A fitting that supplies a passage between two sets of equipment when they cannot be directly interconnected.

Adaptive array antenna is a type of advanced ’smart’ antenna technology that continually monitors a received signal and dynamically adapts signal patterns to optimize wireless system performance. The arrays use signal processing algorithms to adapt to user movement, to changes in the radio-frequency environment, and to multi-path and co-channel interference.

Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC, A/D or A to D) is an electronic device that converts continuous signals to discrete digital numbers. The reverse operation is performed by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). ADC can uniquely represent all analog input values within a specified total input range by a limited number of digital output codes. Refer also to DAC.

An Analog system uses an analog transmission method to send voice, video and data-using analog signals, such as electricity or sound waves, that are continuously variable rather than discreet units as in digital transmissions. Mobile analog systems include AMPS, NMT and ETACS.

Analog Transmission refers to signals propagated through the medium as continuously varying electromagnetic waves.

Antenna gain, also known as antenna directivity, is the relative gain of the main beam of an antenna pattern to a reference antenna, usually an isotropic or standard dipole. Antenna Gain is the effectiveness of a directional antenna expressed as the ratio of input power of the directional antenna to input power of an isotropic radiator to provide the same field strength in the desired direction. Sometimes related to a dipole antenna.

Attenuation refers to decreasing in signal magnitude between two points. These points may be along a radio path, transmission line or other devices.

Attenuator is a device specifically designed to decrease the magnitude of a signal transmitted through it.

Average power is the peak power averaged over time and is usually applied to pulsed systems where the carrier power is switched on and off.

In wireless technology, backhaul refers to transporting voice and data traffic from a cell site to the switch.

A Band Pass Filter is a radio wave filter with a specific range of frequencies in which it is designed to pass. It rejects frequencies outside the pass-band range. A resistor-inductor-capacitor circuit is an example of a Band Pass Filter.

Bandwidth usually identifies the capacity of a circuit or amount of data that can be sent through a given circuit. It may be user-specified in a PVC. It is an indication of the amount of data that is passing over a medium. Also, bandwidth is the portion of the frequency spectrum required to transmit desired information. Each radio channel has a center frequency and additional frequencies above and below this carrier frequency which is used to carry the transmitted information. The range of frequencies from the lowest to the highest used is called the bandwidth.

Bit Error Rate or Bit Error Ratio (link quality specification/testing) (BER) is a measure of transmission quality. The ratio of error bits to the total number of bits transmitted. A bit error rate of 10-6 refers to an average of one error per million bits. It is generally shown as a negative exponent, (for example, 10-7 which means 1 out of 107 bits are in error or 1 out of 10,000,000 bits are in error). Bit Error Rate is the fraction of a sequence of message bits that are in error.

Bit Error Rate Test/Tester (BERT) is a test that gauges the quality of the T1 or digital line. By sending a known pattern to another device across the span, the far end device can compare incoming pattern to its own, thereby indicating bit errors on the line.

Broadband refers to telecommunication that provides multiple channels of data over a single communications medium, typically using some form of frequency or wave division multiplexing. It is a service or system requiring transmission channels capable of supporting rates greater than the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) primary rate.

Coaxial Cable (Coax) is a type of electrical communications medium used in the LAN environment. This cable consists of an outer conductor concentric to an inner conductor, separated from each other by insulating material, and covered by some protective outer material. This medium offers large bandwidth, supporting high data rates with high immunity to electrical interference and a low incidence of errors. Coax is subject to distance limitations and is relatively expensive and difficult to install.

