERNATE ROUTING--A PROCEDURE BY WHICH SEVERAL ROUTES INVOLVE
- DIFFERENT SWITCHING STAGES OR SWITCHING NETWORKS. USUALLY THE
- ROUTE HAVING THE FEWEST SWITCHING STAGES IS TESTED FIRST.
-
- ANALOG TRANSMISSION--THE TRANSMISSION OF CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE
- SIGNALS RATHER THAN DESCRETELY VARIABLE SIGNALS. PRIOR TO THE USE
- OF DIGITAL ENCODING AND PCM, IT WAS THE ONLY WAY OF TRANSMITTING
- VOICE SIGNALS OVER TELEPHONE CHANNELS.
-
- AREA CODE--A THREE-DIGIT PREFIX DIALED AHEAD OF THE NORMAL
- SEVEN-DIGIT TELEPHONE NUMBER TO PERMIT DIRECT DISTANCE DIALING.
-
- ASYNCHRONOUS SYSTEM--A SYSTEM IN WHICH THE TRANSMISSION OF EACH
- INFORMATION CHARACTER IS INDIVIDUALLY SYNCHRONIZED USUALLY BY THE
- USE OF START AND STOP ELEMENTS.
-
- AVERAGE HOLDING TIME--THE AVERAGE DURATION OF A CALL EXPRESSED IN
- SECONDS OR MINUTES.
-
- BIT--THE SMALLEST BINARY UNIT OF INFORMATION. A CONTRACTION OF
- THE WORDS BINARY DIGIT.
-
- BIT RATE--THE RATE OR SPEED AT WHICH BITS ARE TRANSMITTED. BITS
- PER SECOND IS A COMMON MEASURE.
-
- BLOCKING (CONGESTION)--A CONDITION WHERE THE IMMEDIATE
- ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW CONNECTION IS IMPOSSIBLE DUE TO THE LACK
- OF AVAILABLE PATHS, OR THE INABILITY TO INTERCONNECT TWO IDLE
- NETWORK TERMINALS BECAUSE SOME OF THE APPLICABLE LINKS BETWEEN
- THEM ARE USED FOR OTHER CONNECTIONS.
-
- BOOLEAN ALGEBRA--A FORM OF NONQUANTITATIVE ALGEBRA FOR DEALING
- WITH LOGIC FUNTIONS, ORIGINALLY EXPRESSED BY BRITISH
- MATHEMATICIAN GEORGE BOOLE (1815-1864).
- B.O.S.--BUSINESS OFFICE SUPERVISOR. SHE'S THE BOSS TO THE SERVICE
- REPS.
-
- BROADBAND EXCHANGE (BEX)--PUBLIC SWITCHED COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
- FEATURING FULL DUPLEX (FDX) CONNECTIONS OF VARIOUS BANDWIDTHS. A
- WESTERN UNION FACILITY.
-
- B.S.I.--BUSINESS SERVICES INSTRUCTOR. A TRAFFICE EMPLOYEE WHO
- WILL COME OUT AND TEACH YOU HOW TO USE YOUR PHONE SYSTEM.
-
- BUSY HOUR--AN UNINTERRUPTED PERIOD OF 60 MINUTES IN WHICH THE
- TOTAL TRAFFIC OF A SAMPLE IS A MAXIMUM.
-
- BYTE--A UNIT OF INFORMATION IN ELECTRONIC COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY
- CONSISTING OF 8 BITS, REFERRED TO AS EXTENDED BINARY CODED
- DECIMAL INFORMATION OF AN EBCDIC CODE.
-
- CALL CONGESTION RATIO--THE RATIO OF THE TIME DURING WHICH
- CONGESTION EXISTS TO THE TOTAL TIME CONSIDERED. IT IS AN ESTIMATE
- OF THE PROBABILITY THAT AN EXTERNAL OBSERVER WILL FIND A SYSTEM
- IN A CONGESTED CONDITION.
