| 2G | Second Generation Mobile System of which GSM represents the universal standard. | | | | | | | | |
| 3G | Third Generation Mobile System of which UMTS represents the universal standard. | | | | | | | | |
| 4G | Fourth Generation Mobile System of which LTE represents the universal standard. | | | | | | | | |
| API | Application Programming Interface; a set of routine definitions, protocols, and tools for building software and applications in computer programming. | | | | |
| ARPU | Average revenue per user is a telecom industry metric generally calculated by dividing total revenue for a product group by the average number of subscribers during a period. | | |
| backbone | The core of an IP-based data communication network with high-capacity connections. The backbone connects critical and high-capacity data communication services to regional distribution networks. |
| base station or sites | An equipment space where the radio and processing units of a mobile communications network and antennas are placed. A base station also provides a radio connection for mobile communications services to a specific geographical region. |
| bit | The smallest unit of binary information. | | | | | | | | | | | |
| bps | Bits per second. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| byte | A sequence of usually eight bits (enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data) processed by a computer as a single unit of information. | | | | |
| COM | Customer Order Management. | | | | | | | | | | | |
| CMTS | Cable Modern Termination System; a piece of equipment, typically located in a cable company’s headend or hubsite, which is used to provide high speed data services, such as cable broadband, to cable subscribers. |
| capacity | The amount of bandwidth or throughput that can be handled by a network element. | | | | | | | | |
| churn | Churn refers to the percentage of mobile handset subscription deactivations over a given period. We deem mobile handset subscriptions as churned when they voluntarily terminate their mobile service with us (and either move to a different provider or choose not to have a mobile service) or if we terminate their mobile services. |
| DSL | Digital Subscriber Line; a technology family utilizing a traditional subscriber line loop copper pair for data transfers. | | | | | | |
| DTT | Digital Terrestrial Television; a technological evolution of broadcast television and an advancement of analog television broadcasting land-based (terrestrial) signals. | | | |
| DVB-T2 | Digital Video Broadcasting—Second Generation Terrestrial; the extension of the television standard DVB-T, issued by the consortium DVB, devised for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television. |
| DOCSIS | Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification; an international telecommunications standard that permits the addition of high-bandwidth data transfer to an existing cable TV (CATV) system. | |
| EPSI Rating | EPSI Rating is a system to collect, analyze and disseminate information about image, preferences and perceived quality as well as loyalty of customers, employees and other stakeholders to commercial entities, NPOs, governmental bodies and other organizations. The EPSI approach focuses on causal analysis derived from structural model elaboration and thorough empirical studies in order to estimate numerical relationships. |
| ESB | Enterprise service bus; a software architecture model used for designing and implementing communication between mutually interacting software applications in a service-oriented architecture (SOA) | |
| Ethernet | A package-based family of data transfer technologies for data communications network used in local area networks (LANs) and metropolitan area networks (MANs) | | | |
| EU-15 | EU-15 includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. | | |
| EuroDOCSIS | DOCSIS (see above in ‘‘Glossary’’) standard modified for use in Europe. | | | | | | | | | |
| FICORA | Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority. | | | | | | | | | | |
| Finnet Association | A central organization and co-operative forum of local ICT companies, the purpose of which is lobbying its member companies as well as promoting the development and co-operation between the member companies. |
| frequency | The rate at which an electrical current alternates, usually measured in Hertz (Hz). Also the way to note a description of a general location on the radio frequency spectrum, such as 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz or 2100 MHz. |
| FTTB | Fiber-to-the-building, -business, or -basement; fiber reaches the boundary of the building, such as the basement in a multi-dwelling unit. | | | | | |
| FTTH | Fiber-to-the-home; the fiber-optic technology linking residential customers directly to the fiber network. | | | | | | | |
| FTTx | Fiber-to-the-x; a term that encompasses all forms of fiberoptic distribution and subscriber line delivery, including FTTB and FTTH. | | | | | |
| GHz | Gigahertz; a unit of frequency equal to 1,000 million Hertz. | | | | | | | | | | |
| GSM | Global System for Mobile Communication; a second generation (or 2G) mobile technology. | | | | | | | | |
| HD | High definition television resolutions transmitted in either 1080p, 1080i or 720p format. | | | | | | | | |
| Hertz | A unit of frequency of one cycle per second. | | | | | | | | | | | |
| HEVC | High Efficiency Video Coding; a video compression standard allowing for high resolution video and data compression through improved parallel processing technology. | | | |
| hybrid cloud | A composition where the customer can run services or workloads using not only its own capacity or the operator’s capacity (private cloud) but also the capacity of a public cloud and utilize these services seamlessly in the same composition. |
