Telecommunications Glossary

DCS Guide

A-B | C-D | E-F | G-H | I-L | M-N | O-Q | R-S | T-V | W-Z

A

accelerated dial-up: a dial-up internet access service that utilizes integrated software to provide dial-up that is quicker than normal dial-up internet. French: Composition Internet accélérée.

access ancillary: Arrangements that are specifically created to provide an ISP with the ability to connect to end-users. Access Ancillary arrangements tend to have aggregation and user authentication capabilities. Examples include Bell Gateway Access Service (GAS) and Cable Third Party Internet Access (TPIA). French: Accès auxiliaire.

access-independent VoIP services: services that enable customers to make and/or receive real time voice calls over an Internet access service, using telephone numbers that conform to North American Numbering Plan (NANP), to and/or from parties that subscribe to a PSTN service. An access-independent VoIP service is provided independent of the underlying Internet access service operating and providing identical service features and similar quality over any Internet access service of sufficient bandwidth. French: Services VoIP indépendants de l'accès.

account: the basket of products, services, and all other revenue-generating items billed to a single entity. That single entity may be a business, business unit, group, organisation, private individual, or other unit. Multiple layers of accounts are sometimes maintained, particularly in the case of business units or franchises billed separately but whose relationship to a single corporate entity is tracked. In the context of the CRTC monitoring process, such accounts are usually enumerated at the most disaggregated (lowest) level available. French: compte.

accounting rate: in international PSTN communication, the system administered by the ITU which sets out the pricing principles to be used in interconnection agreements between international PSTN operators. Per-minute accounting rates are designed to enable revenue for international calls to be shared between the operator in the country that originates traffic and the operator in the country that delivers the traffic; because accounting rates theoretically define the full cost of each international call, a settlement rate of one-half of each accounting rate is normally assigned to be paid by the originating service provider to the terminating service provider. At the end of each year, each pair of service providers under the accounting system settles its international interconnection payments, and the service provider with the negative balance of trade pays the net difference to the service provider with the positive balance of trade. With private intercarrier arrangements and FCC benchmark rates, the accounting rate system is today one of three major systems used to determine international interconnection payments. French: taux de répartition.

advertised throughput: for connectivity services such as Internet access, the throughput speed (in bits, or some multiple thereof) associated with a particular product offering. Advertised throughput may be, but is not necessarily, guaranteed contractually to the purchasing customer. French: débit annoncé.

amortization: the gradual expensing of capitalized intangible assets and/or deferred charges, such as goodwill, patents, financing costs, or business transformation costs, over a period of time greater than one year. French: amortissement.

AMPS: Advanced (or American) Mobile Phone System. A communications protocol that uses radio frequencies in the 800 MHz (megahertz) frequency band to provide mobile telecom services, including interoperability with the wireline PSTN (public switched telephone network). Introduced in the early 1980s, AMPS was among the earliest widely-deployed cellular telephone protocols; with TACS (Total Access Communication System) and NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone), AMPS was among the primary first-generation (1G) analogy mobile services. AMPS implementations include E-AMPS (extended AMPS), which uses an expanded spectrum range, and N-AMPS (narrowband AMPS), which triples the original implementation's voice compression; D-AMPS (digital AMPS), a second-generation (2G) mobile protocol, was the first widely-deployed digital implementation of AMPS. French: AMPS (Service téléphonique mobile perfectionné).

annualization: translation or conversion of data for part of a year, for more than a year, or which fluctuates over the course of a year into an annual or one-year equivalent amount or rate. French: annualisation.

annualization basis: the methodological basis on which a set of data is annualized; when data are available for multiple points in a single year, the annualization basis is the number of points used in annualizing the data. A common annualization basis is the thirteen-point average, calculated as the mean of data points at an equivalent day for thirteen consecutive months, such as the first day of January to January. French: base annualisée.

application: all of the programmable elements—error-checking, session management, message flow, software, user interface—which, together, make use of network connectivity as a platform upon which to deliver usable services such as voice telephony or the Web to end users. Application is the third of the three-slice vertical capacity-connectivity-applications model used in the CRTC's telecom monitoring process, and corresponds to layers four and above in the OSI reference model. French: application.

AS: Autonomous System. In BGP routing, an Autonomous System is a collection of Intent Protocol routers, identified by their IP prefixes, whose single and clearly-defined routing policy is coordinated by an administrative entity formed by one or more network operators. Each AS is identified by a globally unique, two-byte AS Number (ASN) assigned and managed by a regional numbering registry such as the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), the Asia-Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC), or Réseaux IP Européens Network Co-ordination Centre (RIPE NCC). In order to qualify for an AS assignment, an Internet network must normally have at least two separate connections to the Internet. AS Numbers began at 1 and ran to over 14001 at this writing. French: AS (Système autonome).

AS Number (ASN): see AS. French: Numéro AS (ASN).

ASCII: (American Standard Code for Information Interchange): a standard for the simple encoding of text documents on computers. Files stored in HTML, Microsoft word, PDF, or Rich Text Format are not ASCII files; most database packages and word processors can save ASCII files if a plain "text option" is selected. French: ASCII.

ATM: (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) a high bandwidth, low-delay, connection-oriented, packet-like switching and multiplexing technique. French: MTA.

Autonomous System (AS): see AS. French: Système autonome (AS).

average revenue per user (ARPU): Is a measure of revenues on a per user or subscriber basis. The ARPU values presented in the telecommunications monitoring report are based on average annual monthly data. French: revnus moyens par utilisateur (RMPU).

average revenue per minute/message (ARPM): This is a measure of the average revenues a service provider earns on a per minute or message basis. ARPM is commonly used by wireless and long distance service providers. French: Revenus moyens par minute/message (RMMM).

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B

backbone: the core network segments which connect two or more network nodes together for the purpose of transiting network traffic between edge nodes. See also Internet backbone, long-haul backbone, short-haul backbone, voice backbone. French: dorsale.

balance sheet: a formal statement of financial position, in the form of a concise statement, showing a true and fair view of total assets, liabilities, and owners' equity as of the end of the final day of a reporting period. French: bilan.

bandwidth: the maximum data-carrying capability of a point-to-point telecommunications connection as a result of the range of frequencies available to be occupied by signals, usually expressed in terms of Hertz (Hz) in analogy systems and as a number of bits per second in digital systems. At the capacity layer, bandwidth is measured with regard to theoretical maximum throughput based on existing technology; at the connectivity layer, bandwidth is measured with regard to the network segment's maximum throughput based on the provisioned, installed equipment in service. French: bande passante.

base station: A transmission and reception station in a fixed location, consisting of one or more receive/transmit antenna, microwave dish, and electronic circuitry, used to handle cellular traffic. It serves as a bridge between all mobile users in a cell and connects mobile calls to the mobile switching center. French: station de base.

benchmark rate: one of a modified set of per-minute charges established by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a ceiling on the international rates that U.S. service providers may pay non-U.S. service providers to terminate international PSTN traffic originating in the United States. The FCC created benchmark rates after judging that the settlement rates U.S. service providers pay non-U.S. service providers to terminate U.S.-originated PSTN traffic were in most cases substantially above the costs non-U.S. service providers incurred to terminate that traffic. Benchmark rates were developed according to a "tariffed component price" methodology which grouped countries into upper income countries, upper-middle income countries, lower-middle income countries, and lower income countries. See also accounting rate, international interconnection payment. French: taxes de référence.

BDU Revenues: Revenues generated from BDU operations excluding Internet and telecommunication services. BDU revenues include revenues from basic programming service packages, discretionary programming service packages (programming services not on the basic service) and exempt and non-programming services. French: Revenus des EDR.

BGP routing: Border Gateway Protocol routing. BGP's BGP4 implementation is the standard inter-domain routing protocol used for passing traffic between autonomous systems (ASes) on the Internet. An Internet network operator's ability to route traffic to and from other Internet ASes therefore requires the ability to use BGP routing. BGP is often sold bundled with Internet access as Internet transport, especially as a wholesale product. French: acheminement BGP.

billed minute: one minute of network traffic for which the customer is billed, usually the customer having generated or demanded that traffic. In voice calls, billed minutes correspond to conversation minutes, since they exclude call set-up time and call signalling. See also originating minute and terminating minute. French: minute facturée.

billing address: the most precise civic address at which a given telecommunication facility or service is billed, independently of the site at which the facility terminates or the service is delivered. See also service address. French: adresse de facturation.

brand name: a company-specific name for a particular product or service, usually used to differentiate that product or service from competitor offerings. See also generic name. French: nom de marque.

broadband: generally a data access link, especially an Internet access link, usually defined in terms of the minimum amount of bandwidth to which the end user has access, and whose characteristics facilitate the use of advanced telecommunications applications and services. Some definitions fix this threshold at 1.5 Mbps (T-1) speed in North America and at 2 Mbps (E-1) speed in Europe; at the same time, it is recognized that this scale is likely to increase as new applications because widely deployed, and so other definitions have usefully emphasized broadband's always-on (dedicated access) character, the user's ability to upgrade her or his access bandwidth as the need arises, and the consideration that the local link be neither a limiting factor in deploying existing applications nor a bottleneck in encouraging new ones. In the context of the CRTC's telecommunications monitoring process, the term "broadband" is not used with regard to data collection; instead, a distinction is established between narrowband (speed in either direction of up to 128 Kbps) and high-speed (speed in either direction of over 128 Kbps) Internet access. French: large bande.

broadband over power lines: technology to allow the transmission of high speed internet over utility power lines. French: Large bande sur ligne électrique.

bundles: an arrangement under which a subscriber is provided two or more service elements, under a rate structure which provides a financial or other benefit that is contingent on the use, consumption of or subscription to any or all service elements in the bundle and that would not otherwise be available. French: Forfait.

bundled Revenues: Bundling generally refers to a situation where one rate covers a number of products and/or services. If a bundle includes contribution-eligible and non-contribution eligible revenues, the bundling rules apply as per Orders CRTC 2001-220 and 2001-221. French: Revenus groupés.

business account: an account billed to a commercial or institutional customer, as opposed to a residential or consumer account. Commercial and institutional customers include businesses, such as financial and non-financial commercial enterprises and crown corporations; public institutions, such as hospitals, schools, and universities; and government bodies, including the federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal tiers. French: compte d'affaires.

