Home > Glossary

Glossary.

 
  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  L  M  N  O  P  R  S  T  U  V  W
A
ADSL See DSL.
ADSL2+ See DSL.
ARPU (Average Revenue per User) Predominantly used in the mobile communications industry to describe the revenue generated per customer per month.
ASP (Application Service Providing) Service that enables enterprises to lease IT applications. The advantage: Customers can always use the latest version that the provider maintains centrally (e.g., in a computer center) and do not have to worry about buying and maintaining software applications (licenses, updates) themselves.
B
Bandwidth Denotes the width of the frequency band used to transmit data. The broader the bandwidth, the faster the connection.
C
Call center A company, or department of a company, that offers operator-supported voice services. A large number of operators handle inbound calls via a hotline, with outbound calls being part of direct marketing efforts.
Call-by-Call (selection of a telephone company) Dialing procedure that enables a telephone customer to use the carrier (long-distance operator) of his or her choice for long-distance and international calls (i.e., the customer can change carriers for each call).
Carriers’ carrier A network operator who provides network services to other telecommunications companies.
Customer centricity Comprehensive customer orientation – i.e., gearing actions to customers and their various needs when designing products and developing services, and also in sales, public relations and all market communications. The opposite would be product centricity, where a company focuses primarily on its products.
Customer segmentation Division of customers into homogenous groups (segments) in order to consistently gear the portfolio of products and services, but also sales and public relations etc., to their various needs, and to deal with each customer segment on a differentiated basis.
D
Desktop services Our Global Desktop Services product features a variety
of support services including outsourcing of whole IT networks. Deutsche Telekom offers an integrated IT service portfolio for corporate customers, providing everything from the server infrastructure and PC workstations through to application management and call center services for user support.
Downstream Transmission of data from an Internet server to a user’s PC. The transmission of data in the opposite direction is referred to as upstream.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) Offered under the name of T-DSL in Deutsche Telekom’s service portfolio. – ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) – Technology used to transmit data at fast rates (between 16 kbit/s and 640 kbit/s upstream; up to 8 Mbit/s downstream) via standard copper wire pairs to connections within a radius of approximately three kilometers. – ADSL2+ – Successor product to ADSL that raises the maximum data rate to 16 Mbit/s (downstream) or 1 Mbit/s (upstream). – VDSL (Very high bit rate Digital Subscriber Line) is a new technology used to transmit exceptionally high data rates (5 Mbit/s upstream, 50 Mbit/s downstream) via a fiber-optic network. (Upstream denotes the direction of transmission from the user to the server, while downstream denotes the opposite direction).
E
EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) Modulation on the air interface to enhance data rates in GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) and TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) networks.
eGovernment eGovernment involves simplifying and conducting processes relating to information, communications and transactions within and between governmental institutions, and also between these institutions, the public at large, and companies, by utilizing information and telecommunications technologies.
eHealth eHealth involves simplifying and handling processes relating to information, communication and transactions within and between health care institutions and professionals by utilizing information and telecommunications techno­logies.
F
Fiber-optic cable Channel for optical data transmission.
FLASH-OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex) Discrete multitone multiplexing protocol for mobile broadband data transmission.
Flat rate Flat rate for network access with unlimited online time and data volumes.
G
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Technology allowing higher data transmission rates in GSM networks.
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) Pan-European digital mobile communication standard in the 900 MHz frequency range.
H
Hosting Provision of storage capacity via the Internet. An Internet service provider’s most important services in relation to hosting are registering and operating domains, leasing web servers (in full or in part) and leasing space in a computer center – including Internet connections, regular and emergency power supply, etc.
HotSpot HotSpot is the name of a public area where customers can connect to the Internet using wireless local area networks (WLAN). The HotSpots are realized jointly by T-Com and T-Mobile.
HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) Packet-based protocol that enhances data rates in UMTS networks and lifts transmission speeds into the megabit range.
I
ICT Information and Communication Technology.
Interconnection Term used to denote the connections between networks run by various providers, as regulated by the German Telecommunications Act.
Internet/intranet The Internet is a worldwide Internet Protocol (IP)-based computer network that has no central network management. By contrast, intranets are managed IP networks that can be accessed only by specific user groups.
IP (Internet Protocol) Non-proprietary transport protocol in layer 3 of the OSI reference model for inter-network communications.
