Glossary

A (Ampere)

Base SI unit of electrical current.

AC (Alternating Current)

Continuously variable current, rising to a maximum in one direction, falling to zero, then reversing direction and repeating the cycle in the other direction.

AC convenience outlet

UMTS Compact sites must be equipped with at least two duplex outlets for installation and maintenance procedures. The outlets are required to power test the equipment and installation tools.

ACF (AC Fail)

The AC Fail (ACF) alarm indicates that AC input to one or more rectifiers in the power plant is absent or outside of the operating range of the equipment

Ambient temperature

The temperature of air or other media in a designated area, particularly the area

ANSI (American National Standards Institute)

An organization chartered to accredit standards developed by a wide variety of industry groups, without influence from any one company or organization. Does not develop standards, but reviews and implements those developed by other organizations.

Antenna

An elevated device for radiating or receiving radio waves. It changes electrical currents into electromagnetic waves, and vice versa.

AP (Application Processor)

Network element located at the MSC which provides the radio control logic for managing calls. The AP is a general purpose computer that can host a number of RCS virtual machines.

AWG (American Wire Gauge)

American standard for classifying wire diameter.

Backup

Facility used to replace an element which has failed.

Balun (Balanced to Unbalanced)

A device used to couple a balanced device or line to an unbalanced device or line.

Base station

The equipment that provides the air interface that allows mobile terminals to communicate with the telecommunications network.

BD (Battery on Discharge, first stage)

The batteries on Discharge (BD) alarm indicates the power system output voltage has decreased bellow the batteries on discharge threshold set point. The batteries on discharge threshold shall be set for 50.0 volts( for -48VDC systems) or 25.0 volts (for +24 VDC systems).

BD-2 (Battery on Discharge -2)

The batteries on Discharge (BD-2) alarm indicates the power system output voltage has decreased bellow the batteries a second discharge threshold set point. The batteries on a second discharge threshold shall be set for 44.0 volts( for -48VDC systems) or 22.0 volts(for +24 VDC systems).

Bonding

Permanent connection of metallic parts to form an electrically conductive path that will assure electrical continuity and have the capability to safely conduct any current likely to be imposed.

Branch circuit

The circuit conductors between the final overcurrent device protecting the circuit and the outlet(s).

Breaker, circuit

A cut-out device which breaks a circuit when preset limits of current are exceeded.

Buried cable

A communication cable manufactured or produced for the purpose of burial in direct contact with the earth.

Buried ring ground

A buried, bare, tinned, solid copper cable encircling the cell site building and/or tower foundation.

Bus bar

One or more conductors that serves as a common connection for a group of related devices.

Busy hour

The uninterrupted period of 60 minutes for which the average intensity of traffic is at maximum.

Cabinet

An enclosure with frame and door designed for surface or flush mounting, housing electrical and/or electronic equipment.

Cable run

Referring to cable routing.

Cable sweep

See Sweep

Carriers

A wave suitable for modulation by an information-bearing signal.

Cell

A geographical area, usually depicted as hexagon-shaped, that is served by a cellular system. Cellular technology is based on the premise that a group of radio frequencies used within one cell can be used again in a distant cell.

Cell site

An installation located within a cell that houses the equipment needed to set up and complete calls on a cellular telephone.

CIC (Customer Information Center)

Source for locating and obtaining delivery of Alcatel-Lucent customer information products.

Circuit

1. The complete path between two terminals over which one-way or two-way communications may be provided. 2. An electronic path between two or more points, capable of providing a number of channels. 3. A number of conductors connected together for the purpose of carrying an electrical current. 4. An electronic closed-loop path among two or more points used for signal transfer. 5. A number of electrical components, such as resistors, inductances, capacitors, transistors, and power sources connected together in one or more closed loops.

Coaxial cable

A cable with one or more coaxial pairs under one outer shealth. The cable consists of a center conductor surrounded by an insulating material and a concentric outer conductor.

Configuration

An arrangement of functional units according to their nature, number, and chief characteristics.

Controlled environment

An indoor location in which temperature, humidity, and ventilation are maintained at specific levels.