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C

Cable Data – A system for transferring data over a Coax or Hybrid Fibre Coax cable television distribution system. See Cable Modem.

cable modem: a device which allows a computer end-terminal to initiate and effect a dedicated communications link with a cable modem termination system (CMTS) via a coaxial cable ("cable television") network, usually using Internet Protocol (IP) at the network layer and interconnecting with the Internet so as to provide the cable modem with Internet access. Because cable modem networks operate as a shared broadcast medium, the bandwidth available to each cable modem is a function of what the other cable modems also connected to the CMTS are doing, but is generally similar to that provided by DSL connections. French: modem câble.

calling card: a physical support, often in the form of a wallet-sized card made of plastic or paper, which contains contractual information as to using postpaid or prepaid long distance services from the calling card provider. Calling card based long distance, a form of dial-around, is a two-step method for selecting a long distance service provider on a call-by-call basis. The caller first dials an access number to enter the non-PICed service provider's network, then dials the destination number from within that service provider's network.

A postpaid calling card is usually provided by a long distance provider to its subscribers, especially where the subscriber's voice wireline service is PICed to that provider. A prepaid calling card is usually purchased; charges are deducted for long distance calls used on the account whose access numbers are provided on that account until the account value has been depleted. Charges may be deducted from the prepaid account for the subscriber's use of a toll-free access number in addition to charges associated with the destination number. Where this is the case, the calling card provider may account for these billed 800/866/877/888 minutes separately as toll long distance charges—not toll-free—creating, in effect, two minutes of long distance for each minute during which the PSTN connection was maintained. French: carte d'appel.

Canadian Non-Telecommunications Revenues: All Canadian revenues that are derived from services other than telecommunications service as defined in sections 2 and/or 23 of the Telecommunications Act (i.e. not a telecommunications service or any service that is incidental to the business of providing telecommunications services). French: Revenus canadiens autres que de télécommunications.

Canadian Telecommunications Service Revenues: Total Operating Revenues for Contribution Purposes less Non-Canadian Revenues and less Canadian Non-Telecommunications Revenues. French: Revenus des services de télécommunications canadiens.

capacity: the physical communications medium of which a network segment is composed, including its electrical and mechanical properties; network access lines such as twisted copper pairs are examples of capacity. Capacity is the first of the three-slice capacity-connectivity-applications model used in the CRTC's telecom monitoring process, and corresponds to layer one, or the physical layer, in the OSI reference model; capacity bandwidth is usually measured with regard to theoretical maximum throughput based on existing technology. French: capacité.

capital expenditure: the cost of procuring, constructing, and installing new durable plant and machinery and equipment, whether for replacement of worn or obsolete assets, as additions to existing assets, or for lease or rent to others. French: dépense en immobilisations.

CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access. A spread spectrum air interface protocol that uses radio frequencies to provide mobile telecom services, including interoperability with the wireline PSTN (public switched telephone network). A so-called "second generation" (2G) service, CDMA was developed in the U.S. by Qualcomm and, with TDMA and GSM TDMA, is one of three main protocol implementations used in delivering PCS mobile voice services. French: AMRC.

CDMA 1xRTT: also referred to as cdma2000 1x, 1xRTT is the first phase of cdma2000, a planned "third generation" (3G) service which conforms to the ITU's IMT-2000 standard for UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) services for delivering near-broadband data over mobile. As an intermediate step toward cdma2000, 1XRTT implementation requires only modest hardware and software upgrades to existing CDMA infrastructure. Like GPRS, CDMA 1xRTT is a so-called "second-and-a-half generation" (2.5G) service. French: AMRC 1xRTT.

CDPD: Cellular Digital Packet Data. A specification for a packet-switched, narrowband TDMA overlay network designed for wide-area wireless data communication. French: SCTDP.

cell site: Please refer to base station. French: station de base.

census metropolitan area (CMA): a term used by Statistics Canada to refer to a city and its surrounding area, where the surrounding area contains the main labour market of an urbanized zone. A list of CMAs, together with Census Agglomeration (CA) and Census Subdivision (CSD) lists, may be obtained at <http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CMA.cfm>. French: région métropolitaine de recensement (RMR).

Central Office (CO): a room or building equipped so that network access lines terminating there may be interconnected together and to other portions of the PSTN as required. See also local calling area. French: central téléphonique.

Centrex: a business telephone service offered by a service provider that permits direct inward dialling to a customer's extension, transfer of incoming calls from one extension to another, and identification of extension telephones for billing of long-distance calls. Centrex is comparable in features to PBX service, but is based on switching equipment usually located partly (Centrex CU) or wholly (Centrex CO) on the service provider's premises. French: Centrex.

churn rate: a measure of customer turnover, used especially in the mobile telephony or Internet access markets. Expressed in the wireless industry as a rate per month for a given measurement period; the subscriber units disconnected divided by the average number of units of the network. French: taux de resiliation.

citizen band (CB): Is a two way radio or communication device mainly for short distance communications. French: service radio général (SRG).

city-to-city: see intercity. French: ville à ville.

CLLI: (Common Language Location Identification) code. An eleven character alphanumeric descriptor used to identify switches, points of interconnection, and other categories of telephony network elements and their locations. The CLLI code consists of 4 main identifiers. The first four digits are an abbreviation for the city it is located in; the fifth and sixth digits identify the province it is located in; the seventh and eighth digits identify the building it is located in; and the last three digits identify the type of switch or equipment. French: SUCAL (système universel de codes alphanumériques - lieux).

CMA: see census metropolitan area. French: RMR.

coaxial cable (coax): a copper wire surrounded by insulation which is itself surrounded by a grounded shield of braided wire, minimizing electrical and radio frequency interference. Coaxial cable is the most common type of cabling used for network access lines that deliver television and other audio-visual signals into customer premises. Two-way, or full-duplex, coaxial access lines allow a duplex high-speed Internet to be deployed over the cable using a cable modem system using a hybrid fibre-coax network, buttelephone-return coax subscriptions may also be counted as narrowband, wideband, or broadband Internet subscriptions. See also optical fibre. French: câble coaxial.

Compliance Statement: TSPs are required to provide a compliance statement attesting to the accuracy of the financial information being provided including the Annual Revenue Report, any supporting forms and the financial statements. If a TSP has audited financial statements, then the TSP's external auditor must attest to the accuracy of the financial information being provided. If a TSP has unaudited financial statements, then the TSP can either provide an affidavit signed by two officers of the company, with one being the company's chief financial officer, or have an external auditor attest to the accuracy of the financial information being provided. French: Déclarations de conformité.

connectivity: the specific protocols, services, and signalling systems which allow analogue and digital traffic to move across physical capacity in such a way as to allow applications such as voice telephony or the Web to take place. Connectivity is the second of the three-slice vertical capacity-connectivity-applications model used in the CRTC's telecom monitoring procses, and corresponds to layers two (data link) and three (network) in the OSI reference model. French: connectivité.

contribution: Contribution revenues consist of the total amount received from the central fund; contribution expenses consist of the total amount paid into the central fund. Although contribution revenues are related to local voice service revenues, they are considered a separate line item, and should not be reported as a subset of voice wireline except where explicitly instructed. French: contribution.

Contribution-Eligible Revenues: Canadian telecommunications service revenues less certain specific deductions including terminal equipment revenue. French: Revenus admissibles à la contribution.

Contribution Payments Received: Contribution entitlements received from the Central Fund Administrator. French: Paiements de contribution reçus.

copper: the metal used in most coaxial cable and PSTN network access lines. French: cuivre.

CPA Canada Handbook: The Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) of Canada Handbook includes (a) the national accounting standards set by the Accounting Standards Board for entities that prepare financial statements in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles including the International Financial Reporting Standards (CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting) and (b) the professional standards and guidance as set out by the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (CPA Canada Handbook – Assurance). French: Manuel de CPA Canada

customer equipment & accessories (gross): see terminal equipment. French: équipement et accessoires de clientèle (brut).

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D

dark fibre: optical fibre infrastructure that is in place but is not connected to in-service transmission equipment. Information is transmitted over optical fibre using light pulses—which is why unused fibre is dark. French: fibre optique inutilisée.

data application: any application or service which resides on top of a connectivity layer and relies upon a digital interface to facilitate user interaction as part of a specific function or set of functions. Data applications are available on a variety of platforms, including mobile telephones; examples of mobile data applications include SMS and WAP. French: application de données.

data hosting and storage: a service whereby a customer contracts for data to be stored on a third-party computer or other device connected to a network, such that the data hosted and/or stored is either publicly or privately reachable via some local- or wide-area network. Data hosting charges often include charges for network connectivity and/or network traffic, particularly in the case of the Internet; Web hosting is an example of data hosting. French: hébergement et stockage de données.

data link layer: layer two in the OSI reference model. The data link layer provides the functional and procedural means to enable the moving of data in and out across a physical network segment, transforming a raw transmission facility into a telecommunications network. ATM, frame relay, and X.25 are examples of data link layer protocols. French: couche liaison de données.

depreciation: the expensing of fixed assets such as property (excluding land), plant, and equipment over a period of time greater than one year. French: dépréciation.

dial-around: a two-step method of bypassing the PICed carrier to select a long distance service provider on a call-by-call basis, by dialling an access number to access the non-PICed service provider's network, then dialling the destination number from within that service provider's network. Two types of dial-around exist:

  • Under "101 calling", where the seven-digit access number begins with 101, retail billing is administered by the subscriber's voice wireline provider, enabling post-paid non-calling-card dial-around. "101 calling" is also known as casual calling.
  • Where "101 calling" is not used, the subscriber dials a conventional PSTN number to access the non-PICed carrier's network, and billing arrangements are arranged directly between the subscriber and the long distance provider, often in the form of a calling card or credit card. Non-"101 calling" dial-around may be used from terminals which do not normally extend Primary Interexchange Carrier selection to individual users, such as mobile voice, voice payphone, and certain Centrex or PSTN-interconnected PBX terminals.

