Glossary of VoIP Terms and Definitions - Page 2 -


network feature: Calling features provided in a VoIP network. For example, presence, Web surfing, and vemail are network features.
network interface card: NIC. Provides the network device, such as a computer or a VoIP telephone, with its MAC address and the means for connecting to the LAN..
NTP: Network timing protocol. Enables timing so that the composure of the voice signals (high and low pulses that make up the voice pattern) being sent is the same relative composure of the voice signals received. Unnecessary delay or not enough time allowance causes variation and possibly distortion.
off-net: In VoIP telephony, refers to calls that must be carried on another network (usually the PSTN) external to the VoIP network.
on-net: In VoIP telephony, refers to calls carried on the customer’s network.
packet-switched: Packet-switched networks such as a VoIP network use the addressing information contained in the packet to determine the route the packet takes to its destination.
PBX: Private branch exchange. A telephone system used by larger companies to manage POTS-PSTN telephony services and calling features.
plain old telephone service: POTS. The most basic form of circuit-switched telephone service.
POTS telephone: The telephone that supports plain old telephone service (POTS).
private branch exchange: PBX. A telephone system used by larger companies to manage POTS-PSTN telephony services and calling features.
PSTN baseline: Because of its history and high quality of service, VoIP technology uses the PSTN as a baseline for developing and designing telephony networks based on VoIP.
router: A network device that connects the LAN to one or more external networks. The router translates frame traffic on the LAN into packetized traffic for the WAN or the Internet..
soft phone: Software that enables a computer to function as a VoIP telephone, including an on-screen dialing pad for point-and-click dialing.
TCP/IP: Transmission control protocol/Internet protocol. The family of interoperable protocols consisting of more than one-hundred-twenty protocols, each of which performs one or more services to support various network applications. The early developers of the Internet agreed upon the name TCP/IP because, at the time, TCP and IP were considered the two most important protocols for any network connection.
transmission control protocol: TCP. One of two major protocols used in the TCP/IP family of protocols. In VoIP telephony and videoconferencing calls, the TCP protocol is replaced by its sister protocol, UDP.
vemail: A network feature supported with VoIP telephony in which the user can elect to hear their e-mail or print a hardcopy of their voice mail.
voice mail: A popular calling feature that allows callers to leave a message in the event that the called party can’t answer the call. Voice mail comes at no additional cost with VoIP telephony.
voice over Internet protocol: VoIP. A network service that supports carrying telephone calls over packetized networks. VoIP reduces substantially or eliminates the need for a separate, circuit-switched telephone network to carry telephone calls.
VoIP: Voice over Internet protocol. A network service that supports carrying telephone calls over packetized networks. VoIP reduces substantially or eliminates the need for a separate, circuit-switched telephone network to carry telephone calls.
VoIP adapter box: In broadband services, an adapter box is provided by the carrier to enable VoIP customers to plug in a VoIP telephone or to continue to use their existing POTS telephones, if desired.
VoIP Centrex: A managed VoIP telephony service similar in concept to the traditional Centrex model. Synonymous with IP Centrex, hosted telephony, hosted VoIP telephony, and hosted VoIP.