-
- CALLING RATE--AVERAGE CALLS PER SUBSCRIBER PER HOUR.
-
- CALL STORE--THE MEMORY SECTION OF A STORED PROGRAM CONTROL
- SWITCHING SYSTEM IN WHICH TEMPORARY INFORMATION USED IN THE
- PROCESSING OF CALLS THROUGH THE EXCHANGE IS CONTAINED. IT IS ALSO
- REFERRED TO AS THE PROCESS STORE.
-
- CENTRAL OFFICE--EXCHANGES WHERE SUBSCRIBER LINES AND PRIVATE
- BRANCH EXCHANGE LINES TERMINATE. THERE THEY ARE SWITCHED TO
- PROVIDE THE DESIRED CONNECTION WITH OTHER SUBSCRIBERS. SUCH AN
- EXCHANGE IS CALLED AN END OFFICE AND IS DESIGNATED AS A CLASS 5
- OFFICE IN THE U.S.
-
- CENTRAL PROCESSOR--THE MAIN COMPUTER ELEMENT OF A STORED PROGRAM
- CONTROL SWITCHING SYSTEM, WHICH UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE STORED
- PROGRAM ESTABLISHES SWITCHING NETWORK CONNECTIONS AND ALSO
- MONITORS AND ANALYZES THE SYSTEM TO INSURE PROPER OPERATION.
- ROUTINE PROCESS TESTING, MAINTENANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE FUNTIONS
- ARE ALSO CARRIED OUT.
-
- CENTREX--A PABX SYSTEM IN WHICH THE SWITCHING EQUIPMENT IS
- LOCATED CENTRALLY AND AWAY FORM THE LOCATION BEING SERVED. DIRECT
- INWARD DIALING (DID) AND DIRECT OUTWARD DIALING (DOD) AS WELL AS
- AUTOMATIC NUMBER IDENTIFICATION (ANI) ARE PROVIDED BY SUCH A
- SYSTEM.
-
- CHARACTERS--THE ELEMENTS OF A MESSAGE. ONE COMPUTER CHARACTER
- CONSISTS OF 8 BITS OR 1 BYTE AND IS KNOWN AS AN EBCDIC CHARACTER.
-
- CIRCUIT SWITCHING--TELECOMMUNICATIONS SWITCHING IN WHICH THE
- INCOMING AND OUTGOING LINES ARE CONNECTED BY A PHYSICAL PATH, AS
- THROUGH CROSSPOINTS OR SWITCH CONTACTS.
- CLASS OF SERVICE--THE SERVICES AND FACILITIES OFFERED TO EACH
- INDIVIDUAL TERMINAL CONNECTED TO A SYSTEM. THIS INFORMATION IS
- USUALLY STORED WITH THE DIRECTORY OR EQUIPMENT NUMBERS OF THE
- ASSOCIATED TERMINAL, AND IS ACCESSED BY THE CALL PROCESSORS WHEN
- A CONNECTION IS REQUIRED TO OR FROM THAT TERMINAL.
-
- CLOCK--EQUIPMENT TO PROVIDE A TIME BASE FOR A SWITCHING SYSTEM.
- IN TIME-DIVISION SWITCHING IT IS USED TO CONTROL SAMPLING RATES,
- DURATION OF SIGNAL DIGITS, ETC.
-
- C.O.A.M.E.--CUSTOMER OWNED AND MAINTAINED EQUIPMENT.
-
- CODEC--THE COMBINATION OF A CODER AND DECODER, AS USED IN
- TIME-DIVISION SWITCHING SYSTEMS TO CODE THE INCOMING MESSAGE AND
- DECODE THE MESSAGE BEING RETURNED TO THE CALLER. IT IS A
- CONTRACTION OF THE WORDS, CODER AND DECODER.