French: contournement.

dial-up Internet: an access method which allows a computer end-terminal, using any dialled PSTN connection, to use ITU v.90 or v.92 compliant equipment to initiate and effect a switched communications link with another computer terminal via a twisted copper pair's voice frequency band (0-4000 Hz) and to establish Internet access over the switched computer-to-computer communications link. French: composition Internet.

DNS: Domain Name System. A distributed application for registering alphanumeric domain names, like "www.crtc.gc.ca"; assigning each domain name a corresponding and separately-registered IP address, like "198.103.61.7"; and querying an up-to-date database to match domain names to IP addresses on a frequent basis. Both the DNS implementation and database contents that define the Internet standard are overseen by ICANN. French: DNS.

Domain Name System: See DNS. French: Système des noms de domaine.

domestic call: in long distance PSTN communications, a voice wireline or voice payphone connection which originates in one local calling area in Canada and terminates in another local calling area in Canada, or a dialled mobile connection which originates outside that terminal's calling area in Canada and/or terminates outside that terminal's local calling area in Canada. Where a mobile call combines two types of long distance segment, the call is accounted for according to the longest-distance segment; one and only minute of long distance is counted for each billed minute of air time. French: appel intérieur.

Downstream: in Internet access, traffic handled at the service provider end and terminating to the customer. French: aval.

DSL: Digital Subscriber Line. A specification for dedicated, full-duplex service between customer premise and a service provider's point of presence via a conventional twisted copper pair's upper 4 KHz to 2.2 MHz frequency band. The capacity of the DSL connection is highly dependent on the length of the connection and, therefore, the distance between the customer premise and the service provider's point of presence; in general, the maximum range for repeaterless DSL is 5.5 km. Other DSL implementations include ADSL (Asymmetric DSL), which dedicates most of its bandwidth to service provider-to-user flows, and VDSL (Very high data rate DSL), which can be provisioned only over relatively short distances, but delivers symmetrical, broadband capacity well over 1.5 Mbps. DSL is often bundled with one or two connectivity services. By implementing ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) in the customer-end modem and, at the service provider end, in a DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM), the service provider is able to easily interconnect the DSL subscriber's line with ATM-based network services and providers. In Canada, some high-speed Internet resellers interconnect via ATM to the DSLAM in this manner in order to provide Internet services to DSL subscribers. Where the subscriber has not contracted with a separate Internet provider, they may contract directly with their DSL provider for bundled Internet –over-DSL -- technically, Internet-over-ATM-over-DSL. Although DSL is often associated with Internet access, the two are therefore distinct network services,

Although DSL is a capacity-layer technology, it is often bundled with one or two connectivity services. By implementing ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) in the customer-end modem and, at the service provider end, in a DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM), the service provider is able to easily interconnect the DSL subscriber's line with ATM-based network services and providers. In Canada, high-speed Internet resellers interconnect via ATM to the DSLAM in this manner in order to provide Internet services to DSL subscribers. Where the subscriber has not contracted with a separate Internet provider, they may contract directly with their DSL provider for bundled Internet-over-DSL—technically, Internet-over-ATM-over-DSL. Although DSL is often associated with wideband and broadband Internet access, the two are therefore distinct network services. French: LAN.

DSLAM – short for “Digital Subscriber Line Access Module”. Equipment that provides DSL on the telephone service provider end of a twisted pair telephone line. Typically located in a telephone wire centre or remote terminal. See DSL.

DTMF: Dual Tone Multifrequency signalling. See touchtone. French: DTMF.

Dual Tone Multifrequency (DTMF): see touchtone. French: Double tonalité multifréquence (DTMF).

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E

e-mail: the exchange of partly or wholly text-based messages between fixed or mobile computer terminals or similar devices. Popular protocols for exchanging e-mail over the Internet include POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3), for receiving e-mail on a local computer; IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), for receiving and reading e-mail stored on a remote server; and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), for sending e-mail; proprietary Internet e-mail protocols developed by Microsoft and by Lotus are also used widely.

Where POP3 e-mail accounts and SMTP services are bundled by IAPs as part of a standard subscription offering, and no lower-priced subscription offering is available free of POP3 and/or SMTP services from the same IAP, then e-mail services are said to have been provided on a zero-revenue basis, and all charges are assigned to the subscription offering. Where Web-based e-mail accounts are bundled as part of a given service offering and all charges are based on access to the entire Web, including but not restricted to the Web-based e-mail accounts, then e-mail services are said to have been provided on a zero-revenue basis, and all charges are assigned to the billed services as appropriate. French: courriel.

EBIT: operating revenue after having subtracted operating expenses, depreciation, and amortization, but before subtracting charges for interest payments and taxes. French: BAII.

EBITDA: operating revenue after having subtracted operating expenses but before subtracting charges for interest payments, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. French: excédent brut d'exploitation (EBE).

email: see e-mail. French: courriel.

ESMR: Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio. A Motorola-developed mobile communications implementation that integrates radio services with TDM mobile telephony to provide digital mobile communications service using primarily the 800 MHz frequency band, facilitating applications such as paging, data transmission, dispatch, and interoperability with the wireline PSTN (public switched telephone network). ESMR services are delivered using equipment branded by Motorola under the iDEN (Integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network) name, which converts an analogue SMR (Specialized Mobile Radio) for digital ESMR use. In Canada, ESMR services are provided aboard Telus Mobility's Mike network. French: Radio mobile spécialisée améliorée (RMSA).

exchange: The basic unit for the administration and provision of telephone service by an ILEC, which normally encompasses a city, town or village and adjacent areas. Within an exchange and to other exchanges that have extended area service (EAS) or similar services with that exchange, all subscribers may place an unlimited number of calls of any duration to all other subscribers without incurring long distance toll charges. Exchanges for which EAS or similar services have been established continue, nevertheless to be separate and distinct exchanges. French: central.

expense: costs incurred in the process of earning revenue, measured by the cost of goods and services consumed in the operation of the business. French: dépense.

extended area service (EAS): a toll-free calling area which allows customers served by neighbouring exchanges to call one another without incurring long distance charges, although introduction of EAS may result in higher local rates. When accounting for local rate revenue in voice wireline, mandatory EAS charges and related distance charges are included. See also local calling area. French: service régional (SR).

extraordinary item: gain, loss or provision for loss that results from an occurrence whose underlying nature is not typical of the reporting entity's normal business activities, that should not occur on a regular basis over several years, and that is not considered a recurring factor in all assessments of the ongoing operations of the company. French: poste extraordinaire.

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F

facilities-based service: a distinct telecommunications service provided by a supplier using physical telecommunications facilities owned by the same supplier. A company which provides a service on a facilities-based basis is a facilities-based provider of that service, but the same company may also be a resale-based provider of other services: a company may therefore be described as a facilities-based provider only with regard to a given service. French: service doté d'installations.

feature: in voice wireline and mobile voice communications, a voice or data application service offered to the subscriber, either as part of a local rate or subscription, or based on a per-service fixed or recurring charge. Features include specialised software or database applications such as call forwarding, call waiting, caller identification, speed dialing, and three-way calling; call management services such as automatic call-back, call blocking, call display, call return, and call screen; and telemessaging services such as call answer, extending call answer, voice mail, and voice menus. When accounting for basic local service revenue in voice wireline, revenue from mandatory features which must be taken with a subscription are included, but optional features charges are excluded. French: fonction.

fibre: shorthand for optical fibre. French: fibre.

fibre pair: two strands of optical fibre which, when in service, are provisioned and operated as a unit. Some wave division multiplexing equipment, used to move information along optical fibre, requires both strands of a fibre pair in order to achieve full-duplex communication, using each strand in one direction only. French: paire de fibres optiques.

Fibre to the home: Fibre terminating at a residence and originating at a switching facility, either a concentrator, remote or central office.

fixed: generally, voice wireline. French: fixe.

fixed access line: a network access line which connects between two fixed nodes, and may be delivered over twisted-pair copper, coaxial copper, optical fibre, fixed wireless, satellite, or other materials. French: ligne d'accès fixe.

fixed wireless: a method for provisioning a network segment between two fixed locations using wireless devices or systems, whether analogue or digital. Fixed wireless devices normally derive their electrical power from utility mains, as opposed to portable wireless devices that normally derive their power from batteries. Most fixed wireless systems rely on digital radio transmitters placed on rooftops, aerial towers, or other elevated locations, and achieve point-to-point signal transmission via a microwave platform. Unlike a satellite system, fixed wireless is a terrestrial technology. French: sans fil fixe.

form cell: a position on a grid defined explicitly by a survey form or questionnaire, as opposed to a position on a software-defined grid such as an Excel spreadsheet. A form cell is specified according to its vertical form column coordinate and its horizontal form row coordinate, in that order. French: cellule du formulaire.

form column: see form cell. French: colonne du formulaire.

form row: see form cell. French: rangée du formulaire.

Forward Sortation Area (FSA): in Canada, the first three characters of a postal code, based on the format Letter/Number/Letter—for example, A1A. The first character represents part or all of a given province or territory, including Yukon (Y), Northwest Territories and Nunavut (X), British Columbia (V), Alberta (T), Saskatchewan (S), Manitoba (R), Ontario (K, L, M, N, P); Quebec (G, J, H); Newfoundland (A); New Brunswick (E); Nova Scotia (B); and Prince Edward Island (C). The second character shows whether or not the FSA pertains to a rural area, in which case the character is a 0, or to an urban area, in which the character is a number from 1 through 9. The letters D, F, I, O, Q, U, W, and Z are not used in FSA designations. A full guide and map set for Forward Sortation Areas may be downloaded from Canada Post, (http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/fsamaps/pdf/Canada.pdf). See also Local Delivery Unit. French: région de tri d'acheminement.

frequency: a specified band or range within the overall spectrum of electromagnetic radio waves used as a channel for sending or receiving communications. French: fréquence.

