1G
Term retrospectively applied to the original (analog) cellular telephony systems.
2G
Refers to a number of mobile communications standards in which digital technology was first introduced. See CDMA, GSM, IS-95 and PCS.
3G
Refers to a number of standards in the "third generation" of mobile communications, meeting ITU's IMT-2000 specs (minimum 200 kb/s peak data rate). Generally considered as the first true broadband wireless systems. See CDMA 2000, EV-DO, UMTS and WCDMA.
3GPP
Third Generation Partnership Project: A group specifying interoperable systems for third-generation (3G) of the GSM/UMTS family of wireless telecom standards. See also HSPA and LTE.
3GPP2
Third Generation Partnership Project 2: A group specifying standards for third-generation (3G) wireless telecom technology based on IS-95, commonly known as CDMA2000.
4G
Refers to a number of standards in the "fourth generation" of mobile communications, which meet or approximate ITU's IMT-Advanced specs. See LTE and WiMAX.
5C
See DTCP.
AAC
Advanced Audio Coding: A family of MPEG audio codecs, intended as successor to the MP3 format. Default audio format used by iTunes; supported by Zune. See also HEAAC.
AAC+
See HEAAC.
AACS
Advanced Access Content System: DRM standard used on HD-DVD and BD.
AACS LA
AACS Licensing Administrator: Consortium developing AACS; includes Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita, Warner Bros., IBM, Toshiba and Sony.
AAPD
American Association of People with Disabilities: Trade association that claims to be the largest nonprofit, cross-disability member organization in the U.S. See http://www.aapd.com.
AB, Access Board
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (See Section 508).
ADA
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
AFB
American Federation for the Blind (see also NFB).
AG
Attorney General: (U.S.) The top law enforcement official of national, state, city or other regional government.
AGE
AGE - The European Older People's Platform. See http://www.age-platform.org/EN/.
AMS/AVMS
Audiovisual Media Services Directive: Complex set of new rules developed by the EU for implementation by its member States regarding television content, including that distributed by certain online platforms.
ANEC
European consumer group representing consumer interests in standards (across all industries). Officially, ANEC is defined as the European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation, but is typically referred to as "The European consumer voice in standardization." See http://www.anec.org/.
ANSI
American National Standards Institute: SSO for US.
APAC
Asia Pacific (sales) region.
ARIB
Association of Radio Industries and Businesses: Japanese SDO that develops broadcast standards for the country, most notably ISDB.
ARPU
Average Revenue Per User: A primary metric used by subscription services in evaluating the income a service derives from its customer base.
ATIS
Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions: U.S.-based SDO for communications and IT standards. See http://www.atis.org.
ATSC
Advanced Television Standards Committee: SDO for North American terrestrial DTV (also in use in several other countries in Central and South America, as well as South Korea). See http://atsc.org.
ATSC 2.0
A set of backward-compatible extensions to the ATSC DTV format.
ATSC 3.0
A developing, proposed next-generation format for ATSC DTV, which may not be fully backward-compatible to the original ATSC format.
ATSC-M/H
ATSC Mobile/Handheld: A format allowing backward-compatible addition of Mobile Digital Television transmissions to ATSC DTV channels. Specified in the ATSC A/153 standard.
ATVEF
Advanced Television Enhancement Forum: Organization, and format it developed, for adding Interactive TV content to NTSC broadcasts.
AV
Audio-visual, or Age Verification.
AVC
Advanced Video Coding: Usually refers specifically to the MPEG-4 Part 10 video codec standard, also known as ITU H.264.
AVMS
See AMS.
BBFC
British Board of Film Classification: Organization responsible for film, DVD and some video game classification within the U.K. See also ESRB and PEGI.
BD
Blu-ray Disc: A high-definition video optical disc format.
BF
See Broadcast Flag.
Blu-ray
See BD.
Bidi
Bidirectional. Often refers to specification or rules for standardized operation of bidirectional digital cable TV service in U.S. (still under development). See also Digital Cable Ready.
