3G Mobile — Wireless networks built for digital voice and high-speed data, including video.

4G Mobile — The future generation of wireless networks, designed to offer broadband speeds and integrate different types of mobile technology.

Access — Equipment that provides a connection between service providers' central offices and homes, businesses and other user locations.

ANSI (American National Standards Institute) — A private non-profit organization that oversees the development of standards for products, services, processes and personnel in the United States.

Bandwidth — The carrying capacity of a communications channel.

Broadband — A high-bandwidth fiber optic, coaxial or hybrid line with more capacity than a voice-grade phone line, which is capable of carrying numerous voice, data and video channels at once.

Carrier Ethernet — A scalable, manageable carrier-class network that delivers standardized Ethernet services with Quality of Service and high levels of reliability.

Cloud Computing — A process that involves delivering hosted or virtualized services over the Internet.

Data — Any network traffic other than voice phone calls. Increasingly, phone calls and video are encoded and transported as data.

Deployment Services — Services such as installation, training and support.

Digital — Systems that transport information in the binary 1s and 0s format, like a computer code, to improve clarity and quality.

Ethernet — A data network standard to connect computers, printers, workstations, terminals and servers.

Fiber Access — Fiber-optic systems that extend to homes or neighborhoods to deliver broadband services, including voice, data and video.

Gateway — A network device that acts as an entrance to another network and performs functions including signaling control, QoS and security.

HSPA+ (Evolved High-Speed Packet Access) — A 3G wireless broadband standard.

Internet — The world's largest decentralized network of computers and network servers.

IP (Internet Protocol) — Rules that enable cooperating computers to share information across a network.

LAN (Local-Area Network) — A computer or data network that covers a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings.

LTE (Long-Term Evolution) — The next generation of mobile communications services with improved performance and faster speeds.

Managed Access — An access and transport system that simplifies end-to-end management of mobile transport and business services.

Mobile — Wireless communications networks that use radio frequencies rather than cables.

Mobile Backhaul — A process of aggregating and transmitting mobile traffic from remote sites to a main transmission network.

Mobile Packet Core — The signaling and gateway core infrastructure in a mobile network for 3G and 4G networks.

MSPP (Multiservice Provisioning Platform) — A system that consolidates the number of separate devices needed to provide transport, switching and routing services.

Multiservice Router — A network switch that handles both data and the real-time transmission of video and voice with high reliability and quality.

Network — A system of equipment and connections for the transmission of signals that carry voice, video and data.

Network Management — A set of procedures, software, equipment and operations techniques designed to keep a network operating at maximum efficiency.

Offloading — A process of transferring data or bypassing non-required network elements to reduce costs.

Optical Network — A communication system using fiber optics as the means for carrying information between equipment.

ONT (Optical Network Terminal) — A device that connects a fiber-access network to a home or business to deliver voice, data and video services.

Optical Transport — A technology that transmits communications traffic in the form of laser light over fiber-optic cable.

Professional Services — Services such as network optimization, business case analysis and network performance enhancements.

QoS (Quality of Service) — A measurement of integrity of traffic moving over a network. QoS is especially important for real-time transmissions such as financial transactions, voice and video.

ROADM (Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer) — A system that enables the remote configuration of any wavelength on any network element, reducing the need to dispatch technicians.

Router — A device that sends Internet Protocol (IP) traffic, or packets, to specific destinations.

SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) — A transport format for transmitting high-speed digital information over fiber-optic facilities outside of North America, comparable to SONET.

Smartphone — A mobile device that integrates the functionality of a mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other information appliance, often with personal computer functionality.

SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork) — A transport format for sending high-speed digital signals through fiber-optics in North America, comparable to SDH.

TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) — A technology that combines multiple streams of traffic by assigning timeslots, sequentially in turn from each input onto a combined higher speed channel.

Transport — A process of moving voice, data or video across communications networks.

VQE (Voice Quality Enhancement) — A technique that improves sound quality by isolating and filtering out unwanted signals and sounds such as echoes and background noise.

WiMax — A technology that provides wireless transmission of data for both point-to-point and mobile applications.

Wireline — Networks that use cables rather than radio frequency.