-
- COMMON CONTROL--AN EXCHANGE CONTROL METHOD IN WHICH THE DIALED
- SIGNALS ARE RECEIVED AND REGISTERED SEPARATELY FROM THE SWITCHING
- ELEMENTS BEFORE THEY ARE USED TO CONTROL THESE SWITCHES. ALSO
- DEFINED AS A CONTROL METHOD, WHICH IDENTIFIES THE INPUT AND
- OUTPUT TERMINALS OF THE SWITCHING NETWORK AND THEN CAUSES A
- CONNECTING PATH TO BE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THEM. SUCH SYSTEMS ARE
- ALSO DESIGNATED AS MARKER SYSTEMS.
-
- CONCENTRATION STAGE--A SWITCHING STAGE IN WHICH A NUMBER OF INPUT
- LINES ARE CONNECTED TO A SMALLER NUMBER OF OUTPUT LINES OR
- TRUNKS, AS IN THE CONNECTION OF A LARGE NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBER
- LINES TO A SMALLER NUMBER OF TRUNKS BASED ON THE GRADE OF SERVICE
- DESIRED.
-
- CONGESTION FUNCTION--ANY FUNCTION USED TO RELATE THE DEGREE OF
- CONGESTION TO THE TRAFFIC INTENSITY.
-
- CONNECTING ROW--ALL THOSE CROSSPOINTS DIRECTLY ACCESSIBLE FROM AN
- INLET. ONLY ONE CONNECTION CAN BE ESTABLISHED VIA A CONNECTING
- ROW AT ANY INSTANT.
-
- COUPLER--A DEVICE USED TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FLASHBACK AND
- MAINTAIN NORMAL ELECTRICAL FLOW ON A TELEPHONE LINE. USED AS A
- BUFFER BETWEEN C.O.A.M.E. AND TELEPHONE COMPANY EQUIPMENT.
-
- CROSSBAR SWITCH--A SWITCH HAVING A PLURALITY OF VERTICAL PATHS, A
- PLURALITY OF HORIZONTAL PATHS AND ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERATED
- MECHANICAL MEANS FOR CONNECTING ANY OF THE VERTICAL PATHS WITH
- THE HORIZONTAL PATHS.
-
- CROSSPOINT--A CROSSPOINT COMPRISES A SET OF CONTACTS THAT
- OPERATES TOGETHER AND EXTENDS THE SPEECH AND SIGNAL WIRES OF THE
- DESIRED CONNECTION. EACH CONNECTION IN A SPACE-DIVISION SWITCHING
- NETWORK IS ESTABLISHED BY CLOSING ONE OR MORE CROSSPOINTS.
-
- CROSSTALK--AN UNWANTED TRANSFER OF SIGNALS FROM ONE CIRCUIT TO
- ANOTHER AS MAY OCCUR BETWEEN SWITCHING ELEMENTS OR CIRCUIT
- WIRING.
-
- C.W.A.--THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA. THE C.W.A.
- REPRSENTS 90 PERCENT OF THE UNIONIZED TELCO WORK FORCE.
-
- DAY-TO-BUSY HOUR RATIO--THE RATIO OF THE 24 HOUR DAY TRAFFIC
- VOLUME TO THE BUSY HOUR TRAFFIC VOLUME. IN SOME COUNTRIES THE
- RECIPROCAL OF THIS RATIO IS USED.
-
- D.D.D.--DIRECT DISTANCE DIALING. ALSO KNOWN AS ONE-PLUS DIALING.
-
- DELAY SYSTEM--A SWITCHING SYSTEM IN WHICH A CALL ATTEMPT, WHICH
- OCCURS WHEN ALL ACCESSIBLE PATHS FOR THE REQUIRED CONNECTION ARE
- BUSY, IS PERMITTED TO WAIT UNTIL A PATH BECOMES AVAILABLE.
-
- DIAL PULSE--THE SIGNALING PULSE WHICH IS FORMED BY THE
- INTERRUPTION OF THE CURRENT IN THE DC LOOP OF A CALLING
- TELEPHONE. SUCH INTERRUPTIONS ARE PRODUCED BY THE BREAKING OF THE
- DIAL PULSE CONTACTS OF THE CALLING TELEPHONE SUBSET DURING THE
- DIALING PROCESS.