| HFC network | Hybrid-fixed-coaxial network; a coaxial cable broadband network based on optical fiber. | | | | | | | | |
| housing association | A limited liability company established for the purpose of owning or keeping possession of buildings, with shares in the housing association conferring the right to possess a specific residential apartment or other part of a building held by the housing association. |
| ICT, telecommunications | Information and Communication Technology. | | | | | | | | | | | |
| interconnection | The way in which networks are connected to each other and the charges payable by one network operation for accepting traffic from or delivering traffic to another. | | | |
| Internet of Things | The network of physical devices, vehicles and other items, embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data. | |
| Internet Protocol or IP | A TCP/IT protocol network connection procedure, which provides network devices with addresses and routes packets between source and destination addresses in the network. | | |
| IP PBX | A PBX (Private Branch Exchange) is a system that connects telephone extensions to the Public Switched Telephone Network and provides internal communication for a business. An IP PBX is a PBX with Internet Protocol connectivity and may provide additional audio, video, or instant messaging communication. |
| IPTV | Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as a LAN or the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats. |
| IPv6 | Internet Protocol version 6; the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet. |
| IRUs | Indefeasible rights of use are contractual agreements between the operators of a communications cable, such as a fiber optic network and a client. They construe exclusive, unrestricted, and indefeasible rights to use the relevant capacity (including equipment, fibers or capacity) for any legal purpose. The costs for indefeasible rights of use are generally paid up front in a lump sum for a fixed period of use. |
| LAN | Local Area Network; a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence or office building and has its network equipment and interconnects locally managed. | |
| landline | A physical line connecting the subscriber to the telephone exchange. In addition, landline includes fixed wireless systems, in which the users are in fixed locations using a wireless connection (e.g., cordless telephones) to the telephone exchange. |
| leased line | Voice or data circuits leased to connect two or more locations for the exclusive use of the subscriber. | | | | | | | |
| LTE | Long Term Evolution; a 4G mobile technology standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations). | | |
| M2M | Machine-to-machine; direct communication between devices using any communications channel, including wired and wireless, often via the Internet of Things. | | | |
| MHz | Megahertz; a unit of frequency equal to 1 million Hertz. | | | | | | | | | | |
| MINTC | Ministry of Transport and Communications. | | | | | | | | | | | |
| MMS | Multimedia Messaging Service; a form of SMS that enables users to send multimedia content including images, audio and video clips to other users. | | | | |
| mobile broadband | Mobile data transmission services, typically provided using 3G or 4G standards. | | | | | | | | |
| MNO | Mobile network operator; a company that has frequency allocations and the required infrastructure to run an independent mobile network, as opposed to an MVNO. | | | |
| MVNO | Mobile virtual network operator; a mobile operator that does not own its own spectrum and usually does not have its own network infrastructure. Instead, MVNOs have business arrangements with MNOs to acquire network access for sale to their own subscribers. |
| MPLS | Multi Protocol Label Switching, is a method used to enhance data communication over combined IP/ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode, a telecommunications for carriage of a complete range of user traffic) networks. |
| MSR | Multi Standard Radio; a multi technology radio, i.e. a radio unit enabling a range of mobile standard radio signals to be transmitted and received from a single base station. | | |
| MTR | Mobile termination rates are the interconnection fees that a mobile operator charges other mobile operators for calls terminating on its network. | | | | |
| Multi-DMR | Multiple digital rights management systems. | | | | | | | | | | | |
| MUX | Multiplex; the grouping of program services that are sub-grouped as interleaved data packets for broadcast over a network or modulated multiplexed medium, which are split out at the receiving end. | |
| network | An interconnected collection of telecom components consisting of switches connect to each other and to customer equipment by real or virtual transmission links. Transmission links may be based on fiberoptic or metallic cable or point-to-point radio connections. |
| Omnichannel | A cross-channel business model that provides customers with an integrated service experience, enabling customers to be in constant contact with a company through multiple channels at the same time. |
| operator | A term for any company engaged in the business of building and running its own network facilities. | | | | | | | |
| operating result | Result before income tax, share of associates results and financial income and expenses. | | | | | | | | |
| over-the-top application or OTT application | Any application or service that provides a product over the Internet and bypasses operator distribution. Services that come over the top are most typically related to media and communication and are generally, if not always, lower in cost than the traditional method of delivery. |