BITKOM
German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft Telekommunication und neue Medien): Trade association for IT, telecom and new media companies in Germany.
BOD, BoD
Board of Directors
BOM
Bill of Materials: The cost of components required to assemble a device.
Broadcast Flag
Method of identifying or coding content that is transmitted in the clear with encryption and/or usage rules applied after reception by consumers.
CA
Conditional Access: Content protection system applied to a channel (as in premium services on cable). Various forms of encryption of audio, video or both are used to block access to an individual content channel by unauthorized users. In contrast to DRM, CA is applied to the delivery channel, not the content itself, and is therefore tied to a specific service provider's distribution and reception architecture.
CableCARD
A special-use PCMCIA type II card that includes a CA decryption module for use in U.S. cable set-top boxes and other consumer devices compliant with the FCC's Integration Ban. Initially available only in single-stream form (SCard), newer versions offer multistream capability (MCard). CableCard v1.0 supports unidirectional services only. A v2.0 is under development for future bidirectional services. See also POD.
CableLabs
An R&D consortium and SDO of the North American cable TV industry, which includes a product testing and certification function. Notable standards it has produced are OpenCable and DOCSIS. See http://www.cablelabs.com.
CAGR
Compound Annual Growth Rate: A business metric for the annualized (year-over-year) rate of return on a multiyear investment or other financial process.
CALEA
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act: A 1994 U.S. law that requires telephone companies to allow law enforcement agencies the ability to wiretap phone conversations (including digital and VoIP services) and make call records available.
Canoe
See Project Canoe.
CAP
Common Alerting Protocol: A platform-independent, XML-based specification developed by OASIS for use in emergency alerting. Currently at v1.1. See also EAS.
CAPEX
Capital Expense: The initial, one-time costs in establishing or expanding a business, related to the purchasing of major, depreciable assets. Contrast to OPEX.
CASBAA
Cable and Satellite Broadcasters Association of Asia
CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access: Channel coding format used in mobile telecom, developed and promoted primarily by Qualcomm. Used primarily in U.S. for 2G digital wireless service. Successor formats for 3G are CDMA 2000 and W-CDMA. See also 3GPP2.
CDMA 2000
See 3GPP2 and CDMA.
CEA
Consumer Electronics Association: Trade association of consumer electronics manufacturers and related companies. Produces annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES). See http://www.ce.org.
CEDIA
Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association: Trade association of professional home theater designers and installation firms. See http://www.cedia.net.
CES
See CEA.
CHILA
CableCARD Host Interface Licensing Agreement
CLEC
Competitive Local Exchange Carrier: A local wireline phone company providing independent, competitive service to the former monopoly providers (ILECs), formed after the 1984 divestiture of AT&T.
CMMB
China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting: Chinese format for mobile DTV broadcasting, using both UHF (terrestrial) and S-band (satellite) transmissions.
Codec
COder-DECoder. Usually refers to a standardized data-compression algorithm used to reduce the bandwidth or storage requirements for digital media content. Raw media content is encoded to reduce data rate, then stored or transmitted and finally decoded after reception or playback to restore it to its original data rate. (See Lossy coding, Lossless coding.)
COFDM
Coded Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing: (See OFDM.)
COGS
Cost of Goods and Services: A measure of the procurement costs required to operate a particular business.
COPPA
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998: Regulations administered by the FTC that set strict limits and conditions on the collection of personal information over the Internet from users under 13 years of age. See .
COST 219
European-based group promoting accessibility in telecom devices and services.
CPA
Cost per Acquisition: An accounting term for the amount a business expends on average to acquire a new customer. Of particular interest to businesses that operate on subscription service models.
CPE
Customer-Provided Equipment, a telco industry term (now somewhat obsolete) for devices attached to a telecom network that are not owned or provided by the network operator.
CPNI
Customer Proprietary Network Information: Data collected by telecom operator about its customers and their usage of the operator's service, which must be kept confidential, but may be subject to data retention and discovery by law enforcement agencies.