-
- DIAMOND-RING TRANSLATOR--AN ARRAY OF RING-TYPE INDUCTION COILS
- ASSOCIATED WITH CODED WIRING IN SUCH A MANNER THAT THE
- TRANSLATION OF DIRECTORY NUMBERS TO EQUIPMENT NUMBER OR VICE
- VERSA CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN AN EXCHANGE. IT IS NAMED AFTER ITS
- ORIGINATOR, T.L.DIMOND OF THE BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES.
-
- DIRECT CONTROL--AN EXCHANGE CONTROL METHOD IN WHICH PULSES,
- DIALED BY THE SUBSCRIBERS, CONTROL DIRECTLY THE ROUTE SELECTION
- SWITCHES OF THE SYSTEM. FOR EACH DIGIT DIALED THE EQUIVALENT OF
- ONE SET OF SELECTOR SWITCHES IS REQUIRED WITH THIS CONTROL
- METHOD.
-
- DIRECTOR--A CONTROL ELEMENT WHICH PROVIDES A MEASURE OF COMMON
- CONTROL IN STEP-BY-STEP OR STROWGER EXCHANGES.
-
- DISTRIBUTING FRAME--A STRUCTURE FOR TERMINATING THE WIRES OF A
- TELEPHONE EXCHANGE IN SUCH A MANNER THAT CROSS-CONNECTIONS CAN BE
- MADE READILY. EXAMPLES ARE THE MAIN DISTRIBUTION FRAME (MDF) AT
- THE ENTRY OF AN EXCHANGE, INTERMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION FRAMES (IDF)
- BETWEEN SECTIONS OF AN EXCHANGE, AND POWER DISTRIBUTION FRAMES
- (PDF).
-
- DISTRIBUTION STAGE--A SWITCHING STAGE BETWEEN A CONCENTRATION
- STAGE AND OUTLETS AND SERVES AS A MEANS OF SELECTING TRUNKS TO
- THE DESIRED TERMINATIONS.
-
- DUV--DATA UNDER VOICE (AT&T SYSTEM). ELECTROMECHANICAL SWITCHING
- SYSTEM--AN EXCHANGE SYSTEM IN WHICH BOTH THE SPEECH PATHS AND THE
- CONTROL EQUIPMENT ARE SWITCHED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL
- COMPONENTS--SUCH AS RELAYS, ROTARY SWITCHES, ETC.
-
- ELECTRONIC SWITCHING SYSTEM--AN EXCHANGE SYSTEM IN WHICH AT LEAST
- THE CONTROL EQUIPMENT IS COMPOSED OF ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS AND
- COMPONENTS, GENERALLY OF A SOLID-STATE TYPE.
-
- EMD SWITCH--THE SPEECH-PATH SWITCHING ELEMENT USED IN A SIEMENS
- ROTARY SWITCHING SYSTEM. EMD IS AN ABBREVIATION OF
- EDELMETALL-MOTOR-DREHWAHLER, WHICH TRANSLATES IN ENGLISH TO
- NOBLE-METAL MOTOR SWITCH.
-
- END OFFICE--A CENTRAL OFFICE OR CLASS 5 OFFICE.
-
- ENTRAIDE--A SWITCHING SYSTEM INPHICH OUTLETS FROM A GIVEN
- CONNECTING STAGE ARE CONNECTED TO INLETS OF THE SAME OR A
- PREVIOUS STAGE. IN SUCH SYSTEMS CALLS MAY TRAVERSE A STAGE MORE
- THAN ONCE. USUALLY THESE REENTERING LINKS ARE USED AS LAST CHOICE
- PATHS AND THE RESULTING NETWORK IS HETEROGENEOUS. SUCH AN
- ARRANGEMENT IS USED IN ITT'S PENTACONTA CROSSBAR SYSTEM.