| penetration | A measurement, usually as a percentage, of the take-up of telecommunications services. Penetration is typically calculated by dividing the number of subscribers or lines by either the number of households or the population to which the service is available. |
| postpaid | Mobile subscriptions paid for on a recurring basis and requiring customers to remain subscribers for a specified duration. | | | | | | |
| PVR | Personal Video Recorder. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| prepaid | Mobile subscriptions requiring customers to pay for credit in advance without any durational commitment. | | | | | | | |
| quadruple-play | Bundling of fixed-mobile (retail voice, landline internet and mobile services) with TV and video services. | | | | | | | |
| SD | Standard definition television resolution, commonly transmitted in 576i or 480i format. | | | | | | | | |
| Set-top box | A set-top box is an information appliance device, such as a digital television adapter or a card reader, which generally displays output to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the source signal into content in a form that can then be displayed on the television screen or other display device. |
| SIP | Session Initiation Protocol; a communications protocol for signaling and controlling multimedia communication sessions. The most common applications of SIP are in Internet telephony for voice and video calls, as well as instant messaging, over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. |
| SIP trunk | A Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) (see below in ‘‘Glossary’’) and streaming media service based on SIP, which is used to deliver telephony services to customers who have SIP-based IP-PBX facilities. |
| SMS | Short Message Service; a text message service which enables users to send short messages (160 characters or less) to other users. | | | | | |
| Software-based SIM cards | A method advanced by manufacturers of devices, which allows producing SIM card operations with mobile handset software without a physical SIM card. | | | |
| SoHo | Single office/home office. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SOM | Service Order Management. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SMP | Significant market power. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| spectrum | A continuous range of frequencies, usually wide in extent, within which radio waves have some certain common characteristics. | | | | | |
| subscriber | A person or entity who is party to an individual contract with the provider of telecommunications services for the supply of such services. As such, a unique subscriber may be party to multiple individual contracts for telecommunications services and hence be considered to constitute multiple subscribers. |
| Subscriber Identity Module cards or SIM cards | Cards that contain a smart chip with memory that allows for authentication and management of encryption keys. | | | | | | |
| SVOD | Subscription-based video-on-demand service, which allows users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content when they choose to, rather than having to watch at a specific broadcast time. | |
| termination rate | The tariff chargeable by a receiving operator for calls terminating on its network. | | | | | | | | |
| TVE | A television everywhere service that enables customers to watch television programming on various devices such as televisions, smart phones, tablets and computers, and allows customers to select the television service they want. |
| TVOD | Transaction video-on-demand service, which allows consumer customers to access titles that are available to rent on an individual basis. | | | | | |
| UHF MUX | Ultra-high frequency MUX. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Universal Mobile Telecommunications System or UMTS | A 3G mobile technology. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| unique subscriber | A person or entity who is party to one or several contracts with the provider of telecommunications services for the supply of such services. | | | | |
| VoD | Video on demand. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| VoIP | Voice over Internet Protocol, a telephone service via internet, or via Internet Protocol, which can be accessed using a computer, a sound card, adequate software and a network connection. | |
| VoLTE | Voice over Long Term Evolution; a digital packet voice service that is delivered over IP via an LTE access network. | | | | | | |
| VoWiFi | Voice over WiFi; a capability for smartphones that allows a mobile user to use the same phone number and the same smartphone dialer interface whether making a call over the cellular network or over any WiFi network. |
| virtual private branch exchange or VPBX | A business phone system that provides for example call routing, follow-me calling, voice mail, fax and automatic call distributor queues delivered over the public-switched telephone system. | |
| VPN Network | A virtual private network for securely connecting two or more locations over the public Internet. | | | | | | | |
| WebRTC | Web Real-Time Communications; an open source project that seeks to embed real-time voice, text and video communications capabilities in Web browsers. | | | |
| WLAN | Wireless Local Area Network, a type of local-area network in which devices communicate wirelessly. | | | | | | | |
| XaaS | Anything-as-a-service; refers to the growing diversity of services available over the Internet via cloud computing as opposed to being provided locally, or on premises. | | | |
| xDSL | A family of technologies, including ADSL and VDSL, providing for digital data transmission over copper wires. | | | | | | |