CSA (Canadian Standards Association)

An independent, non-government, not-for-profit association for the development, by consensus, of Canadian standards and product certifications.

CSC (Cell Site Configuration)

Sheets provided in Appendix B, UMTS Macrocell site information of this document for documenting cell site configuration, conditions, and other pertinent information for reference during product deployment, and future additions.

Customer-supplied power

3rd party power systems, or power systems other than Alcatel-Lucent.

dB (Decibel)

A unit which expresses the ratio of two voltages, currents, or powers. It is used to specify transmission loss, gain, or relative level. It is equal to 20 times the common logarithm of the ratio of two voltages or two currents, or 10 times the common logarithm of the ratio of two powers.

DC (Direct Current)

Current flow in one direction.

DCS (Digital Cellar Switch)

Switch that terminates all voice trunks in the cellular system (i.e., 5ESS-2000).

Demarcation

A terminal acting as a physical interface between equipment which are the responsibilities of different carriers.

Diversity

A method of radio transmission and/or reception, which counteracts the effects of fading by combining several signals all bearing the same information.

Down conductor

A vertical conductor of low impedance that connects the cell site grounding electrode system to the grounding electrode system.

Driven ground rod

A copper-clad steel or stainless steel rod, a minimum of 8'0" long and 5/8" in diameter.

DS0 (Digital Signal-level 0)

The basic channel in the digital hierarchy, DS0 consists of digital signal of 64 kbps.

DS1 (Digital Signal-level 1)

A level of digital hierarchy that transmits a time multiplexed signal that contains 24 DS0 channels. A DS1 channel 1.544 Mbps. Also referred to as a T1 facility or span.

DTF

Digital Transmission Facility

A voice and data trunking facility that carries 30 duplex channels in 64-kbps time slices. E1 facilities are commonly used in countries outside of North America.

E-Carrier-level 3

Earthquake zone

Seismic ratings ranging from zone 1 (relatively low central office operational shock and vibration levels) to the most severe zone 4 levels. Equipment must be able to withstand earthquake zone requirements under both operational and non-operational conditions.

ECP (Executive Cellular Processor)

A Alcatel-Lucent 3B21D computer and its associated input/output devices, which controls system operations. The ECP is responsible for mobility management, call processing, system maintenance, technical interfaces, and system integrity.

Electrolytic ground electrode (rods)

A low resistance grounding rod (pipe) using low resistivity materials.

Exothermic weld

A method of making electrical connections of copper to copper or copper to steel using high temperature fusion. The molten copper flows over conductors in a mold, melting and welding them together.

FA (Fuse Alarm)

The fuse alarm (FA)indicates that the power system battery and load protection fuse opens.

Facility

Any element of physical telephone equipment needed to provide service, such as cables, switching systems, and microwave radio transmission systems.

FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

A group founded in 1934 to regulate all types of communications in the United States.

Flexent

Registered Trademark of Alcatel-Lucent.

Float

To operate a power load on a main-driven rectifier in parallel with a low impedance storage battery, which is kept fully charged by the rectifier and is itself only called upon to provide power during temporary and short-duration peaks for which the rectifier output is insufficient.

Frequency

For a periodic wave, such as alternating current, the number of complete cycles per unit of time. The unit of frequency is cycles per second, or hertz.

Fuse

An overcurrent protective device that has as its critical component a metal wire or strip that will melt when heated by a prescribed (design) amperage, creating an open in the circuit of which it is a part, thereby protecting the circuit from an overcurrent condition.

Gain

The ratio of output current, voltage, or power to input current, voltage, or power, respectively. Gain is usually expressed in dB. If the ratio is less than unity, the gain, expressed in dB, will be negative, in which case there is a loss between input and output.

Garmin 45XLS

A handheld GPS receiver that can be used to verify GPS reception at a cell site. It has a removable antenna and provides +5 VDC on the center pin of the RF connection to power external active antennas. If poor GPS reception is suspected, the Garmin 45XL can be used to verify that the GPS antenna and cable system is working acceptably. It will also verify that the GPS antenna location is acceptable.

GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter)

A device intended for protection of personnel that functions to de-energize a circuit or portion thereof within an established period of time when a current to ground exceeds some predetermined value that is less than that required to operate the overcurrent protective device of the supply circuit.

GPS (Global Positioning System)

A satellite-based location technology, developed and operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, which determines position by means of measured, transmitted signals of latitude, longitude, elevation and time, between multiple satellites, a master control station, and a user's receiver.

Ground

A conducting connection between equipment or an electrical circuit and earth, or conductive body that is used in place of earth.

Grounding conductor

A conductor used to connect equipment or a grounded electrical circuit to the grounding electrode system.

Grounding electrode system

The conductive objects that are intentionally bonded to furnish connection to earth (i.e., buried ring ground with ground rods, electrically continuous buried metallic water pipe, electrolytic ground electrode, etc.).

Guy

Steel wire or rope used to hold a pole upright.

Halo ground

An interior ring ground, stranded copper cable with green insulation that is installed around the equipment approximately 2.4 meters (8 ft.) above the floor or 1.8 meters (6 ft.) below the ceiling.

Handoff

A automatic transfer of a cellular telephone call from one cell to another, maintaining call quality as the mobile user moves through the coverage area.

Heat dissipation

The heat generated by cabinets during operation.

Hot spots

(Public Wireless LAN Service Providers) Deliver wireless services to users in public spaces such as airports, convention centers, coffee shops, internet cafes, etc. These public spaces are generally referred to as hot-spots with internet access being the primary service provided.

HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning)

Hz (hertz)

A unit of frequency of a periodic process equal to one cycle per second.

Integrated power

AC cabinet or cabinet with power rectifiers factory installed.

INTR (Intrusion Alarm)

The Intrusion (INTR) alarm indicates a door or access panel to the power system is open.

ITU (International Telecommunication Union)

Line Circuit

Load

The power consumed by a device or circuit in performing its function.

Loss

The diminution, usually expressed in dB, of signal level in a communications medium. The power, usually expressed in watts, consumed by a circuit or component. The energy dissipated without accomplishing useful work or purpose.

MGB (Main Ground Bus)

A copper bus bar used to provide the electrical interfaces for connection of the isolated ground plane to the integrated ground system.

MHz (Megahertz)

Reference of radio frequency spectrum of one-million cycles.

MOP (Method of Procedure)

Cell site walk-through where site preparation activities are verified prior to installing the UMTS Compact equipment.

MSC (Mobile Switching Center)

In an automatic cellular mobile system, the interface between the radio system and the public switched telephone network. The MSC performs all signaling functions that are necessary to establish calls to and from mobile stations.

MTA (Major Trading Area)

The market area specified by the FCC for PCS A and B band licenses. Each MTA is comprised of a number of basic trading areas. The USA has 51 MTA license areas.

NEC (National Electric Code)

Standard that governs the use of electric wire, cable, and fixtures, and electrical and optical communication cable installed in buildings.

Network

A set of terminals, the communications link that joins them, and the protocols that allow them to function together and communicate with each other.

NFPA (National Fire Protection Association)

Standards and code writing organization made up of volunteer industrial and institutional subject-matter-expert committees.

NIU (Network Interface Unit)

A device that performs interface functions, such as code conversion, protocol conversion, and buffering, required for communications to and from a network. The device is used primarily within a local area network to allow a number of independent devices, with varying protocols, to communicate with each other. An NIU converts each device protocol into a common transmission protocol. The transmission protocol may be chosen to accommodate directly a number of the devices used within the network without the need for protocol conversion for those devices by the NIU.

Nominal

Specified value or intended value independent to any uncertainty in its realization. In a device that realizes a physical quantity, it is the value of such a quantity specified by the manufacturer.

OC3

Optical Carrier-level 3

Pair cable

Cable made up of one or more separately insulated wire pairs, none of which is arranged with another quads.

PCS (Personal Communications Services)

Services for digital RF equipment operating in the 2-GHz spectrum.

Phase

The number of separate voltage waves in commercial alternating current, designated as "single phase", "three phase", etc.

