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- The Bell Glossary courtesy of the Jolly Roger
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- . The Bell Glossary - ..
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- ACD: Automatic Call Distributor - A system that automatically distributes calls
- to operator pools (providing services such as intercept and directory
- assistance), to airline ticket agents, etc.
-
- Administration: The tasks of record-keeping, monitoring, rearranging,
- prediction need for growth, etc.
-
- AIS: Automatic Intercept System - A system employing an audio-response unit
- under control of a processor to automatically provide pertinent info to callers
- routed to intercept.
-
- Alert: To indicate the existence of an incoming call, (ringing).
-
- ANI: Automatic Number Identification - Often pronounced "Annie," a facility for
- automatically identify the number of the calling party for charging purposes.
-
- Appearance: A connection upon a network terminal, as in "the line has two
- network appearances."
-
- Attend: The operation of monitoring a line or an incoming trunk for off-hook or
- seizure, respectively.
-
- Audible: The subdued "image" of ringing transmitted to the calling party during
- ringing; not derived from the actual ringing signal in later systems.
-
- Backbone Route: The route made up of final-group trunks between end offices in
- different regional center areas.
-
- BHC: Busy Hour Calls - The number of calls placed in the busy hour.
-
- Blocking: The ratio of unsuccessful to total attempts to use a facility;
- expresses as a probability when computed a priority.
-
- Blocking Network: A network that, under certain conditions, may be unable to
- form a transmission path from one end of the network to the other. In general,
- all networks used within the Bell Systems are of the blocking type.
-
- Blue Box: Equipment used fraudulently to synthesize signals, gaining access to
- the toll network for the placement of calls without charge.
-
- BORSCHT Circuit: A name for the line circuit in the central office. It
- functions as a mnemonic for the functions that must be performed by the
- circuit: Battery, Overvoltage, Ringing, Supervision, Coding, Hybrid, and
- Testing.
-
- Busy Signal: (Called-line-busy) An audible signal which, in the Bell System,
- comprises 480hz and 620hz interrupted at 60IPM.
-
- Bylink: A special high-speed means used in crossbar equipment for routing calls
- incoming from a step-by-step office. Trunks from such offices are often
- referred to as "bylink" trunks even when incoming to noncrossbar offices; they
- are more properly referred to as "dc incoming trunks." Such high-speed means
- are necessary to assure that the first incoming pulse is not lost.
-
- Cable Vault: The point which phone cable enters the Central Office building.
-
- CAMA: Centralized Automatic Message Accounting - Pronounced like Alabama.
-
- CCIS: Common Channel Interoffice Signaling - Signaling information for trunk
- connections over a separate, nonspeech data link rather that over the trunks
- themselves.
-
- CCITT: International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee- An
- International committee that formulates plans and sets standards for
- intercountry communication means.
-
- CDO: Community Dial Office - A small usually rural office typically served by
- step-by-step equipment.
-
- CO: Central Office - Comprises a switching network and its control and support
- equipment. Occasionally improperly used to mean "office code."
-
- Centrex: A service comparable in features to PBX service but implemented with
- some (Centrex CU) or all (Centrex CO) of the control in the central office. In
- the later case, each station's loop connects to the central office.
-
- Customer Loop: The wire pair connecting a customer's station to the central
- office.
-
- DDD: Direct Distance Dialing - Dialing without operator assistance over the
- nationwide intertoll network.
-
- Direct Trunk Group: A trunk group that is a direct connection between a given
- originating and a given terminating office.
-
- EOTT: End Office Toll Trunking - Trunking between end offices in different toll
- center areas.
-
- ESB: Emergency Service Bureau - A centralized agency to which 911 "universal"
- emergency calls are routed.
-
- ESS: Electronic Switching System - A generic term used to identify as a class,
- stored-program switching systems such as the Bell System's No.1 No.2, No.3,
- No.4, or No.5.
-
- ETS: Electronic Translation Systems - An electronic replacement for the card
- translator in 4A Crossbar systems. Makes use of the SPC 1A Processor.
-
- False Start: An aborted dialing attempt.
-
- Fast Busy: (often called reorder) - An audible busy signal interrupted at twice
- the rate of the normal busy signal; sent to the originating station to indicate
- that the call blocked due to busy equipment.
-
- Final Trunk Group: The trunk group to which calls are routed when available
- high-usage trunks overflow; these groups generally "home" on an office next
- highest in the hierarchy.
-
- Full Group: A trunk group that does not permit rerouting off-contingent foreign
- traffic; there are seven such offices.
-
- Glare: The situation that occurs when a two-way trunk is seized more or less
- simultaneously at both ends.
-
- High Usage Trunk Group: The appellation for a trunk group that has alternate
- routes via other similar groups, and ultimately via a final trunk group to a
- higher ranking office.
-
- Intercept: The agency (usually an operator) to which calls are routed when made
- to a line recently removed from a service, or in some other category requiring
- explanation. Automated versions (ASI) with automatic voiceresponse units are
- growing in use.
-
- Interrupt: The interruption on a phone line to disconnect and connect with
- another station, such as an Emergence Interrupt.
-
- Junctor: A wire or circuit connection between networks in the same office. The
- functional equivalent to an intraoffice trunk.
-
- MF: Multifrequency - The method of signaling over a trunk making use of the
- simultaneous application of two out of six possible frequencies.
-
- NPA: Numbering Plan Area.
-
- ONI: Operator Number Identification - The use of an operator in a CAMA office
- to verbally obtain the calling number of a call originating in an office not
- equipped with ANI.
-
- PBX: Private Branch Exchange - (PABX: Private Automatic Branch Exchange) An
- telephone office serving a private customer, Typically , access to the outside
- telephone network is provided.
-
- Permanent Signal: A sustained off-hook condition without activity (no dialing
- or ringing or completed connection); such a condition tends to tie up
- equipment, especially in earlier systems. Usually accidental, but sometimes
- used intentionally by customers in high-crime-rate areas to thwart off
- burglars.
-
- POTS: Plain Old Telephone Service - Basic service with no extra "frills".
-
- ROTL: Remote Office Test Line - A means for remotely testing trunks.
-
- RTA: Remote Trunk Arrangement - An extension to the TSPS system permitting its
- services to be provided up to 200 miles from the TSPS site.
-
- SF: Single Frequency. A signaling method for trunks: 2600hz is impressed upon
- idle trunks.
-
- Supervise: To monitor the status of a call.
-
- SxS: (Step-by-Step or Strowger switch) - An electromechanical office type
- utilizing a gross-motion stepping switch as a combination network and
- distributed control.
-
- Talkoff: The phenomenon of accidental synthesis of a machine-intelligible
- signal by human voice causing an unintended response. "whistling a tone".
-
- Trunk: A path between central offices; in general 2-wire for interlocal, 4-wire
- for intertoll.
-
- TSPS: Traffic Service Position System - A system that provides, under stored-
- program control, efficient operator assistance for toll calls. It does not
- switch the customer, but provides a bridge connection to the operator.
-
- X-bar: (Crossbar) - An electromechanical office type utilizing a "fine-motion"
- coordinate switch and a multiplicity of central controls (called markers).
- There are four varieties:
- No.1 Crossbar: Used in large urban office application; (1938)
- No 3 Crossbar: A small system started in (1974).
- No.4A/4M Crossbar: A 4-wire toll machine; (1943).
- No.5 Crossbar: A machine originally intended for relatively small
- suburban applications; (1948)
- Crossbar Tandem: A machine used for interlocal office switching.
-
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