FSA: see Forward Sortation Area. French: RTA.

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generic name: the commonly-accepted industry name for a type of service. See also brand name. French: nom générique.

GPRS: General Packet Radio Service. A packet-based air interface designed as a GSM overlay, permitting the use of GPRS as an optional data networking service on GSM-based networks, including interoperability with the wireline Internet. GPRS, which may also be implemented on non-GSM TDMA networks, can theoretically offer near-broadband data over mobile, but practical multi-user implementations are constrained to much lower throughput rates closer to dial-up Internet speeds. Like CDMA 1xRTT, GPRS is a so-called "second-and-a-half generation" (2.5G) service. French: GPRS.

group company: one company is a group company with regard to another company if one of them is the subsidiary of the other or both are subsidiaries of the same body corporate or each of them is controlled by the same person. Two companies in the same group are called related compaies. See also in group, out of group, related companies, subsidiaries. French: compagnie de groupe.

GSM: Global System for Mobile; formerly Groupe spéciale mobile. Developed under the auspices of the CEPT (Conference of European Posts & Telecommunications), GSM is a TDMA-based protocol implementation and a member of the so-called "second generation" (2G) family of mobile protocols. GSM is deployed widely across Europe and around the world, especially at the 900, 1800, and in Canada, 1900 MHz frequency bands. When delivered in the 1900 MHz frequency band, GSM is sometimes referred to as part of the PCS family of services. (GSM). French: GSM.

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high speed Internet: an Internet Access service whose advertised throughput reaches, or which consistently achieves, speeds above narrowband (128 Kbps) between the end user's equipment and the first Internet router reached outside the IP network managed by the Internet provider. French: Internet haute vitesse.

HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. A transactional protocol used by Web servers and Web clients to establish virtual sessions and to pass traffic between one another within these virtual sessions over a TCP/IP connection. French: HTTP.

hybrid fibre-coax: see coaxial cable. French: fibre-câble-coaxial.

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ICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The body charged with administering and maintaining the central bank of Internet Protocol addresses, domain name registries which ensure near-universal addressability between Internet hosts. French: ICANN.

iDEN: see ESMR. French: iDEN.

in group companies: two companies or other legal entities may be said to be in a single group—and, hence, to have an in-group relationship with one another—when:

  • one company directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, owns a majority stake (>50%), or is majority-owned by, or is under common ownership with, the second company; or
  • a single individual and/or multiple members of the same immediate family directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, hold a majority stake in both companies.

See also group company, out of group companies, related companies, and subsidiary. French: compagnie du groupe.

indoor payphone: see payphone. French: téléphone payant intérieur.

inside wire: wire and/or other network segments and facilities that extend from a given service provider demarcation point into end-user premises, are used exclusively to serve that end user, and are under that end user's responsibility and control. Inside wiring may include copper wire, coaxial cable, and optical fibre cable, although it is not limited to these. French: câblage intérieur.

intercarrier payment: Expenses payable to another telecommunications service provider to the extent incurred to earn contribution-eligible revenues, including, but not limited to, for the transmission and terminating of traffic, roaming charges, services either for administrative purposes or to provide telecommunications services or facilities, including, but not limited to, Centrex, private line services, and unbundled local loops, switching and aggregation pursuant to a tariff approved by the CRTC, co-location services and start-up costs pursuant to a tariff approved by the CRTC. French: Paiements interentreprises

intercity: connecting between separate municipalities; usually a network segment. In the context of long-haul backbone segments, a point-to-point connection between two non-adjacent municipalities located in separate census metropolitan areas. French: interville.

interconnection: the linking of at least two telecommunications network segments at a common physical point inside a single building, where each interconnected network segment is managed by a separate party, in such a manner as to allow traffic from one party's network segment to be transferred onto another party's network segment. French: interconnexion.

interconnection revenues: revenues earned for the provision of service and/or facilities beyond the point of interconnection in order to transit or terminate network traffic on behalf of another service provider, including transiting or termination provided pursuant to an interconnection tariff or agreement. French: revenues d'interconnexion.

international call: in long distance PSTN communications, a connection which originates in Canada and terminates in any other country except the U.S., or originates in any country except Canada or the U.S. and terminates in Canada. In the case of a mobile phone whose local calling area is in Canada, an international calls is also made where the connection originates and terminates in countries outside the Canada and the U.S., or originates in the U.S. and terminates outside Canada and the U.S., or originates outside Canada and the U.S. and terminates in the U.S. International long distance is sometimes referred to overseas calling. French: appel international.

international interconnection payment, net: the money paid out or the money taken in after settling balance-of-minutes accounts for international PSTN communications with other service providers, regardless of whether the settlement is based on ITU accounting rates, FCC benchmark rates, or private arrangements. French: paiement d'interconnexion international, net .

Internet: a collection of terminals which are addressable via the Internet protocol and reachable via ICANN-administered IP address space. French: Internet.

Internet access: the provision of Internet protocol (IP) connectivity to an end user such that:

  • the end user is able to send and receive http traffic and at least one other type of applications traffic to and from hosts that provide these services and are reachable through the ICANN-administered domain name system; and
  • the end user is assigned a unique address for the duration of the connection, even where that address is routable only by the end user's access provider.

Access to a closed network dedicated to a specific IP application such as voice-over-IP does not, therefore, constitute Internet access; nor does access to a private network which significantly restricts reachability to and from other ICANN-registered domain name participants. As a connectivity protocol, Internet access must be provided over physical network capacity as well as a data link connection; lower-layer facilities or services of this type, such as DSL provisioning charges or mobile airtime charges, the latter are distinguished from Internet access as separate items. French: accès Internet.

Internet access provider: any service provider, including providers of voice telephony or cable television services, which provides Internet access on a retail or wholesale basis. See also Internet service provider. French: fournisseur d'accès Internet.

Internet backbone: the set of all network connections established between the routing computers that move aggregated end-user IP traffic through the Internet. Internet backbones are measured as a series of router-to-router links, where each link is assigned a discrete capacity based on the capacity (in Mbps) dedicated to Internet traffic on that link; where each router is a core router whose direct links are to other routing equipment, not to end-use terminals; and where each router-to-router link is part of a single Autonomous System. French: dorsale Internet.

Internet bandwidth: network bandwidth dedicated, at layer three, to Internet traffic. French: bande passante Internet.

Internet capacity: see Internet bandwidth. French: capacité Internet.

Internet exchange point: also known as Network Access Points (NAPs) or Metropolitan Area Exchanges (MAEs), Internet exchange points (IX points, or IXPs) are services created to facilitate on-site interconnection between independent or third-party Internet networks without recourse to the facility owner except for technical and troubleshooting reasons. Internet exchange points are neutral meeting grounds: the exchange must provide an Internet switching fabric for traffic exchange, although members may usually opt to interconnect their equipment directly. French: point d'échange Internet.

Internet peering: see peering. French: peering Internet.

Internet protocol (IP): a connectionless, packet-switched network layer protocol for exchanging data between computers. IP standards are set by the Internet Engineering Task Force; currently standardized on IP version 4 (IPv4)—another version, IPv6, has been deployed and makes use of IPv4 space via tunnelling—the Internet Protocol requires a host-to-host transport protocol specified as either TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), which defines a connection-oriented service, or UDP (User Datagram Protocol), which defines a connectionless service. IP connectivity entails the provision of Internet protocol connectivity to an end user such that that end user is able to communicate with other users also granted similar connectivity]. Because non-Internet IP services exist, however, IP connectivity does not necessarily imply connectivity to the public Internet. French: protocole Internet (PI).

Internet service provider (ISP): any service provider, including providers of voice telephony or cable television services, which provides Internet connectivity or an Internet-based application on a retail or wholesale basis. Internet connectivity services include Internet access and Internet transit. French: fournisseur de service Internet (FSI).

Internet transit: a specialized, revenue-based form of Internet access which bundles BGP routing with connectivity to either the whole Internet or to a subset of the whole Internet, where the subset may be defined by geographic, by network, or otherwise. Because it includes inter-domain (BGP) routing, only Internet users with an AS number and at least two separate connections to the Internet normally purchase Internet transit. French: transit Internet.

Internet transport: see peering, Internet transit. French: transport Internet.

IP address: a 32-bit number that identifies each sender or receiver of information that is sent in packets across the Internet. Internet IP addresses are assigned and overseen by ICANN. French: adresse PI.

IP connectivity: see Internet protocol. French: connectivité PI.

IP-VPN: Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network. An overlay network of secured (encrypted) links whose end-use nodes constitute a closed group, and each of whose nodes accesses this network via the Internet protocol. Popular IP-VPN protocols include Point-to-Point Tunnelling Protocol (PPTP), Layer 2 Tunnelling Protocol (L2PP), and IP Secure (IPsec). Where additional services such as voice-over-IP and video-over-IP communications are provided to a customer over a customer-provisioned IP-VPN infrastructure, and where that IP-VPN infrastructure is not used exclusively for one or another of these additional services, then revenues for these services should be included in IP-VPN revenues. French: VPN-PI.

IRUs ( Indefeasible Right of Use): Unconditional right to use a facility, e.g. a fibre-optic cable. The IRU holder holds privileges generally associated with ownership except the right to control the operation of the facility in which the circuit lies. French: DUI (Droits d'usage indéfectibles).