Pigtail

A short length of electrical conductor permanently affixed to a component, used to connect the component to another.

PMJ

Conditions that impacts service of the power system and/or requires immediate attention are classified as major alarms and designated as Power Major (PMJ) alarms.

PMN

Conditions requiring service, but having no immediate impact on the power system output are classified as minor alarms and designated as Power Minor (PMN) alarms.

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

A thermoplastic made of polymers, which is tough, nonflammable, and water resistant and is used as an insulant.

RCS (Radio Cluster Server)

Receive-only

Pertaining to a device or a mode of operation capable of receiving messages, but not transmitting messages.

RF (Radio Frequency)

Electromagnetic wave used for, among other things, cellular voice and data communications.

RFTG

Reference Frequency and Time Generator

RMS (Root Mean Square)

Effective value of an alternative wave. For AC, this is numerically equal to DC value of the current with the same heating effect.

Rx (Receive)

Sector

The coverage area within the degree of directionality of the antennas.

Service provider

Customer who purchases switching and UMTS Compact equipment from system vendors, which, in turn, is provided to end-user subscribers through resellers and distribution channels.

Shield

A housing, screen, sheath, or cover that substantially reduces the coupling of electric, magnetic, or electromagnetic fields into or out of circuits or transmission lines.

Short-term

No more than 96 consecutive hours or 15 days per year.

Single-phase

A circuit in which there is only one sinusoidal voltage variation.

Site preparation

To perform the requirements necessary at the cell site before installation can begin.

Stranded

Wires twisted together to form a strong flexible cable.

Surge protector

Protective device used to limit surge voltages by discharging or bypassing any unwanted surge current that may enter a building or equipment.

Sweep

To vary the frequency of a signal over a whole band as a means of checking the response of equipment under test.

SWR

Standing Wave Ratio

A four-wire voice and data trunking facility that carries 24 duplex channels over 56-kbps time slots.

T-Carrier-level 3

THHN (Thermoplastic high-heat resistant nylon-coated)

Three-phase

An alternating current supply with three sinusoidal voltages differing in phase by 120°.

THWN (Thermoplastic heat and water resistant nylon-coated)

Twisted pair cable

Cable made up of one or more separately insulated twisted-wire pairs.

Tx (Transmit)

TYP (Typical)

UL (Underwriters Laboratories)

Laboratories that test and approve materials and equipment against pre-determined performance standards.

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)

A 3G wireless technology for delivering data at speeds of up to 2Mbps per second. It can also deliver video and audio to wireless devices. UMTS is endorsed by a number of standards bodies and wireless equipment vendors.

UMTS Macrocell Compact

Provides radio access interfaces and radio resources management functions, as well as call handling with the 5ESS" Switch at Cellular and PCS frequencies.

UV (Ultraviolet)

The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in which the longest wavelength is just below the visible spectrum, extending from approximately 4 Nm to approximately 400 Nm. Some authorities place the lower limit of uv at values between 1 and 40 Nm, 1 Nm being the upper wavelength limit of x-rays. The 400-Nm limit is the lowest visible wavelength, i.e., the highest visible frequency, violet.

V (Volt)

The derived SI unit of electrical potential difference. It is the difference in potential between two points of a conducting wire carrying a constant current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between these two points is equal to 1 watt.

VAC (Volts Alternating Current)

VDC (Volts Direct Current)

Vrms (Volts Root Mean Square)

VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio)

In a transmission line, the ratio of maximum to minimum voltage in a standing wave pattern. The VSWR is a measure of impedance mismatch between the transmission line and its load. The higher the VSWR, the greater the mismatch. The minimum VSWR, i.e., that which corresponds to a perfect impedance match, is unity.

W (watts)

The derived SI unit of power. It is equivalent to 1 joule per second, or 1 volt-ampere.

Walk-through

A critical examination of a design or product undertaken to ensure that it is of adequate quality.

Waveform

The characteristic shape of a periodic wave, determined by the frequencies present and their amplitudes and relative phases.

Z-IDC punchdown block

10-position punchdown block used for terminating T1/E1, user alarms and relays.