If you’re the person in your business who manages your connectivity and phone systems, you’ve probably come across a lot of acronyms while trying to find the best package.
This guide to telecoms has been created to help you navigate your way through the endless acronyms and abbreviations that exist in the industry to make sure you’re equipped and can feel confident when it comes to having those conversations.
Your guide to telecoms
A
ACD- Automatic Call Distribution
This system makes sure that incoming calls are shared evenly among a group of people. It’s commonly used in call centres where operators log in to handle calls. The system also helps monitor how well the operators and the whole call centre are doing. When a call comes in, it gets sent to the first available operator, whether they’ve been free the longest or just became available.
ADSL – Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line – Broadband
Changes the old copper wires connecting the phone exchange and your phone socket into a digital line just for you. The speed isn’t equal in both directions – downloading is faster than uploading. ADSL will be phased out when the PSTN switches off in 2025.
Alpha tagging
Assigning an alpha-numeric name to a facility means giving a combination of letters and numbers to identify it. For example, your phone can display the caller’s name instead of just the extension number when receiving a call. This applies to both incoming direct dial-in (DDI) calls and extension calls, allowing you to recognize and answer calls using names associated with different companies or entities.
Analogue line
A single phone line that works for both regular phones and broadband. This old-style technology, part of the PSTN network, will be turned off in December 2025.
Analogue device
Auto-attendant
A voicemail option that lets callers be redirected to specific extensions or departments by pressing certain digits on their phone. Usually, a touch-tone phone is needed for this. For instance, you might hear “press 1 for Sales, 2 for Service.” Within eve Voice, this is known as ‘calling menus.’
B
Bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to how quickly a circuit can transmit data. The greater the bandwidth, the faster the data transfer, and the lower the costs. It’s typically measured in Mbps (Megabits per second) or Gbps (Gigabits per second).
Bits and Bytes
A bit is the smallest unit of information that a computer can store. It can be either 0 or 1, which means on or off. A byte is a group of eight bits that can store more information, such as a letter, a number, or a symbol.
Bolt-on
An extra service that can be added to your main license or tariff. For example, with eve Voice services there are bolt-on services for longer call recording storage or advanced call queue features.
Bundle
A packaged deal. For example, with eve Voice you can get inclusive call minutes packages bundled with most license types.
Byte, Kilobyte (KB), Megabyte (MB) and Gigabyte (GB)
In Telecoms the definitions used are based on one Kilobyte (1KB) equal to 1024 bytes.
One Megabyte (1MB) is the same as 1024 Kilobytes (KB) and one Gigabyte (1GB) is 1024 Megabytes (MB).
Beyond that there are terabytes (TB), petabytes (PB) and more.
Note: In other technologies (e.g. data storage) Kilobytes can also mean 1000 bytes (and Megabytes equal to 1000 KB, Gigabytes equal to 1000 Megabytes etc.).
C
Call barring
Blocking calls to specific destinations, like overseas or premium rate numbers. This restriction can be set up either within the telephone system or at the network level. eve Voice offers this feature for added control.
Call forwarding
Commonly referred to as call diversion, this feature allows an extension user to redirect incoming calls to a different location by dialing a specific code. The destination could be another extension, a group of extensions, the operator, or an external number like a mobile phone. Various types of diversion are usually available, such as diverting all calls, diverting when busy, or diverting on no reply.
Call logging
Data recorded about calls made or received through a telephone system. This data can then be used for reporting. This data is available within the eve Voice portal.
Carrier
A Mobile, Voice or Connectivity network service provider e.g. eve Networks, BT, TalkTalk etc. Carriers own their infrastructure or network.
Cloud phone system
A cloud phone system operates on cloud servers instead of a traditional on-site telephone system (known as PBX). Users or phone extensions connect to it either through a private network or the internet. Cloud phone systems, like eve Voice, provide greater flexibility and resilience.
Conferencing
The joining together of more than two phone users in a call.
D
DDI (Direct Dial-in)
A phone system feature that lets external callers directly reach someone inside a company. Each person or department has a unique number for this purpose.
Delayed ringing
This feature is commonly used to handle overflow when the switchboard operator is busy or unavailable. Incoming calls initially go to the operator, but if unanswered for a set time, other extensions start ringing as a backup.
DIA (Direct Internet Access)
A dedicated Ethernet fibre connection that connects to the Internet instead of to a private network.
E
ECP (Exceptional Call Protection)
ECP is eve’s proprietary fraud protection service.
F
Fixed Line
Used to describe a solution or product that relies on the physical fiber or copper network, rather than wireless technologies like 5G or Wi-Fi.