ISDN: Integrated Service Digital Network. An ITU-T specification for digital transmission over twisted-pair copper lines as well as over other media, such that the same switches and digital transmission paths are used to establish connections for different services, usually over the PSTN. ISDN lines come in two flavours, the BRI (Basic Rate Interface), which consists one or two 64 Kbps channels and an associated 16 Kbps signalling channel, and the PRI (Primary Rate Interface) which, in Canada, consists of twenty-three 64 Kbps and an associated 64 Kbps signalling channel. French: RNIS.

ISP: see Internet service provider. French: FSI.

ITU: International Telecommunications Union. An international organization within the United Nations System where governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services. The ITU-T and ITU-R, two of the ITU's branches, are responsible for studying technical, operating, and tariff questions and issuing recommendations on them with the objective of standardizing telecommunications and radiocommunications worldwide, continuing the standards-setting activities of the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT) and the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), their predecessor organizations. French: UIT.

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large business: in the context of business users of telecommunications services, a very large business is defined as any commercial account whose telecom service charges generate at least $ 20 000 in monthly revenue, which is at least $240 000 in annual revenue. Small businesses generate less than $500 monthly; medium businesses generate at least $500 but less than $2500 monthly, and large businesses generate between $2500 and $20 000 monthly. French: grande entreprise.

layer one: in the OSI reference model, the physical layer. See capacity. French: couche 1.

layer two: in the OSI reference model, the data link layer. See also connectivity. French: couche 2.

layer three: in the OSI reference model, the network layer. See also connectivity. French: couche 3.

LDU: see Local Delivery Unit. French: ULL.

leased facility: a physical telecommunications facility, especially a network segment, managed by a supplier who does not own that facility but has managerial control over it through a leasing arrangement, enabling the supplier to provide a telecommunications service using the leased facility. When this occurs, the service provider is known as a leased-facility provider of that service. See also owned facility and resale. French: installation louée.

lit fibre: optical fibre cable attached to in-service transmission equipment. See also dark fibre. French: fibre en service.

local: see local calling area and local rate revenue. French: local.

local access line: see network access line. French: ligne d'accès local.

local calling area: in voice wireline, the sum of all destinations to which a dialled connection may be established over the PSTN without incurring a toll charge above and beyond the local rate. These destinations may be served by one exchange or, especially where extended area service is provided, by more than one exchange. Connections between exchanges but within the mandatory extended area service area are considered part of the local calling area. Sometimes abbreviated as local; see also local rate revenue. French: zone d'appel local.

Local Delivery Unit (LDU): in Canada, the last three characters of a postal code, based on the format Number/Letter/Number—for example, 1A1. The LDU reveals a specific delivery point, such as a building, a large-volume receiver of mail, or a range of addresses on a street. The letters D, F, I, O, Q, and U are not used in LDU designations.See also Forward Sortation Area. French: unité de livraison locale (ULL).

local rate revenue: in voice wireline, revenue obtained from the recurring charge paid by subscribers for local PSTN service, including any optional or mandatory touch-tone dialling charges, optional or mandatory Extended Area Service charges, optional or mandatory EAS-related distance charges, and mandatory features which must be taken with a voice wireline subscription, but excluding any optional features charges or flat-rate toll (non-EAS) plans. See also local calling area. French: revenu de frais locaux.

local voice: see local calling area, local rate revenue, and voice wireline. French: service local vocal.

long distance: in voice wireline or voice payphone originated PSTN communications, any originated connection which terminates outside the local calling area in which it originated; one minute of long distance communication is counted for each billed minute during which that connection is active. In mobile voice originated PSTN communications, any originated connection which originates outside that terminal's local calling area and/or which terminates outside that terminal's local calling area; one and only one minute of long distance communication is counted for each billed minute during which that connection is active, even where the call involves two long distance segments. Long distance connections are sometimes called toll calls or trunk calls, and they are divided into four types according to the geographic position of their endpoints, regardless of the geographic path taken by the call between those endpoints:

  • Domestic long distance calls originate and terminate within Canada.
  • U.S. long distance calls originate in Canada and terminate in the U.S., or originate in the U.S. and terminate in Canada, or—in the case of a mobile phone whose local calling area is in Canada—originate and terminate in the U.S.
  • International long distance calls originate in Canada and terminate in any other country except the U.S., or originate in any country except Canada or the U.S. and terminate in Canada. In the case of a mobile phone whose local calling area is in Canada, international long distance calls are also those which originate and terminate in countries outside the Canada and the U.S., which originate in the U.S. and terminate outside Canada and the U.S., or which originate outside Canada and the U.S. and terminate in the U.S. International long distance is sometimes referred to overseas calling.

  • Toll-free long distance calls are calls whose point-to-point geography would normally imply a domestic, U.S., or international charge to the originating caller, but are placed to a number translation that allows the receiving party to receive and pay for that call, usually as part of a bulk rate for long distance calls. Examples of toll-free calls are calls to 800, 866, 877, or 888 prefixes. Where a mobile call is originated to one of these prefixes from outside the local calling area and therefore incurs additional domestic, U.S., or international long distance charges, however, that connection is accounted for as a domestic, U.S., or international long distance connection, as appropriate. And where a call originated to a toll-free prefix is billed to the caller—for example, through the use of a prepaid calling card—that connection should similarly be accounted for as a domestic, U.S., or international long distance connection, as appropriate.

Where a mobile call combines two types of long distance segment, the call is accounted for according to the longest-distance segment, where U.S. is longer than domestic, international is longer than U.S., and all are longer than toll-free. French: interurbain.

long-haul backbone: a wide-area core network made up of point-to-point intercity network segments whose function is to transit network traffic between edge nodes. French: dorsale longue distance.

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MAN: see metropolitan area network. French: réseau métropolitain.

mappable geographic information: a data file containing geocoded information in a format compatible with the MapInfo software package. French: information géographique mappable.

medium business: in the context of business users of telecommunications services, a medium business is any commercial account whose telecom service charges generate at least $500 but less than $2500 in monthly revenue, which is equivalent to at least $6000 but less than $30 000 in annual revenue. Small businesses generate less than $500 monthly; large businesses generate at least $2500 monthly. French: moyenne entreprise.

metropolitan area network (MAN): a short-haul network which fills the gap between access and long-haul networks by connecting three or more locations together within a single municipality or adjacent municipalities, and then making private-line capacity available on those network segments in increments whose maximum is no less than 44 Mbps. Larger than a local area network (LAN) but smaller than a wide area network (WAN), a MAN is generally used to provide POP-to-POP digital carrier services such as wavelengths or SONET-based private lines. On-net buildings include carrier hotels, central offices, colocation facilities, terminal rooms in multi-tenant units, and similar sites. French: réseau métropolitain.

metropolitan fibre system: a fibre-based MAN. French: système de fibre métropolitain.

MMS: (Multimedia Messaging Service): a wireless messaging service that adds images, text, audio clips and video clips to SMS (Short Message Service/text messaging). French: SMM

mobile coverage: the geographic area in which a given service provider provides connectivity using a given wireless protocol such as AMPS, CDMA, CDMA 1xRTT, non-GSM TDMA, GSM, GPRS, or ESMR. Mobile coverage may be provided in one of two ways, either as an on-net service using the network managed by the service provider, or as a roaming service using a network managed by another service provider, usually due to a formal roaming agreement between the user's service provider and the mobile network operator.. Because mobile coverage often fluctuates in a given geographic zone according to climactic, architectural, and other conditions, the presence or absence of mobile coverage may be estimated according to geographic zones in which a customer might have reasonably expected outdoor coverage in at least 50 percent of the zone in question. French: rayonnement du service mobile.

mobile data: a wireless communications service involving the transmission and/or reception of data, such as SMS. Mobile data revenues include revenues accruing from Internet-based and non-Internet-based content and applications delivered as mobile data, except where those content and applications are broken out as a specific subcategory on a reporting form. French: service de données mobile.

mobile interconnect: The linking of at least two telecommunications networks, managed separately, that allows traffic from one party's network segment to be transferred or terminated onto another party's network segment.

mobile internet service: a wireless communications service providing persistent or intermittent Internet access. It offers services such as news, travel, weather and entertainment using a wireless phone. Mobile Internet service revenues include flat-rate subscription revenues and recurring or volume-based usage revenues, but not revenues realized from equipment sales, nor revenues realized from the transmission of specific content or the use of specific Internet-based applications, on which see mobile data. French: service Internet mobile. French : interconnexion mobile

mobile penetration rate: Measures the number of mobile subscribers per 100 inhabitants and is usually represented as a percentage figure. French : taux de pénétration des services mobiles

mobile plan: a predetermined amount of airtime, which may include a set package of features and other services and/or a set of optional features and other services identified by a trademark, and that provides a detailed outline of the terms of wireless or mobile subscriber service. A single plan usually allows for some minor flexibility, i.e., number of minutes of airtime, thus resulting in a limited number of permutations. By adding together all of the possible options of a plan, in all plans considerered separately, the total number of plan permutations available to new subscribers can be calculated. French: plan mobile.

mobile switch centre (MSC): Is a sophisticated telecommunications switch within a cellular network architecture which manages and handles circuit-switched calling and transmissions between base stations and mobile users. French : centre de commutation mobile

mobile virtual network operator (MVNO): Is a mobile service provider who establishes arrangements with existing mobile service operator(s) to resell, pre-packaged or repacked mobile wireless service plans. The MVNO handles its own customer care, billing, marketing, and branding. French : exploitant de réseau virtuel mobile (ERVM)

mobile voice: a wireless communications service providing access to the PSTN over radio frequencies which allow direct-dial communications to be established. French: service vocal mobile.

Mobitex: a specification for a packet-switched, narrowband PCS network designed for wide-area wireless data communications which, in Canada, provides mobile data connectivity in the 900 MHz frequency band. French: Mobitex.

modem: Is short for Modulator and Demodulator. This is a device that enables the transfer of analogue/digital signals to and from one computer device to another. French :  modem

Monthly Traffic: see traffic cap. French: trafic mensuel.

municipality: an incorporated city, county, metropolitan authority, town, village, township, district or rural municipality or other incorporated municipal body however designated. In the CRTC telecom monitoring process, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) boundaries are preferred, but lower levels of aggregation are accepted as well. See also Census Metropolitan Area. French: municipalité.