-
- ERLANG--THE UNIT OF TRAFFIC INTENSITY, WHICH IS MEASURED IN
- CALL-SECONDS PER SECOND OR CALL-MINUTES PER MINUTE. ALSO, ONE
- ERLANG EQUALS 3600 CALL-SECONDS PER HOUR. IT IS NAMED AFTER A. K.
- ERLANG, THE DANISH ENGINEER AND MATHEMATICIAN WHO FIRST ADOPTED
- IT.
-
- ESS--ELECTRONIC SWITCHING SYSTEM.
-
- EXCHANGE--ALL NUMBERS WITHIN A GIVEN THREE-DIGIT PREFIX AREA. CAN
- ALSO BE USED TO DESCRIBE A GEOGRAPHICAL AREA THE SIZE OF A CITY.
-
- FX--FOREIGN EXCHANGE CALLS. THE TERM APPLIED TO CALLS MADE TO A
- CENTRAL OFFICE OTHER THAN THE ONE LOCATED IN THE CALLING CUSTOMER
- AREA.
-
- H.C. INSTRUMENT--AN ORDINARY TELEPHONE WITH NO EXTRAS.
-
- I.D.E.W.--INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS. A
- UNION THAT REPRESENTS SEVEN PERCENT OF ALL UNIONIZED TELEPHOE
- WORKERS.
-
- INTERSTATE--TELEPHONE SERVICE THAT CROSSES STATE LINES. SUCH
- SERVICES COME UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE F.C.C.
-
- INTRASTATE--TELEPHONE SERVICES THAT REMAIN WITHIN THE BOUNDARES
- OF A STATE. SUCH SERVICES COME UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE
- P.S.C.
-
- JOINT PRACTICES--AN INTER-COMPANY GUIDE AKIN TO THE GENEVA RULES
- OF WAR. THE J.P. COVERS SUCH THINGS AS INTERVALS, OFFERINGS, AND
- PROCEDURES.
-
- K.K.6--SIX-BUTTON TELEPHONE. THE STANDARD TELEPHONE FOUND IN MOST
- OFFICES. THE K.K.6 CAN HANDLE FIVE LINES. THE SIXTH BUTTON IS
- USED FOR HOLD.
-
- LAYOUT CARD--SCHEMATIC DRAWINGS OF THE ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS
- REQUIRED FOR A TELEPHONE INSTALLATION.
- LINK (TRUNK) THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TERMINALS OF ONE SWITCH
- AND THE TERMINALS ON A SWITCH OF THE NEXT STAGE CORRESPONDING TO
- A SINGLE TRANSMISSION PATH.
-
- LINK (ONE-WAY AND TWO-WAY)--A ONE-WAY LINK IS USED ONLY FOR THE
- ESTABLISHMENT OF CONNECTIONS IN ONE DIRECTION, WHILE A TWO-WAY
- LINK IS USED FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CONNECTIONS IN EITHER
- DIRECTION.
-
- LINK SYSTEM--A SYSTEM IN WHICH: (1) THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO
- CONNECTING STAGES; (2) A CONNECTION IS MADE OVER ONE OR MORE
- LINKS; (3) THE LINKS ARE CHOSEN IN A SINGLE LOGICAL OPERATION;
- AND (4) LINKS ARE SEIZED ONLY WHEN THEY CAN BE USED IN MAKING A
- CONNECTION.
-
- LOGIC FUNCTION--THE RELATIONSHIP OF TWO OR MORE BOOLEAN VARIABLES
- AS EXPRESSED BY BOOLEAN ALGEBRA.
-
- LOGIC GATES--ELECTRICAL OR ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS WHICH CONTROL THE
- TRANSFER OF SIGNALS AND PRODUCE THE REQUIRED OUTPUTS FOR SPECIFIC
- INPUT COMBINATIONS TO IMPLEMENT BOOLEAN LOGIC FUNCTIONS.
