Index - 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 A-Z
RADIO COMMON CARRIER (RCC) - A communications common carrier providing radio paging, mobile telephone and occasionally microwave relay services to the public.
RADIO FREQUENCY - A broad part of the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from above audio frequencies to beneath infrared; characterized by the use of antennas to couple signals to the Earth's magnetic field.
RASTER/RASTER SCANNING - Providing a means to place information on a screen by sweeping it completely from side to side an top to bottom in a regular fashion. Both CRT tube displays and fax machines utilize forms of raster scanning.
RATE CENTER - A specified geographic location used by the telephone company to determine interexchange mileage for pricing purposes. Prices are often charged from customer to rate center to rate center to customer in LECs even if that is not the most direct route.
REALTIME - Processes that occur instantly as they occur; closely related to "online."
RECORD - In data processing, one complete group of logically related information; closely related to "block" and "packet" in communications technology.
REDUNDANCY - 1.) Duplicate equipment provided to minimize the effect of failures or equipment breakdowns; 2.) Duplicate or added information placed in communications messages to provide a cross-check for transmission errors.
REGENERATION - The process of recreating new, retimed signal pulses from distorted received pulses; being able to send forward signals free of distortion and noise; the "secret" of the clean, clear, noise-free transmission of digital transmission, whether on fiber optic lines or not.
REGIONAL BELL HOLDING COMPANY ( RBHC ) - One of 7 companies established by AT&T to own some portion of the 22 Bell LEC's divested as a result of the 1984 consent decree that took AT&T out of the ownership and operation of local telephone companies. Often inaccurately called RBOC .
RE-HOMING - A major network change involving moving customer services from one switching center to another and establishing the necessary trunking facilities to do so.
REMOTE ACCESS - The ability of transmission points to gain access to a computer at a different location.
REPEATER - 1.) Analog: An electronic device used to amplify signals which have become too weak; 2.) Digital: Electronics that receive distorted pulses and retransmit them in fresh, clean form.
REPEATING COIL/REPEAT COIL - The telephone industry's term for a voice-frequency transformer.
RESELLER - A long distance company that purchases large amounts of transmission capacity or calls from other carriers and resells it to smaller users, using its own switching system for access and billing. Compare: Aggregator. RESIDUAL ERROR RATE/UNDETECTED ERROR RATE/LATENT ERROR
RATE - The error rate at higher levels of a communications system resulting from inability of the error detection/correction methods to trap all errors.
RESPONSE TIME - 1.) A measure of the time for telephone assistance operators to respond to requests for services; sometimes measured in ringing period counts; 2.) The time from entering (typically) a data field on a remote terminal until the response is delivered to the remote by a central computer; a frequent measure of the overall business performance of an interactive computer system.
RESTORATION - The re-establishment of communications service by rerouting, substitution of component parts, or as otherwise determined; the telecommunications service equivalent of "repair" in most other disciplines.
RETARD COIL - Telephone industry term for an inductance coil of fairly large value; acts to impede sudden changes of the current flowing through its winding, hence the descriptive name.
REVERSE CHANNEL - A simultaneous, typically slow-speed data channel from the data receiver to transmitter; usually used in blocked Remote Job Entry types of data circuits to return simply error-checking ACKS and NAKS to remote devices like card readers.
RFI - 1.) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, a formalized general notice of intent to purchase computer or communications equipment or services, sent to solicit vendor interest and general information on appropriate products; 2.)
RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE - Disturbance to or from radio communications connected with electrical or electronic devices.
RFP (REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL) - A formal invitation to suppliers to provide a fixed, firm price for a specified combination of goods and services, including statements of performance of vendor services.
RFQ (REQUEST FOR QUOTATION) - A formal request for a fixed price for specified goods or services; typically used only for commodity items readily definable in the street market or clearly defined by industry standards; sometimes used for complex major purchases at the stage of setting project budgets.
RING - 1.) The second wire of a two-wire line; second contact of a telephone jack (Compare: Tip); 2.) Attention signal sent forward on a telephone line to alert the destination party of a call for them; alludes to the ringing of a telephone bell; 3.) A network topology in which circuits are connected in a logical circle and transmitted around the entire ring, offering certain advantages in operation and maintenance. Example: IBM Token-Passing Ring LAN topology.
RINGBACK TONE - - Synonym: Audible Ringing Tone.
RINGDOWN - A circuit or method of signaling where the incoming signal is actuated by alternating current over the circuit.
RO (RECEIVE ONLY) - A terminal without a keyboard or other device for information entry. Dating to teleprinters without keyboards, today's very common equivalent is the hundreds of CRT screens found in every major airport; most need only simplex communications.
ROUTE DIVERSITY - Two (or more) private line channels (circuits) furnished partially or entirely over two physically separate routes. Serves to prevent total loss of service if one path gets cut or goes out.
ROUTE OPTIMIZATION - - Synonym: Least Cost Routing.
ROUTINE - 1.) Scheduled preventative maintenance on telecommunications physical plant; 2.) A computer data processing program the machine uses to perform repetitive tasks.
ROUTING - The process of determining a prescribing the path a connection or message will take through a switched network.
ROUTING TABLE - A matrix associated with a network control protocol giving the preferred network link directions beyond that point.
ROTARY HUNT/HUNT GROUP/LINE HUNTING - An arrangement allowing incoming dialed calls seek out an idle circuit in a prearranged multi-circuit group or find the next open line to establish a through circuit; several variations exist.
RS-232 - The most common technical specification for interconnection of DTEs to DCEs; extremely close equivalent to the suite of CCITT V.24/V.28 and ISO-2110.