CRB
Copyright Royalty Board: A three-member panel established by Congress in 2007 to set U.S. statutory royalty rates under compulsory licenses of the DMCA.
CRM
Customer Relationship Management: A key component of contemporary business operations, by which a company tracks its customers' history and satisfaction level, and promotes continuing business with them.
CSMA
Carrier Sense Multiple Access: A protocol by which a network device checks for the presence of a carrier on a shared channel (wired or wireless) before transmitting on it.
CSS
Content Scramble System: The copy protection system used in the DVD format.
CTIA
Originally Cellular Telephone Industry Association, now "CTIA - The Wireless Association." Primary trade association for the U.S. wireless telecom industry, based in Washington, DC. See http://www.ctia.org/.
DAB
Digital Audio Broadcasting: Used generically worldwide (including at FCC) to apply to any digital audio broadcasting ("digital radio") service. Also applies specifically to the European-based terrestrial digital radio format, formerly known as Eureka-147 DAB (sometimes called "Eureka DAB" for clarity in the U.S.). This format is managed by World DMB, formerly the WorldDAB Forum.
DAB+
Updated format for DAB digital radio format. Includes HEAAC coding (the original DAB format uses only MP2), Parametric stereo and MPEG Surround capabilities.
DCAS
Downloadable Conditional Access Service: Generic term for software-based CA that can be downloaded and renewed or updated remotely by receivers and other client devices.
DCR
See Digital Cable Ready.
DECE
Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem: A consortium of content and device companies that has established an interoperable "digital locker" system for purchase, storage and portable/cross-platform display of content by authorized users called UltraViolet. Includes all major Hollywood studios except Disney. See http://www.uvvu.com.
DFAST
Dynamic Feedback Arrangement Scrambling Technique: A CableLabs technology used for conditional access in Unidirectional Plug-and-Play digital cable ("digital cable-ready") in North America.
DHS
Department of Homeland Security: A U.S. government cabinet-level department in charge of domestic security and safety.
Digital Cable Ready (DCR)
U.S. regulatory term for process whereby digital cable television services are standardized such that consumer TVs, STBs or other devices are interoperable and portable between cable systems.
DiMA
Digital Media Association: Trade association based in Washington, DC primarily serving the online audio and video industries. See http://www.digmedia.org/.
DLNA
Digital Living Network Alliance: International, cross-industry organization devoted to developing interoperability among PCs, CE and mobile devices. See http://www.dlna.org/industry/home/.
DMB
Digital Multimedia Broadcasting: A mobile TV format built on top of the DAB digital radio delivery format. Originally developed in Korea, it is now standardized and managed by World DMB (formerly WorldDAB Forum).
DMCA
Digital Millennium Copyright Act: The current U.S. Copyright law.
DoCoMo
Japanese mobile telecom service provider, operated by NTT.
DOCSIS
Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification: A CableLabs standard for the addition of high speed data transmission to cable TV systems. Used in most cable modems today.
Downresolution
See SOC.
DRM
1. Digital Rights Management: A content protection system that applies encryption to a piece of digital media content, and which can generally be configured to allow legitimate access to the content by end-users under a variety of license terms. See also CA.
2. Digital Radio Mondiale: A digital radio broadcasting format (or the consortium supporting it), initially designed for use in the short , medium and long-wave broadcast bands (<30 MHz).
DRM+
Digital Radio Mondiale Plus: A revision of the original DRM radio broadcasting format that can be applied to VHF broadcast frequencies up to 108 MHz.
DTCP
Digital Transmission Content Protection: A link protection system developed by the "5C" companies (Hitachi, Intel, Matsushita, Sony and Toshiba). Originally intended for application on IEEE 1394 (FireWire or Sony i.LINK) connections, a variation (DTCP-IP) has now been developed for use on IP network paths. Managed by DTLA.
DTCP-IP
See DTCP.
DTLA
Digital Transmission Licensing Administrator (see DTCP).
DTMB
Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast: Official name for DTV standard used in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau. (Initially referred to by its internationally standardized format name of DMB-T/H.)