-
- LOGIC (HARD-WIRED)--CONTROL LOGIC IN AN EXCHANGE, WHICH IS WIRED
- IN CIRCUIT FORM.
-
- LOGIC (SOFT-WIRED)--CONTROL LOGIC IN AN EXCHANGE, WHICH IS HELD
- IN SOFTWARE COMPUTER PROGRAMS.
-
- LONG DISTANCE--TECHNICALLY, ANY CALL THAT TERMINATES MORE THAN
- SEVENTEEN MILES FROM THE SOURCE.
-
- LONG LINES--A DIVISION OF AT&T RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DAY-TO-DAY
- OPERATION OF THE LONG DISTANCE NETWORK. WHILE THE LOCAL TELCO
- HANDLES ALL MAINTENANCE, LONG LINES DIRECTS OVERALL SUPERVISION.
-
- LOOP DISCONNECT PULSING--SUBSET DIAL PULSING IN WHICH THE
- SUBSCRIBER DC LOOP IS INTERRUPTED TO PRODUCE PULSES FOR SIGNALING
- AN EXCHANGE.
-
- MARKER--CIRCUITS WHICH INCORPORATE THE FUNCTION OF BUSY TESTING,
- LOCATING AND FINALLY CONTROLLING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A
- PARTICULAR PATH THROUGH THE SWITCHING NETWORK.
-
- MARKETING REP--THE SALES PEOPLE OF THE BELL COMPANIES. ALSO KNOWN
- AS ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE.
-
- MARKING--THE USE OF ELECTRICAL POTENTIALS AND GROUNDS AT CERTAIN
- POINTS IN A SWITCHING NETWORK TO CONTROL ITS OPERATION.
-
- MATRIX--A SIMPLE SWITCHING NETWORK IN WHICH A SPECIFIED INLET
- (MATRIX ROW) HAS ACCESS TO A SPECIFIED OUTLET (MATRIX COLUMN) VIA
- A CROSSPOINT PLACED AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE ROW AND COLUMN IN
- QUESTION. A COMPLETE MATRIX IS ONE IN WHICH EACH INLET HAS ACCESS
- TO EACH OUTLET, WHILE AN INCOMPLETE MATRIX IS ONE IN WHICH EACH
- INLET MAY HAVE ACCESS TO ONLY SOME OF THE OUTLETS.
-
- MEAN DELAY OF CALLS DELAYED--THE TOTAL WAITING TIME OF ALL CALLS
- DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF DELAYED CALLS.
-
- MESSAGE SWITCHING--A METHOD OF RECEIVING AND STORING A MESSAGE
- FOR A MORE APPROPRIATE TIME OF RETRANSMISSION. WITH SUCH A
- METHOD, NO DIRECT CONNECTION IS ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE INCOMING
- AND OUTGOING LINES AS IN THE CASE OF CIRCUIT SWITCHING.
-
- MULTIFREQUENCY SIGNALING--SIGNALING BETWEEN SUBSCRIBERS AND THE
- CENTRAL OFFICE THROUGH A COMBINATION OF AUDIO FREQUENCIES, AS
- WITH PUSHBUTTON DIALING. ALSO, IN MANY CASES SIGNALING BETWEEN
- EXCHANGES IS ACCOMPLISHED BY COMBINATIONS OF FREQUENCIES.
-
- MULTIGROUP--A COMBINATION OF TWO OR MORE PCM MULTIPLEX CHANNELS.
-
- NONLISTED NUMBERS--TELEPHONE NUMBERS THAT DO NOT APPEAR IN THE
- DIRECTORY BUT THAT ARE AVAILABLE IF THE INQUIRER CALLS DIRECTORY
- ASSISTANCE.
-
- NONPUBLISHED NUMBERS--TELEPHONE NUMBERS NOT MADE AVAILABLE TO THE
- PUBLIC. ALSO KNOWN AS SILENT NUMBERS.