Continuous Wave (CW)

Displayed Average Noise Level (DANL): Displayed average noise level is sometimes confused with the term Sensitivity. While related, these terms have different meanings. Sensitivity is a measure of the minimum signal level that yields a defined signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or bit error rate (BER). It is a common metric of radio receiver performance. Spectrum analyzer specifications are always given in terms of the DANL. One of the primary uses of a spectrum analyzer is to search out and measure low-level signals. The limitation in these measurements is the noise generated within the spectrum analyzer itself. This noise, generated by the random electron motion in various circuit elements, is amplified by multiple gain stages in the analyzer and appears on the display as a noise signal. On a spectrum analyzer, this noise is commonly referred to as the Displayed Average Noise Level, or DANL 1. While there are techniques to measure signals slightly below the DANL, this noise power ultimately limits our ability to make measurements of low-level signals.

Distributed Antenna System (DAS) is a network of antenna nodes that are used to provide wireless service in a limited area or in a building. A DAS may be indoors or outdoors. Such an antenna or series of antennas can be connected via coaxial cable, leaky feeder, or optical fiber link.

Decibel or deciBel (dB) is a unit for measuring relative power ratios in terms of gain or loss. The units of dB are expressed in terms of the logarithm to base 10 of a ratio and typically are expressed in watts. For example, a -3dB loss indicates a 50% loss in power; a +3dB reading is a doubling of power; 10 dB indicates an increase (or a loss) by a factor of 10; 20 dB indicates an increase (or a loss) of a factor of 100; 30 dB indicates an increase (or a loss) by a factor of 1000.

Decibels referenced to the carrier (dBc) is a technique for expressing a power measurement in logarithmic form using the carrier power as a reference. The units are used to describe how far down signals and noise are relative to a known signal. Typical use of this term is to describe spurious signals and noise compared to a desired transmit signal.

dBm is a decibel value referenced to a milliWatt (dBm). This is a technique for expressing a power measurement in logarithmic form using 1 mW as a reference. dBm is a decibel ratio (log 10) of Watts (W) to one milliwatt (1mW). dBm, therefore, represents absolute power.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

ElectroMagnetic Interface (EMI): EMI refers to signals that are generated and radiated by an electronic device and that cause interference with radio communications, among other effects. MI is the interference by electromagnetic signals that can cause reduced data integrity and increased error rates on transmission channels.

Flash memory is a non-volatile solid state storage device that is packaged as a chip. It can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. T is primarily used in memory cards, USB flash drives, MP3 players, and solid-state drives for general storage and transfer of data between computers and other digital products. Is a specific type of EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) that is erased and programmed in large blocks.

Gain refers to the ratio of the output amplitude of a signal to the input amplitude of the signal. This ratio typically is expressed in dB. He higher the gain, the better the antenna receives or transmits, but also the more noise it includes.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that provides reliable location and time information in all weather and at all times when and where an unobstructed line of sight is available to four or more GPS satellites. The system is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible by anyone with a GPS receiver. The Global Positioning System is making it possible for people using ground receivers to determine their geographic location within 10 to 100 meters. The satellites use simple mathematical calculations to broadcast information that is translated as longitude, latitude, and altitude by Earth-based receivers.

Noise Figure (NF) is a measure of degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that is caused by components in a radio frequency (RF) device. The noise factor (F) of a system is defined as the signal-to-noise ratio of the input power of the system divided by the signal-to-noise ratio of the output power of that system. F (the noise figure) is defined as the decibel value of the noise factor. = 10log (F) where log uses the base 10, or common log. T s formula is valid only then the input termination is at standard noise temperature.

Occupied Bandwidth (OBW) is a measure of the bandwidth containing 99% of the total integrated power of the transmitted spectrum, centered on the assigned channel frequency. Interference to other channels or to other systems can occur if OBW is too large.

Over The Air (OTA): OTA refers generally to any transfer of information or signal that takes place in a wireless environment, rather than using a wired connection. OTA is usually used in connection with a standard defining the provisioning of mobile devices and applications, such as downloading or uploading content or software, and commonly used in conjunction with the Short Messaging Service (SMS). SMS OTA Messages contain information that is used to configure the settings of a WAP browser in a mobile phone (refer to SMS and WAP).