IP address Each computer that is connected to the Internet has a clearly identifiable, numeric address, the IP address, comprising four sequences of digits that are separated by periods, e.g.: 217.247.84.89 (example: T-Online). Static IP addresses enable the same computer to be contacted under the same address at any time (e.g., by a web server). Dynamic IP addresses are allocated for instance to T-Online customers dialing up to the Internet. They receive an unoccupied IP address which will not be the same every time.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) Offered under the name of T-ISDN in Deutsche Telekom’s portfolio. ISDN integrates telecommunications services such as telephone, fax and data communication in one single network. Contrary to the standard analog transmission system, ISDN digitizes the data, which improves transmission quality, enhances transmission speed, and enables packet-switched transmission.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) An Internet service provider offers various technical services that are required to use or operate Internet services, usually in return for a fee.
L
Last Mile A term used in relation to power and gas supply networks as well as telecommunications networks to describe the final section of the line that runs up to the customer’s household. Operators with no last mile must generally pay a charge to the network owners.
M
Mbit Unit of data transmission speed.
Multimedia Term used to denote the real-time integration of text with still images and graphics, video, and sound.
N
NGN (Next Generation Network) In the classic architecture of modern telephone networks, voice and data transmissions are routed via different technical platforms. The aim of a next generation network is to combine both functions to provide integrated voice-data services. NGNs are based entirely on IP technology.
O
Outdoor-DSLAM Mobile Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer. In switching centers and cable distributors, outdoor DSLAMs provide the splitter and modem functions required for broadband T-DSL lines. DSLAM technology is flexible enough to be used wherever there is a suitable fiber-optic infrastructure with a power supply.
P
Page impressions Denotes the number of times a website has been visited. Page impressions are hence a major indicator of the reach of an Internet site.
Prepaid In contrast to postpaid contracts, prepaid communication services are services for which credit has been purchased in advance with no fixed-term contract obligations.
Preselection Preselection of a telephone company. Procedure in which the customer selects a certain provider – known as the long-distance carrier – for all of his or her long-distance and international calls.
Preselection of a telephone company A procedure where customers select a certain provider – known as a long-distance carrier – for all of their long-distance and international calls.
R
Resale Resale of products to competitors (see also: wholesale).
Roaming A feature of cellular mobile communications networks. Activated mobile stations remain accessible, regardless
of location, in all radio cells of the entire area served by the network. Roaming can also include similar networks of different network operators, as is the case with international roaming in the pan-European GSM system.
S
SDH network (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy network) The SDH network consists of a network of nodes. The system features a basic transmission rate of 155 Mbit/s. The transmission framework is referred to as an STM (Synchronous Transport Module). SDH technology provides numerous functions for maintaining the network and quality parameters.
SIM card (Subscriber Identification Module card) Chip card that is inserted into a cell phone and which contains all the data of the subscriber.
SIM-Karten The SDH network is a network of nodes. The system features a basic transmission rate of SDH is 155 Mbit/s and uses synchronous transport modules (STM). SDH technology provides numerous functions for network management and the maintenance of quality parameters.
Stakeholder The stakeholder approach is an extension of the shareholder value approach used extensively in business management. In contrast to the shareholder value principle, which focuses on the needs and expectations of a company’s shareholders, the stakeholder approach attempts to appreciate the company against its overall social background and reconcile the needs of the different stakeholders. In addition to shareholders, stakeholders include staff, custom­ers, suppliers, the government, and the public at large.
T
T-Net Deutsche Telekom’s digitized telephone network.
TDD modulation (Time Division Duplexing) A broadband transmission method where the sending and receiving channels use the same frequency but at different times.
Triple Play Refers to the interaction between voice and data communication and interactive media.
U
UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications) Third-generation international mobile communications standard that unites mobile multimedia and telematics services in the frequency spectrum of 2 GHz.
Upstream Data transmission from the user’s PC to an Internet server. The transmission of data in the opposite direction is referred to as downstream.
V
VDSL See DSL.
Video on Demand A service that allows subscribers to retrieve and watch a selection of movies (on video) at any time. Videos are either broadcast to subscribers over the broadband cable network or over DSL and the telephone network. The back channel used to send movie selection information to the broadcasting center is available with DSL, but not with the broadband cable network. For VoD over broadband cable, a back channel can therefore be established over the telephone network.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Technology used to make telephone calls via the Internet. Three methods are available: PC to PC, PC to fixed-network lines, and telephone calls via IP-based internal networks.
VPN (Virtual Private Network) A computer network that uses a public network (e.g., the Internet) to transmit private data. VPN users can exchange data as if inside an internal network although they are not directly interconnected.
W
W-LAN (Wireless Local Area Network) Wireless networks for mobile Internet access. The network can also connect multiple computers to each other or to a central information system, a printer, or a scanner.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) WAP enables content to be made visible on a cell phone display.
Wholesale The business of selling services to third parties who in turn sell them to their own end customers either directly or after further processing (see also: resale).
WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) Technology that uses fixed, local radio cells to provide high-speed Internet access via the air interface.