Continental Wireless - Resources - Wireless Networking Glossary


Wireless Networking Glossary

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PABX	Private Automatic Branch Exchange. A privately owned switch providing wired and possibly also wireless service for office, factory, campus, etc.
PAC	PPTP Access Concentrator. Concentrates PPP traffic on a dial access platform. See PNS
Packet	Unit of data that is routed between an origin and a destination on the Internet or any other packet-switched network.
PAD	Packet Assembly/Disassembly
PAN	Personal Area Network. Interconnection of information technology devices within the range of an individual, typically 30 feet/10 meters. For example, a person traveling with a laptop, a PDA and portable printer could interconnect them without having to plug anything in, using some form of wireless technology. Typically, this kind of personal area network could also be interconnected without wires to the Internet or other networks. A.k.a. Wireless PAN or WPAN.
PAP	Password Authentication Protocol. A simple authentication protocol that sends security information in the clear. Compare with CHAP
Passive reflector	Device that is a mirror to RF signals. In the shape of a dish, it serves to gather radio signal from transmitter and reflect it. Shape of the dish focuses the reflected signal into a tight beam.
PBX	Private Branch Exchange. A privately owned switch providing wired and possibly also wireless service for an office, factory, campus, etc.
PC	Personal Computer
PCM	Pulse Code Modulation
PCMCIA	Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
PCS	Personal Communications System. See DCS, PCS1900
PD	Packet data
PDA	Personal Digital Assistant
PDH	Plesiochhronous Digital Hierarchy
Penetration	The percentage of the population of a service area (POP) that have acquired a certain service
PIN	Personal Identification Number. Used to restrict access to personal services or capabilities
PING	Packet Internet or Inter-Network Groper. Basic Internet program used to verify that a particular IP address exists and can accept requests.
PMP	Serves customers who are scattered throughout an area (campuses, e.g.) System for moving data from single transmitter/receiver to multiple receivers/transmitters. Can be wired or wireless.
PNG	Portable Network Graphics. A graphics format using lossless compression and 48 bit color (unlike JPEG). Its proponents believe that it will replace GIF and TIFF.
PNP	Private Numbering Plan
POE	Power Over Ethernet. Technology for wired Ethernet LANs that allows electrical current to be carried by data cables rather than by power cords. Minimizes number of wires to be strung in network installation.
Point-to-multipoint	Serves customers who are scattered throughout an area (campuses, e.g.) System for moving data from single transmitter/receiver to multiple receivers/transmitters. Can be wired or wireless.
POP	Point Of Presence. An Internet access point from one place to rest of Internet.
POP3	Post Office Protocol Version 3. IETF RFC 1939
POTS	Plain Old Telephone Service. Voice transmission for ordinary phone communication.
PPP	Point-to-Point Protocol. For communication between two computers using serial interface, typically a personal computer connected by phone line to a server. Most commonly used for dial-up Internet access to transmit IP packets between workstation or PC and an ISP. Part of Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol; core part of Microsoft's secure remote access solution for Windows 2000 and beyond. Protocol that provides router-to-router and host-to-network connections over both synchronous and asynchronous circuits.
PPPoE	Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. PPP form when used by some ISPs for DSL and cable modem authentication. Supported by bridging functions. Specification for connecting multiple computer users on an Ethernet LAN to a remote site through common CPEs or modems. Can be used to have an office or MTU users share a common DSL, cable modem or wireless connection to the Internet. Combines PPP with Ethernet, which supports multiple users in a LAN. PPP information is encapsulated within an Ethernet frame.
PPTP	Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol. Allows corporations to extend their own corporate network through private "tunnels" over public Internet. Effectively, using a WAN as a single large LAN, company no longer needs to lease its own lines for wide-area communication but can securely use the public networks. See VPN.
PRBS	Pseudo-Random Binary Sequence
PSD	Power Spectral Density
PSK	Phase Shift Keying. Information bits are identified by changes in phase of the carrier. Usually, the signal is split into two parts. I is unchanged, and Q is phase shifted by 90 degrees. Phase can be controlled by the amount of each path that is remixed upon output
PSTN	Public Switched Telephone Network. The 'phone system'.
PTM	Point-to-Multipoint (Broadcast)
PTP	Point-to-Point
PTT	Push To Talk. Pressing a button on a phone initiates communications with a pre-defined group of other users. The system will usually give one radio the ability to transmit, and the remainder can only listen until the button is released or the phone exceeds the maximum time limit on the right to talk.

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