Glossary

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1G
The first generation of analogue mobile phone technologies including AMPS, TACS and NMT
2D
Two dimensional
2G
Second generation of wireless communications systems
3D
Three dimensional
3G
Third generation of wireless communications systems
4G
4G is the fourth generation of mobile telecommunications technology. Potential and current applications include amended mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, 3D television.
5G
5th generation wireless systems. In addition to providing simply faster speeds, they predict that 5G networks (rollout in 2020) also will need to meet new use cases, such as the Internet of Things (network equipment in buildings or vehicles for web access) as well as broadcast-like services and lifeline communication in times of natural disaster.
802.11
The IEEE committee and the set of standards maintained by the IEEE for wireless networking.
A
A/D
Analog-to-digital
AC
Alternating current
ACAD
AutoCAD
ACPR
Adjacent – channel power ratio
ADC
Analog-to-digital converter
AMPS
Advanced mobile phone system
AP
Access points
ASP
Application service provider
ATM
Asynchronous transfer mode
Access Points
Networking hardware device that allows a Wi-Fi compliant device to connect to a wired network
Annotations
Collection of notes about site details including text, photo, video or audio
As-built
Descriptive representation of how an installation was built
As-built
Descriptive representation of how an installation was built
AutoCAD
3D design software mostly used for engineering and architecture
B
BER
Bit error rate
BOM, Bill of materials
Document outlining all the equipment necessary to install and deploy a wireless network
BPSK
Binary phase shift keying
BSC
Base Station Controller; the network entity controlling a number of Base Transceiver Stations
BSS
Base Station System / Subsystem
BTS
Base Transceiver Station; the network entity which communicates with the mobile station
Building modelling (3D)
Building modeling in standard CAD software such as AutoCAD, and/or with iBwave 3D Modeler
C
C/(N+I)
Carrier-to-Noise plus Interference
C/I
Carrier-to-Interference ratio
CAD
Computer Aided Design
CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access
CENELEC
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
COST 231
Collaboration in Science and Technology, project 231
CP
Circularly polarized
CPICH
Common Pilot Channel
CW
Continuous wave
Cable routing
Refers to the path of installed network cables inside a building, tunnel or venue
Capacity planning
The science and of estimating the throughput needed for a particular wireless network
Carrier Grade Wi-Fi
A Wi-Fi network deployed by a network operator with high emphasis on quality and accessibility
Cellular
Communication network where the last link is wireless
Certification
The process of being certified by qualified instructors through a series of courses and exams
Component database
iBwave’s continuously growing database of network antennas and components for indoor wireless network design
D
DAS
Distributed Antenna System
DPM
Dominant Path Model
Dominance over macro
The signal difference in dB between the indoor wireless network and the outdoor macro network
dB
Decibel
dBW
Decibel power relative to 1 watt
dBd
Decibel referenced to dipole antenna
dBi
Decibel referenced to isotropic antenna
dBm
Decibel power relative to 1 milliwatt
E
EIRP
Effective Isotropic Radiated Power
EM
Electromagnetic
EMC
Electromagnetic compatibility
Ecosystem
Refers to the community of integrators, manufacturers and vendors responsible to install, delpoy and maintain a wireless network
F
FNBW
First-null beamwidth
FSL
Free Space Loss
G
GHz
Gigahertz
GPRS
Global Packet Radio Service
GPS
Global Positioning System
GSM
Global System for Mobile
H
H&S
Health and Safety
HPBW
Half-power beamwidth
Heat maps
A graphical representation of data where values are represented in colors to illustrate various network KPIs of a given wireless signal
Hetnet
A network connecting computers and other devices with different operating systems and/or protocols
I
ICNIRP
International Committee on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection
IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
In-building / indoor network
A wireless network deployed indoors
Indoor RF planning
Planning of an indoor wireless cellular (radio frequencies) network
J
K
KPI
Key Performance Indicators
L
LAN
Local area network
LHCP
Left-hand circularly polarized
LOS
Line of sight
LTE
Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a standard for high-speed wireless communication for mobile phones and data terminals
M
MAPL
Maximum acceptable path loss
MCP
Measurement Campaign Plan
MHz
Megahertz
MIMO
Multiple-input and multiple-output
MWM
Multi-wall-model
Macro interference
Interference on the indoor wireless network from the surrounding outdoor wireless networks
Multi-operator
Where multiple carriers are sharing the same wireless network
Multi-technology
Where multiple technologies are being used in a single wireless network
N
NLOS
Non line of sight
Network capacity
The capacity defined by the traffic that can be supported by a network in terms of number of users and type of application used
Network coverage
Geographical area where the station can communicate to the station’s intended service area
Network design
Network planning and design is an iterative process aimed at ensuring that a new telecommunications network or service meets the needs of the subscriber and operator
O
OLOS
Obstructed line of sight
Optimization
The process of striking the best possible balance between network performance and network costs, in consideration of grade of service (GoS) requirements
P
PAN
Personal Area Networks
PEL
Plane Earth Loss
Plan annotation
Capturing notes about a site and attaching them to a specific point on the floor plan. Notes include: text, photo, video or audio
Prediction maps
Same as heat map. A graphical representation of data where values are represented in colors to illustrate various network KPIs of a given wireless signal
Propagation
The simulation of how a wireless network will perform once it is deployed
Public Safety Network
A public safety network is an inter-organizational network system to share information and communicate when faced with public safety incidents
Q
QoS
Quality of Service
R
RF
Radio Frequency
RF collection
The collection of signal strength readings from an RF collection tool
RF engineer
An engineer who specializes in radio frequencies, often associated with wireless networks
RHCP
Right-hand circularly polarized
ROI
Return on Investment
RX
Receive
Reporting
Reports created from iBwave software to show various information related to the design and deployment of a wireless network project
S
SAR
Specific absorption rates
SC
Small Cells
SINR
Signal to interference plus noise ratio
Site survey
Inspection and gathering of information of an area where a proposed wireless network is to be deployed
Small Cells
Small cells are low-powered radio access nodes that operate in licensed and unlicensed spectrum that have a range of 10 meters to 1 or 2 kilometers
Survey data
The data gathered from a site survey, can include RF measurements and annotations such as text notes, photos, videos, and audio notes
T
TDD
Time division duplexing
TDM
Time division multiplexing
TDMA
Time division multiple access
TV
Television
TX
Transmit out
Throughput
Rate of successful data transfer over a communication channel
U
UHF
Ultra high frequency
UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
UWB
Ultra Wide Band
V
VHF
Very high frequency
VSWR
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
W
WCDMA
Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
WLAN
Wireless local area network
Walk test
Method of measuring, while walking, the coverage, capacity and Quality of Service (QoS) of a mobile radio network
Wi-Fi
Wireless Fidelity
X
XPD
Cross-polar discrimination
Y
Z