FTTC (Fibre to the Cabient)
A broadband technology that brings fibre optic cables to a street cabinet and uses traditional copper cables to connect to individual homes or businesses.
FTTP/FTTH – Fibre to the Premises/Fibre to the Home
High-speed broadband access technology where fiber connectivity extends directly to the building. In commercial settings, it’s referred to as FTTP, and for residential users, it’s known as FTTH.
G
Group ringing
When a set of extensions is called by dialling a number. If it’s a ring group, all extensions ring simultaneously. In a hunt group, the system locates a free extension within the group to answer the call.
H
Hosted voice
A term used for cloud services where equipment is hosted off-site, usually in a data centre. For example, a hosted PBX is accessed through user licenses paid by subscription, with handsets on the customer premises, while the features and functionality come from the platform hosted in a data centre. eve Voice is a hosted voice service.
Hunt groups
Sets of phone extensions where incoming calls either ring all extensions simultaneously (ring group) or the system finds a free extension within the group to take the call (hunt group).
I
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
A digital telecommunications standard that enables the simultaneous transmission of voice, video, and data over traditional telephone lines. ISDN is being phased out with the PSTN network
J
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K
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L
LAN (Local Area Network)
A network of connected computers and devices in a small, specific area, like a home, office, or school, allowing them to share resources and communicate with each other.
LOA (Letter of Authority)
Industry-regulated authority letter signed by the customer to let their service provider port their number to an alternative Network. Sometimes referred to as a Customer Letter of Authority (CLOA).
M
MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching)
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is used to connect a company’s disparate sites over a private IP. Using a mechanism in high-performance telecommunications networks, MPLS directs data from one network node to the next based on short path labels rather than long network addresses, avoiding complex lookups in a routing table.
N
Non Geographic Number
Non-geographic numbers, like 0300, 0500, 0800, 0808, 0844, 0845, 0870, and 0871, are not tied to specific locations. They are primarily used for inbound communication and operate as a cloud service. Premium rate numbers fall under the category of non-geographic numbers but are priced more aggressively. Unlike traditional phone lines, these numbers do not have associated equipment or physical lines.
O
Ofcom
The Office of Communications in the UK communications regulator overseeing telecommunications, broadcasting and postal industries. Find out more at Ofcom.org.uk.
P
PBX / PABX (Private Branch Exchange / Private Automated Branch Exchange)
On-premise telephone switching system that interconnects telephone extensions to each other, as well as to the outside telephone network.
PAC (Porting Authorisation Code)
A PAC code lets you transfer an existing mobile number from one mobile phone network provider to another so you can keep your existing number. The process is termed mobile number portability, or number porting.
Porting
The process of transferring a phone number from one network provider to another network provider. Porting allows you to keep your number and is used for both fixed-line and mobile numbers. The process requires a LOA (letter of authority) from the end user.
PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)
The traditional telephone system that uses physical phone lines to connect calls between different users.
Q
QoS (Quality of Service)
A service agreement between a network user and a network provider, which guarantees an agreed level of bandwidth and data flow rates.
R
Routers
Routes data traffic and can be wireless or wired. The router is the device that sits between the Internet connection and your device.
S
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)
A signalling protocol, widely used for voice and video calls over the internet. SIP trunks will typically be connected to a telephone system. SIP eliminates the need for traditional phone lines, as it delivers the clear transmission of voice and other communication services over the internet.
SLA (Service Level Agreement)
An agreement between a service provider and a customer about the quality of service they’ll provide, including what to expect and any guarantees.
SoGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access)
An IP-only service that runs over the same technology as FTTC but does not require a separate analogue or landline.
SoTAP (Single Order Transitional Access Product)
An IP connection service that links traditional WLR-based services with fibre services, filling the gap in areas where fibre is not economically feasible. It’s only offered where fibre services aren’t available, especially in situations where it’s not cost-effective to upgrade the current copper infrastructure to fibre.
T
Tethering
Connecting a phone to a computer so that the computer can access the internet via the mobile network.
Trunk
A telephone exchange line to receive and make calls.
U
Unified messaging
A messaging platform that lets you handle various electronic messages like voicemail, emails, SMS, and video messages through a single user interface. This streamlines efficiency by presenting all messages in one place.
V
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
A technology that lets you make phone calls using the internet instead of traditional phone lines.
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Creates a secure, encrypted connection over the internet, allowing you to access a private network, like your company’s network, from a remote location.
W
WAN (Wide Area Network)
A network that connects computers and devices over a broad geographic area, such as connecting different offices in different cities or countries. WANs enable communication and resource sharing across long distances.
WAP (Wireless Access Protocol)
Enables mobile devices to browse and interact with web content using a protocol designed for wireless communication.
X
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Y
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Z
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