Mobile glossary

2.5G
- Also known as GPRS. Mobile communication system for transfering data. Most likely used by Telematics applications such as AutoAlerts real time vehicle tracking system. Faster than 2G but lower priority traffic for the mobile networks and patchy coverage.

3G
- Third generation European mobile telephone communication standard. Also known as UMTS.

802.11
- Data transfer standard for wireless local area networks. 802.11a works at up to 2Mbps, 802.11b works at up to 11Mbps whilst the latest 802.11g standard works at upto 54Mbps.

ADC
- Automatic data capture.

ADSL
- Asymmetric Digital Subscriber line is a way to transmit data over standard telephone lines at speeds approaching cable.

A-GPS
- Assisted GPS.

API
- Application programming interface is often offered by companies to allow third party developers to create programmers which link into other systems.

ASP
- Application Service Provider.

AVL
- Automatic Vehicle Location is provided by companies such as AutoAlert to help people monitor, protect and better manage their vehicles.

Bluetooth
- A short-range wireless radio technology that aenables wireless devices such as mobile telephones and accessories to connect to each other.

CANBus
- A wiring network within most new vehicles which connects all the electronic devices within the vehicle.

CDMA
- A digital communications technology (code division multiple access) for mobile telephones.

D-GPS
- Differential GPS which is augmented by ground based signals.

DECT
- Digital Enhanced Cordlesss Telecommunications is a way of transmitting voice traffic for domestic phones and some business phones.

EDGE
- EDGE is an enhanced way of transmitting data over GSM networks at up to 384Knpt.

EDI
- Electronic Data Interchange.

E-OTD
- Enhanced observed time difference is a way of synchronising signals for GSM positioning.

ERP
- Enterprise Resource Planning System.

ETSI
- The European Telecommunications Standards Institute is responsible for agreeing standards.

FMS-Standard
- FMS-Standard is a system drawn up by Truck manufacturers to provide standards governing data formats for capturing and exchanging information on vehicle systems and particularly for passing it over on-board CANbus networks.

GIS
- Geographic Information Systems.

GPS
- The Global Positioning System is a network of 24 satellites based on the US governments network. By using the signals transmitted by these satellites, the position on the earth can be calculated by systems such as AutoAlert.

GPRS
- General Packet Radio Service or 2.5G allows for faster data transmission over the GSM network. Data transfer speeds range from 56Kbps to 115Kbps. AutoAlert uses GPRS to transmit real time information about vehicle movements.

GSM
- Global System for Mobile Communications is the technology behind the 2.0G network. GSM can be implemented in 900MHz, 1800MHz or 1900MHz.

HTML
- Hypertext Mark Up Language is used for programming web pages.

IP
- Ingress protection is a rating system developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission to describe the ability of electronic products to withstand gas, dust, water and overall dirt penetration. The higher the number the better the protection.

IP also standards for Internet Protocol.

IrDA
- Infrared Data Association is a protocol for sending infra red data between two devices.

ISDN
- Integrated Subscriber Digital Network allows data transfer rates of 2×64Kbps It has now been widely superseded by ADSL.

ISP
- Internet Service Provider.

JAVA
- JAVA is an object orientated programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. It is ideal for network applications and applets as it is operating system independent.

LAN
- Local Area Network.

LBS
- Location Based Services include such services as AutoAlert’s vehicle tracking systems, Multimap’s mapping systems and location based advertising.

Mobitex
- Mobitex is an open wireless networking standard used especially for data transmission. It can operate at 80MHz, 400, 800 and 900 MHz (usually 400MHz in Europe). There are over 30 networks operating in over 22 countries with Transcomm being the UK system. The copyright is held by Ericsson.

ODBC
- Open Database Compliance is a way for programs to connect to Databases.

PDA
- Personal Digital Assistant are basically a scaled down computer which allows for computing on the move. PDA’s with internet access allows fleet managers to see the location of their vehicles whilst out in the field themselves.

PMR
- Private Mobile Radio is a licence free short range radio technology operating between 446.0-446.1 MHz.

PVN
- Private Virtual Networks are used by Businesses to create a secure private network over the public internet.

RDS-TMC
- Radio Data System – Traffic Message Channel is used to convey real time traffic information and radio station information to FM radios.

RF
- Radio Frequency.

RFID
- Radio Frequency Identification is a very cheap and short range communication system which allows such things as the tracking of palettes and the identification of drivers using a small card.

RMS
- Remote access server.

SIM
- A Sim is the small chip which goes inside most mobile phones and tracking units and contains information about the subscriber. SIM stands for Subscriber Identification Module.

SMS
- The Short Message Service is a system used to transmit short text messages up to 160 characters long on GSM networks. It was originally used by mobile phone technicians using spare capacity but has grown in popularity wtih billions of messages sent per week. AutoAlert uses SMS to send proactive alerts to customers and to send messages to and from units as a back up to GPRS.

TETRA
- Terrestrial Trunked Radio is a land based mobile radio communication standard.

TDMA
- Time Division Multiple Access is a way to send digital data over systems such as GSM at high frequency.

TMC
- Traffic Message Channel.

UMTS
- The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is the European third generation cellular mobile standard also known as 3G. UMTS is the overall system whilst W-CDMA is the technology behind it.

WAN
- Wide Area Network.

Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity and is a brand name adopted by the Wi-Fi Alliance which currently has over 200 members. The Wi-Fi alliance promotes 802.11 local area network specification and asserts compliance with it.

WLAN
- Wireless local area network.

WMS
- Warehouse management system.

VoIP
- Voice Over Internet Protocol is a way to transmit voice data over the internet.

VPN
- A virtual private network is often used by companies to set up a private network over a public system such as the Internet.

XML
- Extensible Mark Up Language is a flexible programming language which is used by companies such as AutoAlert to exchange data with other systems such as Google.

WAP
- Wireless Application Protocol first allowed the internet to be viewed on mobile telephones. AutoAlert uses WAP to provide vehicle location information to basic mobile telephone.

WVPN
- Wireless Virtual Private Network. As VPN, just wireless.

CDMA
- A digital communications technology (code division multiple access) for mobile telephones.

WWAN
- Wider Wireless Area Network.

Thanks to the Telematics and Mobile Data Guide 2008 for some of the information on which this guide is based.