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narrowband: on a point-to-point data access link, two-way capabilities with speed in either direction not exceeding 128 Kbps. See also bandwidth, broadband, wideband, high-speed internet, wideband. French: bande étroite.

NAS: see network access service. French: SAR.

NAS: equivalent:  referring to the definition of NAS, a NAS-equivalent is also a wireline connection from a customer location to the PSTN. It also includes a telephone number and a connection to the PSTN but, access from the customer's location to the service provider's office utilizes a broadband Internet access. As the provider of NAS-equivalent does not inherently include the access with the service, this is also characterized as an access-independent service. NAS-equivalent is quantified by measuring the total primary telephone numbers in service counted in the exchange that is native to the primary telephone number.  French: équivalent de SAR

network access line: a wireline connection from a customer location to the PSTN which includes i) a telephone number, ii) a connection to the PSTN and iii) access from the customer location to the service providers office.  NAS is used for voice connections as well as PSTN-switched data services.  French: service d'accès au réseau

network access service (NAS): a connection or line that provides subscribers with access to the PSTN (public switched telephone network), including voice connections as well as PSTN-switched data services. NAS are a subset of all network access lines, and usually come in the form of twisted copper wire pairs. Each twisted copper pair counts as a single NAS and as a single network access line. To account for all data lines, it is necessary to take a superset of NAS, adding in non-NAS access lines. French : service d'accès au réseau (SAR)

To account for all voice lines, it is similarly necessary to take a subset of NAS, subtracting data NAS lines French: service d'accès au réseau.

network layer: layer three in the OSI reference model. The network layer performs network routing and forwarding, flow control, segmentation/desegmentation, and error control functions, cobbling various data links together so as to enable data to be delivered between any two nodes on the interconnected data links. IP is an example of a network layer protocol. French: couche réseau.

network segment: a network link connecting two interfaces, regardless as to whether the two interfaces interconnect switching equipment, transmission equipment, terminal equipment, or other facilities, and regardless as to whether the network link is achieved through a physical medium, through radio frequencies, or otherwise. French: segment de réseau.

Non-Canadian Revenues: Revenues derived from goods and services that are provided outside of Canada, including, but not limited to, revenues derived from the provision of telecommunications services provided outside of Canada, roaming services provided outside of Canada, the sale of telecommunications systems outside of Canada, the operation and maintenance of telecommunications equipment provided outside of Canada, transit traffic services, and international consulting services provided to customers outside of Canada. If non-Canadian revenues are deducted, then the corresponding Inter-Carrier Payments cannot be deducted. French: Revenus non canadiens,

North American Numbering Plan (NANP): an integrated telephone numbering plan serving 19 North American countries that share its resources. These countries include the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks & Caicos. (PNNA). NANP numbers are ten-digit numbers consisting of a three-digit Numbering Plan Area (NPA) code, commonly called an area code, followed by a seven-digit local number. The format is usually represented as NXX-NXX-XXXX where N is any digit from 2 through 9 and X is any digit from 0 through 9. French: Plan de numérotation nord-américain

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off-net (mobile): not served, or not able to be served, using a given service provider's facilities. A call originating (or terminating) off-net has originated (or terminated), not on the network managed directly by the subscriber's service provider, but on another service provider's network. The latter provider usually bills the former provider for roaming or for service resale on a wholesale basis; the subscriber's provider, in turn, usually bills the end user on a retail basis. See also on-net. French: hors réseau (appel mobile).

on-net: served, or able to be served, using a given service provider's facilities. A call originating (or terminating) on-net has originated (or terminated) on the subscriber's service provider's managed network. See also off-net. French: en réseau.

on-net building: a building containing switching equipment and/or an access interface allowing interconnection with a given service provider's network. French: immeuble en réseau.

operating expenses: costs associated with sales and administrative functions, as distinct from those associated with production. French: frais d'exploitation.

operating revenues: income earned from the provision of services and sale of goods during a given period. French: revenus d'exploitation.

optical fibre: the medium and technology associated with the transmission of information as light pulses guided over a filament of transparent dielectric material, usually glass or plastic. An optical fibre usually has a cylindrical core surrounded by, and in intimate contact with, a cladding of similar geometry. French: fibre optique.

originating call: a call initiated by a subscriber. French: appel de départ.

originating minute: one billed minute of conversation time on a call initiated by a subscriber. French: minute de départ.

OSI reference model: Open Systems Interconnect. A vertical, seven-layer model published by the ISO as a standard for data communication which has become a common reference point as to network protocols and services, ranging from the physical communications medium at the bottom to applications at the top. The CRTC's telecom monitoring process is based on a simplified, three-layer OSI model which retains the bottom-most layer one, calling it capacity; collapses layer two and layer three of the OSI model into connectivity; and collapse upper layers into applications. French: modèle de référence ISO.

out of group companies: two companies or other legal entities may be said not to be in the same group—and, hence, to have an out-of-group relationship with one another—when their relationship does not fulfill the in group companies criteria defined by ownership of a majority stake or common majority-stake ownership under a parent. See also group company, in group companies, related company, and subsidiary. French: compagnies hors groupe.

out-of-territory operations: includes all operations of the ILECs that are carried out in geographic areas outside of the traditional domestic territory of the ILEC. French: activité hors territoire.

outdoor payphone: see payphone. French: téléphone payant extérieur.

overage: additional units, such as gigabytes, or the cost of these additional units, which exceed a traffic cap. French: exédent.

overseas telephone service: see international and long distance. French: service téléphonique outre-mer.

owned facility: a physical telecommunications facility owned by a supplier who, when providing a telecommunications service using that facility, is known as a facilities-based provider of that service. See also leased facility and resale. French: installation en propre.

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Packet: A unit of data formatted for transmission on a network. Data is broken up into packets for sending over a packet switching network. Each packet has a header containing its source and destination, a block of data content, and an error-checking code. All the data packets related to a message may not take the same route to get to their destination; they are reassembled once they have arrived. French: paquet.

paging: a service that allows transmitting a signal via radio from any telephone in the PSTN to a personal, portable receicing device in a defined operating area. More sophisticated systems provide audible or visual display messages. French: téléappel, téléavertissement.

payphone: a public telecommunications terminal which provides coin- or card-based billing on a per-transaction basis. Examples of payphone-provided services include PSTN telephony, PSTN data jack, PSTN fax, Internet Web, Internet e-mail, and SMS services; voice payphones, however, must provide direct-dial PSTN services, either via a voice handset or via a jack permitting data services to be dialled over PSTN lines. Payphones are located indoors, outdoors, or in transportation vehicles such as airplanes and trains, where each location type includes semi-public phones available on a restricted basis owing to their location, for example payphones on private premises such as restaurants. French: téléphone payant.

PBX: Private Branch Exchange. A private voice-communications-capable switching facility located in an end-user organizaton's premises which provides on-premises connection between terminals connected to it, including dial service, and may provide connections to between those terminals and other communications networks, including the PSTN. French: PBX.

PCS: Personal Communications Service. A broad service description for communications protocols using radio frequencies in the 1900 MHz frequency band to provide mobile telecom services, including interoperability with the wireline PSTN (public switched telephone network). Introduced in 1995 in Canada, PCS may be delivered using CDMA, TDMA, or GSM TDMA protocols. Outside Canada and the U.S., the PCS service description often refers to the 1800 MHz frequency band. French: SCP.

peering: a settlement-free exchange of routing announcements between two Internet service providers for the purpose of ensuring that traffic from the first can reach customers of the second, and vice-versa. French: peering.

percentile: a score in the xth percentile is a score that is greater than x% of the scores attained within a given set. French: percentile.

permutation: one of the possible combinations or groupings of a set of options. See mobile plan. French: permutation.

PIC (Primary Interexchange Carrier): The interexchange carrier designated by a voice wireline subscriber to provide direct-dial long distance services on that line; sometimes used as a verb ("to PIC") or adjective ("a PICed provider"). When a subscriber wishes to place a voice wireline long distance call using a non-PICed provider, the subscriber must dial around to access the non-PICed providers network. Sometimes referred to as preselection or presubscription. French: EIB (entreprise intercirconscription de base).

POP3: Post Office Protocol, version three. See e-mail. French: POP3.

postal code: codes used by postal services to divide large geographic areas into discrete zones in order to simplify delivery. In Canada, postal codes are six-character strings structured in the alphanumeric format Letter/Number/Letter; full space; Number/Letter/Number—for example, A1A 1A1. The first three characters of the postal code are known as the Forward Sortation Area (FSA), and represent a geographic area; the final three characters of the postal code are known as the Local Distribution Unit, and identify part or all of a street, an apartment building, or a group of rural post offices. French: code postal.

postpaid service: A service for which a significant portion of services and usage are paid in arrears, subsequent to consuming the services. See also prepaid service. French: port postpayé.

prepaid service: A service for which a significant portion of services and usage are paid in advance, prior to consuming the services. Prepaid service is especially prominent in mobile voice communications, where a subscriber prepays for a set amount of airtime in advance of actual usage. A prepaid

subscriber is defined as, at any given point in time, a subscriber who originated and/or received at least one mobile voice call using prepaid air time at any time during the three preceding months, independently of the specific charge associated with that call or calls. See also postpaid service. French: service prépayé.

private line: any network segment, including a network access line, delivered as a clear communications path which provides its full bandwidth for the user's service, and on which no control or signalling is performed. A private line may be provisioned as a terrestrial private line, including fibre, copper, microwave, and other non-satellite materials, or it may be provisioned as a satellite private line, in which case the point-to-point link is defined by the two terrestrial points which connect the line, making the satellite portion internal to the network segment. French: liaison spécialisée.

protocol: a set of formal rules and specifications describing how functional units should interact, especially within a network. For example, a data link protocol is the specification of methods whereby data communications over a data link are performed in terms of the particular transmission mode, control procedures, and recovery procedures. French: protocole.

provider name: the registered name of a legal entity contracted to act as a service provider. French: Nom du fournisseur.

PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network. The worldwide set of interconnected switched voice telephone networks that deliver fixed telephone services to the general public and are usually accessed by telephones, key telephone systems, private branch exchange trunks, and certain data arrangements, transmitting voice, other audio, video, and data signals. Completion of a PSTN circuit between the call originator and the call receiver requires network signalling in the form of either dial pulses or multifrequency tones. The PSTN includes local loops; short-haul trunks; long-haul trunks, including international links; exchanges; and switching technology. French: RTPC.

PSTN data jack: an RJ-11 interface on a payphone or other terminal for connecting a modem in order to establish a data link through the PSTN. French: prise pour transmission de données sur RTPC.

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region: in Canada, six groupings of one or more geographically contiguous provinces and/or territories, as follows: Northern Territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut); British Columbia; Alberta; Saskatchewan; Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec; and Atlantic (Newfoundland and Labrador; New Brunswick; Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island). French: région.

Related Companies: Related companies are determined in accordance with International Accounting Standard 24 of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada Handbook – Accounting. Companies making monthly or annual filings on behalf of a group of related companies are required to file separate reports with supporting information for each company that is a telecommunications service provider. When filing your annual reporting form, a list of all related companies is required, whether or not the companies file separately or as part of a group. The minimum threshold of $10 million in Canadian Telecommunications Service Revenues applies to the group of related companies. French: Compagnies apparentées

Reporting Entity: A legal entity which earned revenues in 2003 for any of the services listed in the Reporting Entity Profile form . French: entité déclarante.

resale: the subsequent sale or lease on a commercial basis, with or without adding value, of a distinct telecommunications service or distinct telecommunications facilities provided by a supplier on a wholesale basis. Under sustainably competitive market conditions, the reseller attempts to price its services or facilities high enough to recover its wholesale cost, but low enough to remain competitive with facilities-based service providers in the same market. A distinct telecommunications service or facility is bounded horizontally by OSI network layers and vertically by market segments: value added beyond these boundaries is defined as creating a new service, not reselling an existing service or facility. Where a service provider leases a clear-channel trunk and provides its own ATM and IP routers to sell Internet transit on that trunk, for example, no resale may be said to have occurred, since the leasing of raw material (clear-channel trunk) occurs at a different network layer than the ATM (data link) or IP (network) services, and since the clear-channel private line is not itself resold to another entity. A company which provides a service on a resale basis is a reseller of that service, but the same company may also be a facilities-based provider or wholesaler of other services: a company may therefore be described as a reseller only with regard to a given service. French: revente.

resell, reseller: see resale. French: revendre, revendeur.

residential account: an account billed to a private individual or household; sometimes referred to as a consumer account. See also business account. French: compte résidentiel.

retail: provision of a telecommunications service or facility for end use, including trunking and backbone use. See also wholesale. French: au détail.

Retail Internet Revenues: In Modern telecommunications services – The path forward for Canada’s digital economy, Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2016-496, 21 December 2016, the Commission determined that, when the Broadband Fund was established, the definition of contribution-eligible revenue for the contribution regime would be updated to include retail Internet access revenues. With the introduction of the Broadband Fund in January 2020, the updated definition of contribution-eligible revenue was implemented for the contribution regime. All Internet service (IS) revenues, independent of speed and the facilities over which the services are carried. Retail IS includes, but is not limited to, all IS that permit the users of those services to upload and/or download information from the Internet and to use applications such as electronic mail, but it does not include Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Voice services or other contribution-eligible telecommunications services, nor does it include goods or services the revenues from which fall within the definition of Canadian Non-Telecommunications Revenues. For the purposes of this definition, "PSTN Voice" services refers to "real-time" voice communication via the Internet to or from a telephone set or other equipment where the conversion for carriage on the Internet is performed at the service provider's (i.e., the ISP's) equipment as defined in Telecom Order CRTC 98-929, 17 September 1998. For the purpose of this definition, Retail IS includes Internet-based application services such as web hosting and Internet service provided on a wholesale basis to other ISPs, which in turn are resold to their end-user customers. The provision to ISPs of access to underlying telecommunication facilities to provide IS to end-users is not considered a Retail Internet Service for the purpose of the contribution regime. French: Revenus du service Internet au détail.

Retail Paging Revenues: In Modern telecommunications services – The path forward for Canada’s digital economy, Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2016-496, 21 December 2016, the Commission determined that, when the Broadband Fund was established, the definition of contribution-eligible revenue for the contribution regime would be updated to include retail Paging service revenues. With the introduction of the Broadband Fund in January 2020, the updated definition of contribution-eligible revenue was implemented for the contribution regime. A wireless and/or satellite-based service that permits a customer to receive and/or send uni-directional messages from one or more individual receivers. Retail paging service also may contain, but is not limited to, voice, text, audio, video and data. French: Revenus du service téléappel au détail.

revenue: the inflow of cash or other assets received in exchange for providing goods or services to customers. French: revenu.

roaming: a service offered by mobile communications network operators which allows a subscriber to use her or his terminal while in the service area of another service provider. Usually measured by minute or by message, roaming normally involves at least two charges, an end-user retail charge paid by the end-user to a service provider, and an intercarrier retail charge paid from one service provider to another for network use. French: itinérance.

router: a computer or other functional unit used as an interface between two or more network segments at layer three of the OSI reference model, routing traffic through these segments in such a way as to promote its arrival at the final destination to which it was addressed. An Internet router accomplishes this by reading the network layer address of each packet transmitted to it, making an algorithm-based decision about the next network segment hop which must be taken by each packet, and treating the packet accordingly. French: routeur.

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satellite: a microwave receiver, repeater, and regenerator in orbit above Earth. A satellite link is a microwave link using a satellite to receive, amplify, and retransmit signals to another location; network segments, including private lines, may be delivered in this manner. A point-to-point satellite link is defined as a network segment connecting two terrestrial points, where the satellite portion is considered internal to the network segment. French: satellite.

service address: the most precise civic address of the site at which a given telecommunications facility terminates or at which telecommunications service is delivered by the service provider, regardless of the point of billing. See also billing address. French: adresse de service.

service charge: a one-time charge billed to an end user for installation, addition, or removal of lines, equipment, services, premise wiring, repairs, or maintenance services, whether on or off the customer's premises. French: frais de service.

service provider: any private person or legal entity who provides any telecommunications service to any other private person or legal entity for compensation. French: fournisseur de services.

set rental charge: operating lease revenues for customer equipment and accessories. French: frais de location d'appareil.

settlement rate: usually, one-half of the per-minute accounting rate determined under the auspices of the ITU to establish the theoretical full cost of an international PSTN communication on a given country-to-country route. The settlement rate is the amount paid by the originating service provider to the terminating service provider to reimburse the theoretical half-circuit cost. With private intercarrier arrangements and FCC benchmark rates, the accounting rate system is today one of three major systems used to determine PSTN international interconnection payments. French: taux de règlement.

short-haul backbone: a metropolitan area core network made up of point-to-point intracity network segments whose function is to transit network traffic between edge nodes. French: dorsale de courte distance.

small business: within the context of commercial users of telecommunications services, a small business is any commercial entity whose telecommunications service fees generate revenues of less than $500 per month or $6,000 per year. Medium-size businesses are commercial entities whose telecommunications service revenues generate more than $500 per month, but less than $2,500 per month. Large businesses are commercial entities that generate a minimum of $2,500 per month in revenues. French: petite entreprise.

SMS: Short Messaging Service. A wireless messaging service that permits the transmission of a short text message from and/or to a digital mobile telephone (CDMA, including CDMA 1xRTT and other CDMA-based implementations; TDMA; GSM; or ESMR) terminal, regardless of whether the transmission originates and terminates on a mobile telephone, originates on a mobile telephone and terminates on a computer, or originates on a computer and terminates on a telephone. French: SMC.

SONET: (Synchronous optical network) An interface standard for synchronous optical-fibre transmission, applicable to the physical layer of OSI Reference Model.

spectrum band: see frequency. French: bande du spectre.

subscription: a billed product or service made available to a customer for usage. Unlike an account, each individiaul product or service constitutes a separate subscription: a single account may, for example, include many mobile subscription and many Internet access subscriptions. Voice wireline and mobile subscriptions are measured by the number of separate phone numbers with service; Internet access subscriptions are measured by the number of unique IP addresses which may be used simultaneously by different parties. See also prepaid and postpaid. French: abonnement.

subsidiary: a company is the subsidiary of a second company if it the second company's ownership stake in it is over 50 percent, or if the second company indirectly controls it through a hierarchical series of one or more intermediary companies, each of which is a subsidiary to another through an ownership stake of greater than 50 percent. See also in group company, out of group company, and related company. French: filiale.

switching and aggregation: a tariffed interconnection charge which a service provider must pay another service provider to load PSTN traffic off the former's and onto the latter's network. Switching and aggregation may be paid to terminate traffic onto a local access line (local switch) or to transport traffic across a toll network (toll tandem). French: commutation et groupement.

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TDMA (non-GSM): Time Division Multiple Access. A digital air interface technology which assigns unique time-slots to each user's communication, allowing real-time separation by the sender and reconstruction by the recipient of each communication within a session, and facilitating mobile telecom services which include interoperability with the wireline PSTN (public switched telephone network). Although GSM and, to a certain extent, ESMR are TDMA-based mobile communications protocol, mobile PSTN-connected voice communications may also use non-GSM TDMA implementations, especially the IS-136 specification. Most non-GSM TDMA implementations are so-called "second generation" (2G) wireless protocols, including the 1900 MHz implementation used to delivered PCS services. French: AMRT (non-GSM).

telecommunications: any emission, transmission, or reception of intelligence by any wire, cable, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. French: télécommunications.

telecommunications facility: any physical apparatus, device, line, network segment, or other thing that is used or is capable of being used for telecommunication service or for any operation directly connected with telecommunications. French: installations de télécommunication.