-
- OCCUPANCY--THE AVERAGE PROPORTION OF TIME THAT A TRAFFIC CARRYING
- FACILITY IS BUSY.
-
- PACKET SWITCHING--ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS MESSAGE-SWITCHING.
-
- PANEL-SWITCHING SYSTEM--A COMMON CONTROL ELECTROMECHANICAL
- SWITCHING SYSTEM, WHICH WAS USED WIDELY IN THE U.S. PRIOR TO ITS
- VIRTUAL REPLACEMENT BY CROSSBAR AND OTHER SYSTEMS. THE BANKS OF
- SELECTORS TAKE THE FORM OF FLAT VERTICAL PANELS, FROM WHICH THE
- NAME OF THE SYSTEM WAS DERIVED. SOME PANEL INSTALLATIONS ARE
- STILL IN USE IN THE U.S.
-
- PATH--A SET OF LINKS JOINED IN SERIES TO ESTABLISH A CONNECTION.
- PATHS DIFFER IF ONE OR MORE LINKS DIFFER.
-
- P.B.X.--PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE. COMMONLY KNOWN AS A SWITCHBOARD.
- MINI-CENTRAL OFFICE EQUIPMENT FOR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS WITH FROM 10
- TO 2,000 TELEPHONES.
-
- PRIMARY CENTER--A SWITCHING CENTER CONNECTING TOLL CENTERS, WHICH
- CAN ALSO SERVE AS A TOLL CENTER FOR ITS LOCAL END OFFICES. IN THE
- U.S. IT IS DEFINED AS A CLASS 3 OFFICE.
-
- PRIVATE AUTOMATIC BRANCH EXCHANGE (PABX)--A PRIVATE AUTOMATIC
- TELEPHONE EXCHANGE WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE CONNECTION OF CALLS
- GOING TO AND COMING FROM THE PUBLIC TELEPHONE NETWORK (USUALLY A
- CENTRAL OFFICE EXCHANGE) AS WELL AS INTRAEXCHANGE CALLS BETWEEN
- THE SERVED EXTENSIONS.
-
- PROBABILITY OF DELAY--THE PROBABILITY THAT A CALL ATTEMPT, IF
- OFFERED, CANNOT BE COMPLETED IMMEDIATELY.
-
- PROBABILITY OF LOST CALLS (PROBABILITY OF LOSS)--THE PROBABILITY
- THAT A CALL ATTEMPT, IF OFFERED, WILL BE LOST.
-
- PROGRAM STORE--THE MEMORY SECTION OF A STORED PROGRAM CONTROL
- SWITCHING IN WHICH SEMI-PERMANENT INSTRUCTIONS AND TRANSLATIONS
- ARE CONTAINED. THESE ARE FED TO THE CENTRAL PROCESSOR TO PERMIT
- IT TO PROVIDE STORED PROGRAM CONTROL.
-
- PUBLIC SWITCHED NETWORK--ANY SWITCHING SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES
- CIRCUIT SWITCHING FACILITIES FOR USE BY THE PUBLIC. TELEPHONE,
- TELEX, TWX, AND BROADBAND SWITCHED NETWORKS ARE THE PUBLIC
- SWITCHED NETWORKS IN THE U.S.
-
- PULSE AMPLITUDE MODULATION (PAM)--A FORM OF PULSE MODULATION IN
- WHICH A NUMBER OF CHANNELS ARE MULTIPLEXED BY TIME SAMPLING, BUT
- ONE IN WHICH THE PULSE AMPLITUDES VARY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
- AMPLITUDE OF THE ANALOG SIGNAL LEVELS.
-
- PULSE CODE MODULATION (PCM)--A FORM OF PULSE MODULATION IN WHICH
- A NUMBER OF CHANNELS ARE MULTIPLEXED BY TIME SAMPLING AS IN PAM,
- BUT WITH EACH AMPLITUDE REPLACED BY A GROUP OF BINARY PULSES
- WHICH IDENTIFY THE AMPLITUDE.
-
-
-