Aussie Phone Brokers - Telecommunications Glossary
'F' Glossary Terms
- Facsimile
- Called a fax in common use. The digitisation of an image and then transmission of that image. Superseded the Telex.
- Fax/Data Facility
- Feature of a mobile phone which allows data to be sent and received as per fax protocols.
- FaxStream (brand name)
- Telstra product.
- FaxStream Duet (brand name)
- Telstra product. Duet refers to the addition of a second line which shares the same telephone line as an existing service. Line rental for the second line is minimal (around $6.00). Faxes may still be received while the line is busy, and are queued at the exchange until the line is free. FaxStream Duet has become a valuable tool for many small businesses.
- FCC - Federal Communications Commission (USA)
- US body for the Regulation of interstate communications: licenses, rates, tariffs, standards, limitations, etc.
- FDDI - Fibre Distributed Data Interface
- A high-speed (up to 100Mbps) LAN ANSI standard for a fibre optic connection.
Related: LAN - Local Area Network - FDM - Frequency Division Multiplexing
- Multiplexing protocol where the available transmission frequency range is divided into separate channels. Data is segmented and transmitted over these various channels. Data is reconstructed at the destination.
- FEC - Forward Error Correction
- A process of sending redundant data during a transmission. If an error is encountered, the redundant data may be used to reconstruct the missing information.
- Fibre Optic Cable
- Grouped glass, plastic or hybrid fibres which are used to transmit digital pulses of light for data transmission. High bandwidth solution which may carry voice, video and data. Commonly called 'Cable'.
Related: Cable - Fibre Optics
- Data transmission through fibre optic strands. See Fibre Optic Cable, above.
- FireWalls
- Hardware and/or software designed to prevent unauthorized access to (or from) a private network. Firewalls are commonly positioned between the Internet and all internal infrastructures (PCs, LAN, Intranet, etc.).
- Flagfall
- Also called a 'Call Connection Fee' or a 'Connection Fee'). A Flagfall is a charge applied by the service provider at the start of a call - at the time of connection. Commonly being phased-out for landline calls, the Flagfall is still present on most mobile calls.
- FM - Frequency Modulation
- Commonly associated with commercial radio transmissions.
- Follow-Me Roaming
- Delivery of calls to a user through an alternate network (while that user is out of range from their pre-selected network or whilst that user has requested the routing).
Related: Roaming - Footprint (Satellite)
- The geographic area covered by a satellite's acceptable transmission/reception capabilities.
- Frame Relay
- Typically used for LAN to LAN data connection over distances, frame relays are prescribed connection paths. The end user experience is a (virtual) permanent connection between LAN sites. Frame relay is a protocol for variable-length packet transmission of data. Designed for use as a low-noise connection, redundant- and dark- data are not generally used, which leads to high transmission rates. Frame relays may transmit bursts of data at up to 45Mbps. Due to its transmission burst nature, frame relays are not ideal for transmission of continuous signals such as voice and video.
- FreeCall Number
- 1800 Number. A FreeCall number is a Toll-Free number but with no connection charges. The call is charged to the owner of the number. As with all toll-free numbers, the call is routed to a nominated answering point. The answering point itself may be dynamic; it may be dependent on time of day (TOD), caller location, or calling traffic overflows.
Related: 1800 Numbers - Frequency
- The number of cycles (or completed alternations) per unit time. Hertz (Hz) measures cycles per second. Typically, frequencies are used when measuring wave transmissions such as EMR (eg. light, x-rays, UV, radio (including mobile phone transmissions), television, electrical current, etc.) and sound.
Related: MHz - Megahertz, for example. - FSA - Field Service Areas
- Collections of ESAs used for reporting purposes. Nominated by Telstra, there are 43 FSAs in Australia. FSAs may be within the same area code (eg. North Sydney and South Sydney).
- FTP - File Transfer Protocol
- Process for transferring files over the Internet or another TCP/IP network. FTP is also often used to describe the software interface used for transfers. Files available to be shared are held on a server. Users may be required to logon to the server using either a secured username and password or by an 'anonymous' logon (an unsecured and generic logon). Files may then be downloaded from the server (or uploaded, if permitted).
Related: IP
These pages contains commonly used terms and their definitions for the Australian telecommunications industry. The terms found here refer to the ICT industry (Information and Communication Technology), IT industry (Information Technology) and the general Telecommunications Industry - including Mobile Telecommunications, Fixed Line services and IP telecommunications.
Please use the index below:
0-9 : A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M
: N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z