Telecommunications Revenues: Revenues generated providers of telecommunications products and services. The revenues are net of discounts, returns or allowances, promotional offers, rebates and federal and provincial taxes collected for remittance to the governments. Examples include revenues from local, long distance, data, private line, mobile and internet services. French: revenus de télécommunication.

telecommunications service: any service involving the use of telecommunications in whole or in part and which is provided by any person, organization, unit, or legal entity to any other private person, organization, unit, or legal entity. Telecommunications services include both regulated and unregulated services, such as the provision of Internet access. French: service de télécommunication.

teleconferencing: an interactive telecommunications session managed by a service provider in such a manner as to allow participants' live audio, and possibility linked video and/or data, to be transmitted between two or more locations. French: téléconférence.

telephone-return coax: see coaxial cable. French: coax de retour téléphonique.

terminal equipment: any fixed or mobile apparatus, including telephone handsets, private branch exchange (PBX) switching equipment, key and hybrid telephone systems, and add-on devices, that are discharged to the customer or subscriber and are either physically located on that customer's property or are generally carried on the customer's person. Gross expenses or gross revenues for customer equipment & accessories represents the total expense or revenue associated with these items before subsidies or other offsetting charges or revenues. French: équipement terminal. French : matériel terminal

terminating call: a call received by a subscriber. French: appel d'arrivée.

terminating minute: one billed minute of conversation time on a call received by a subscriber. French: minute d'arrivée.

terrestrial: a network segment which is entirely on land and uses neither satellites nor submarine cables. Terrestrial network technologies used in this way include microwave, twisted copper pair, coaxial cable, and optical fibre, among others. French: terrestre.

Terrestrial Fixed Wireless – See fixed wireless. Term utilised to differentiate versus satellite.

toll call: see long distance. French: interurbain.

toll-free: in long distance PSTN communications, an originated connection to a number translation that allows the receiving party to receive and pay for that connection, usually as part of a bulk rate for long distance calls. Examples of toll-free calls are calls to 800, 888, or 877 prefixes. Where a mobile call is originated to one of these prefixes from outside the local calling area and therefore incurs additional domestic, U.S., or international long distance charges, however, that connection is accounted for as a domestic, U.S., or international long distance connection, as appropriate. And where a call originated to a toll-free prefix is billed to the caller—for example, through the use of a prepaid calling card—that connection should similarly be accounted for as a domestic, U.S., or international long distance connection, as appropriate. French: sans frais d'interurbain.

toll minute: a billed minute during a successful long distance connection. Airtime used, local loop usage, and other non-long distance elements are not included in a toll minute. French: minute d'interurbain.

toll revenue: revenue realised from originating, transiting, interconnecting, and/or terminating long distance traffic. French: revenu d'interurbain.

Total Operating Revenues: A company's reported non-consolidated operating revenues which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. French: Total des revenus d'exploitation.

Total Operating Revenues for Contribution Purposes: To the extent the following amounts have been deducted in arriving at a company's total operating revenues, these amounts must be added back in arriving at the Total Operating Revenues for the contribution calculation purposes: Bad Debts, Commissions, Agent/Dealer fees and other selling costs, Material and Labour Cost of Sales, Contribution (Portable Subsidy) expense, Settlements and Other inter-carrier expense, and Costs associated with warranty claims. French: Total des revenus d'exploitation aux fins de contribution

touchtone: a generic term for Dual Tone Multifrequency (DTMF) signalling by means of pressing buttons on a touchtone telephone. A system for signalling dialled numbers in the PSTN in such a way as to minimize attenuation and interference and to prevent the human voice from inadvertently imitating signalling digits; each DTMF signal consists of two simultaneous tones, one from a set of four possible low-frequency (697-941 Hz) tones and one from a set of four possible high-frequency (1209-1633 Hz) tones. Touchtone service is bundled into voice wireline and mobile charges by most providers; some voice wireline providers break out touchtone as a separate line item, however, including providers which make touchtone an optional service. Regardless of individual provider price structure, however, touchtone revenues are included when calculating local rate revenues. French: composition au clavier.

TPIA – short for “Third Party Internet Access”. Service provided to Internet Access Providers for the purpose of providing Internet Access over Cable Data networks, as mandated in Telecom Decision 99-8 and implemented in accordance to Telecom Order 2000-789. See Cable Modem. French: AIT.

Traffic cap: a notional limit on the amount of traffic which a subscriber may pass through a connection service, especially an Internet access. The traffic cap is the point at which paid-for connectivity services are exceeded and additional traffic becomes subject to overage charges. French: plafond de trafic.

transported minute: in international PSTN communications, one minute of transported international traffic is a minute of traffic carried by the reporting service provider across international borders. The transported minute's country of termination is the country in which the transported minute was taken off the originating provider's network, either through interconnection with another service provider, or through termination on customer equipment. French: minute de transport.

twisted-pair copper wire: is especially common in PSTN network access lines and is composed of two independently insulated wires twisted around one another. French: paire de fils de cuivre torsadés.

two-way: full duplex; a communications service capable of transmitting in both directions simultaneously within the same physical or logical network segment. See also coaxial cable. French: bidirectionnel.

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U.S. call: in long distance PSTN communications, a connection which originates in Canada and terminates the U.S., or originates in the U.S. and terminates in Canada, or—in the case of a mobile phone whose local calling area is in Canada—originates and terminates in the U.S. Where a mobile call combines two types of long distance segment, the call is accounted for according to the longest-distance segment; one and only minute of long distance is counted for each billed minute of air time. French: appel É.-U.

upstream: in Internet access, traffic originating at the customer end and travelling towards the service provider, possibly for transit to other points on the Internet. French: amont.

unbundled loop: access to the full and exclusive use of an already-existing network access line which is monopoly controlled, which is required as an input to provide services, and which cannot be duplicated economically or technically. An unbundled loop is a pair of wires that winds its way from the central office to the customer's premises. This access is usually provided in return for fixed and/or recurring compensation. French: ligne dégroupée.

unimproved: without additional services or facilities. French: non amélioré.

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vehicle payphone: see payphone. French: téléphone public de véhicule.

Video Distribution: Equipment used in the provisioning of broadcast distribution services. French: distribution vidéo.

Video-over-IP: a one-way telecommunications service that allows video images and audio to be transmissed to one or more locations using the Internet protocol, or a two-way telecommunications service that allows live video images and speech of participants in a session, such as a conference, to be transmitted between two or more locations using the Internet protocol. French: vidéo-IP.

voice application: any application or service which relies upon voice communications, including PSTN voice, also known as POTS ("plain old telephone service"); features, such as voice mail; services, such as teleconferencing; and audiotext. French: application vocale.

voice backbone: the set of all network connections established between the toll and tandem and toll-tandem switches that move aggregated voice and fax traffic between PSTN terminals, regardless of the protocols or equipment or facilities used to do so. Voice backbones are measured as series of switch-to-switch links, where each link is assigned a discrete capacity based on the real or average estimated capacity (in Mbps) dedicated to moving voice traffic across that link. French: dorsale vocale.

voice payphone: see payphone. French: téléphone payant vocal.

voice wireline: fixed user access to the PSTN over a PSTN-interconnected network access line which allows direct-dial communications to be established, regardless of whether the facility is used for voice, fax, dial-up Internet, or other services carried from customer premise to a switch in the 0-4000 KHz range. Voice wireline service may be provisioned over traditional telco copper, coaxial cable, fixed wireless, and other circuits. See also local calling area. French: voix filaire.

VoIP: a service or capability utilizing both hardware and software that enables users to employ IP networks, such as the Internet, as the transmission medium for voice communication. French: VoIP.

VOIP soft switches and gateways: switching, signalling, routing and processing equipment used in the provisioning of voice telecommunications services using Internet Protocols

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WAP: wireless application protocol. A transaction-oriented specification for sending and receiving information, content, and service-specific data over wireless networks. French: WAP.

wavelength: the distance between a point on one lightwave and the point of corresponding phase on the following lightwave, measured in nanometers. In conjunction with a technique called wavelength division multiplexing, lightwaves can be divided into wavelength portions and deployed as a series of communications channels similar to virtual clear-channel circuits. Although the bandwidth supplied by these channels is a function of the equipment deployed at their ends, most commercial wavelength products are offered in standard bandwidth increments, especially 2.5 Gbps and 10 Gbps. French: longueur d'onde.

WDM ( Wavelength Division Multiplexing): Is a method of transmitting multiple signals at various wavelengths of light simultaneously over a single fibre optic strand; this is utilised to improve the capacity of the fibre. French : WDM (multiplexage en longueur d'onde)

wholesale: provision of a telecommunications service or facility to a service provider, regardless of whether that service provider rebills the service or facility to another entity, or uses that service or facility internally to support the services it bills. French: de gros.

wideband: on a point-to-point telecom link, two-way capabilities with speed in at least one direction of greater than 64 Kbps up to and including 1.544 Mbps. See also bandwidth, broadband, narrowband. French: large bande.

WiFi (802.11): a limited-range wireless networking protocol based on the 802.11 family of standards; uses spectrum in the 2.4 GHz range to exchange data at broadband speeds. French: WiFi (802.11).

wireless: a device or system which performs one or more telecommunications applications without using wires to communicate between nodes, usually by relying on radio frequencies instead. French: sans fil.

wireless number portability (WNP): Allow consumers to switch between telecommunications service provider, either wireline or wireless, while retaining their telephone number. French : Transférabilité des numéros de services sans fils (TNSSF)

wireline voice: see voice wireline. French: vocal filaire.

X

X.25: A data transmission protocol which makes use of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). It refers to the transmission of data over a telecommunications network. French: X.25.

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