DTV
Digital Television.
DVB
(-T, -S, -C, -H) Digital Video Broadcasting (-Terrestrial, -Satellite, -Cable, -Handheld); European-based SDO and the sets of standards it develops for digital television broadcasting. Competitive with (and deployed in more countries than) ATSC and ISDB. See http://www.dvb.org.
DVB-T2
Successor format to DVB-T.
DVD
Digital Video Disc (or Digital Versatile Disc)
DVD CCA
DVD Copy Control Association: A nonprofit corporation that licenses CSS to manufacturers of DVD hardware, discs and related products.
E-911
Enhanced 911: FCC regulation requiring that automatic location information be provided to 911 operators from both wired and wireless telephone systems when a user calls 911.
EAS
Emergency Alert System: U.S. system for providing emergency information to selected locations of the (or the entire) U.S. Regulated by FCC, which mandates participation by broadcasters and others.
EBIF
Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format: CableLabs specification for a cable TV platform that runs interactive applications on both advanced and legacy STBs.
EBITDA
Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization: A common measure of a business's profitability, prior to adjustment for typical corporate expenses and write-offs.
EBU
European Broadcast Union: Organization comprised of State broadcasters in Europe.
EC
European Commission EC InfoSoc European Commission's Information Society Directive, also called EU Copyright Directive (EUCD): Directive to EU member states on Copyright law passed in 2001.
ECMA
European Computer Manufacturers Association.
EDF
European Disability Forum: European organization of disabled people.
EDGE
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution: Broadband wireless data standard in the GSM family, now generally considered a 2.5G service. 3G service in this family is now provided with HSPA technology.
eDiMA
European Digital Media Association: Sister agency to DiMA.
EICTA
Originally, European Information & Communications Technology Industry Association, now officially named European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Association following its 2001 merger with EACEM, European Association of Consumer Electronics Manufacturers. Trade association for IT, Telecom and CE companies and related national associations in Europe.
EIDR
Entertainment Identifier Registry: Entity that provides unique identifier code for cinematic and television content assets. See http://eidr.org.
ERG
Emergency Response Guidebook: Manual used by first responders and other emergency personnel for recommended procedures in HAZMAT incidents.
ERP
Effective Radiated Power: A measure of RF transmission signal strength, which takes into account both transmitter power and transmit-antenna gain.
ESA
Entertainment Software Association: Leading U.S. trade association of video game manufacturers, headquartered in Washington, DC. (Also, European Space Agency.)
ESRB
Entertainment Safety Rating Board: A trade group that sets ratings for video games. See http://www.esrb.org/. See also BBFC and PEGI.
ETSI
European Telecommunication Standards Institute: SDO based in Rennes, France dealing with numerous broadcasting and telecom specifications. Well known for standardization of GSM mobile phone standard. See http://etsi.org.
EU
European Union
EU Copyright Levies Directive
See EC InfoSoc.
EU Film Online Charter
European Commission recommendation for content and infrastructure providers to make online movies distribution services a commercial success.
EV-DO
Evolution-Data Optimized (or -Data Only): 3G wireless telecom format, in the 3GPP2 (CDMA) family. EV-DO Rev B provides up to 3.1 Mb/s down and 1.8 Mb/s up. Implemented by Verizon and Sprint as 3G service in U.S.
Ex parte
Refers to a legal process in which not all parties are present (literally, without the parts). In regulatory processes, refers to private, unilateral advocacy (i.e., closed meetings or unpublished written communication) delivered to policymakers by any individual or entity. Ex parte rules ensure adequate transparency by requiring public disclosure of such independent communications soon after they take place. Also allows the filing of Comments on a rulemaking outside the public filing time window (Ex Parte Comments).
FairPlay
Proprietary DRM system used by Apple iTunes.
FCC
Federal Communication Commission: The U.S. government agency in charge of all civilian telecommunications regulation.
FEMA
Federal Emergency Management Administration: A U.S. government agency in charge of federal response to natural disasters and other large-scale emergencies.
