Telos TWOx12 - Page 208

TELOS TWOX12 USER’S MANUAL
GLOSSARY OF TELEPHONE TERMINOLOGY
APPENDIX 4 196
PMP
- AT&T “Custom Point to Point” Custom ISDN Protocol. Not supported by the
Zephyr or ZephyrExpress. See Custom ISDN and ISDN Protocol.
POP
- Point Of Presence. The local facility where your IEC maintains a switch. This
is where your long distance calls get routed so that your IEC can handle them.
Port
- This is a pretty general term. Newton’s Telecom Dictionary 10th edition defines
a port as “An entrance to or an exit from a network”. Many phone equipment vendors
refer to ports as the physical interface between a Switch and a Line or Trunk. Product
literature often refers to the number of ports on a phone system. In this context it refers
to the number of phone or lines (or sometimes the combination) the system supports.
POTS
– Plain Old Telephone Service. Regular old-fashioned analog loop start phone
service.
PRI
- Primary Rate Interface- A form of ISDN with 23 “B Channels” and one “D
channel”. All 24 channels are on a single cable. Functionally related to T1 telephone
circuits. In Europe PRI has 30 “B Channels” and one “D Channel”.
Provisioning
-The act of configuring an ISDN or other telecommunications path. Also
refers to the complete line configuration information.
PS2 Power
- Power provided on pins 7 and 8 of the “S” interface cable. This power is
used so that a NT1 can provide power to a terminal (usually a phone). In some cases it
is used to allow a terminal to power an NT1. The USA versions of the Zephyr,
ZephyrExpress, and Telos TWO supply PS2 power in the “S” jack. This power
arrangement is also used in the Telos TWOx12 and 2101 to power Desktop Directors.
PTP
- AT&T “Custom Point to Point” Custom ISDN Protocol. Point-to-Point lines
have only one incoming phone number which must be dialed twice to connect to both
lines. See Custom ISDN and ISDN Protocol.
RBOC
- Regional Bell Operating Company. One of the regional companies formed
when AT&T got out of the local telephone business. Each RBOC (or “baby bell”) owns
a number of the former “Bell Operating Companies”. The Bell Operating Companies
are the traditional local phone companies (pre-1984), except where one’s service is
from an “Independent” (non bell) telephone company or a CLEC. Due to their former
association with the Bell System RBOCs are regulated by the FCC differently than are
independent Telcos. In many cases the Bell Operating Company structure is no longer
used. For instance, here in Ohio we now deal directly with the RBOC, Ameritech,
while the old Bell Operating Company, Ohio Bell Telephone, no longer exists. Another
trend is mergers among the RBOCs (and in some cases the independents as well). See
CLEC and LEC.
RD
- Receive Data. Data coming from the network, or DCE towards the DTE. Also, a
light on a modem or CSU/DSU which lights to indicate presence of this signal.
Regional Bell Operating Company
- See RBOC
Repeater
- A device intended to extend ISDN telephone service to sites further from
the central office than could normally be served. ie: beyond 18,000 feet. ISDN
repeater technologies include “BRITE”, “Virtual ISDN”, “Lightspan”, and
“Totalreach”. Some Telcos do not use repeaters. Compatibility between a given piece
of CPE and a repeater is less certain than if that CPE where directly connected to the
switch.
Rollover
– See Hunt Group