Femtocell
Small, low-power cellular-phone transmit/receive station designed for use inside residential or commercial spaces to improve wireless telecom coverage.
Flash
A popular cross-platform, online media content format from Adobe Systems.
FNPRM
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: An FCC process by which the public is alerted that the Commission plans to add to or further update recently crafted rules.
FOIA
Freedom of Information Act: U.S. government law that allows citizens to request and obtain copies of certain confidential government records (often redacted for protection of national security or ongoing litigation).
FOMA
Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access: Brand name for 3G services offered by NTT DoCoMo. Uses W-CDMA.
FRAND
Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory: See RAND.
FTC
Federal Trade Commission: A U.S. government agency regulating interstate commerce, including consumer protection and competition (antitrust) laws.
FTZ
Free Trade Zone: A country or region that has established a bilateral agreement with another country or region for reduced trade barriers (e.g., duty-free commerce) between them.
G3ict
Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies: A public-private partnership dedicated to implementation of accessible IT and communications.
GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications: European-originated cellular telephone standard, now the most used format worldwide. See also 3GPP, EDGE, HSPA and LTE.
H.264
ITU name for video codec, also known as ISO/MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding), or MPEG-4 Part 10.
H.265
ITU name for video codec, also known as MPEG-H, Part 2 (High Efficiency Video Coding). (See also HEVC.)
HD-DVD
High Definition DVD: A blue-laser based, high-resolution optical disc format, intended as a successor to DVD. Withdrawn from the market in 2007. (See BD.)
HE-AAC, HEAAC
High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding: An MPEG standard audio codec that adds SBR to AAC (in v1), and adds Parametric Stereo in v2. Also known by the proprietary name AAC+. Used as the audio codec in ATSC M/H.
HEVC
High-Efficiency Video Coding: A perceptual video coding format under joint development by MPEG and ITU, targeting an efficiency approximately twice that of its predecessor, MPEG-4 AVC. When published, will be officially known as MPEG-H Part 2 and ITU H.265.
HSDPA
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access: 3G wireless telecom format in the HSPA family of UMTS. Used by AT&T Wireless for iPhone 3G service in U.S.
HSPA
High Speed Packet Access: A set of 3G services in the UMTS family.
HSPA+
Evolved HSPA: Currently the highest speed service available in the UMTS family of 3G wireless services.
IBOC
In-Band On-Channel: The technology used by terrestrial digital radio in the U.S. Refers to the fact that new digital signals are compatibly added to existing analog AM and FM radio broadcast channels. Also known by the trade name HD Radio (a trademark of iBiquity Digital Corporation).
ICF
Internet Connection Firewall: Original firewall included in Windows XP (shipped default-disabled due to concerns with backward compatibility), replaced by Windows Firewall in WinXP SP2.
IDm (or IdM)
Identity Management: Management of the identity lifecycle of entities in information systems.
ILEC
Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier: The monopoly wireline local telephone companies that were in operation or formed when the Bell System was dissolved in the 1984 divestiture of AT&T. (Not all ILECs were originally part of the Bell System; some were independently operated prior to the divestiture, and remained so thereafter.) See also CLEC.
IMT-2000
International Mobile Telecommunications-2000: ITU term for 3G mobile systems.
Integration Ban
An FCC rule that prohibits cable set-top boxes from combining navigation ("tuning") and decryption features. This allows retail, open availability of standardized STBs for use in any U.S. cable system, while allowing cable operators to each maintain independent control of their content protection system. This is accomplished through the use of STBs that include CableCard slots (CableCards are obtained directly from the customer's cable operator). Deferred on numerous occasions, the rule finally went into effect in July 2007.
IPAWS
Integrated Public Alert and Warning System: Next-gen U.S. emergency alerting system under development by FEMA.
IPTV
Internet Protocol Television: TV content distributed via IP, typically over private networks, not on the public Internet.
IS-95
Interim Standard 95: First CDMA-based digital cellular standard (2G), developed by Qualcomm under brand name "cdmaOne." Also known as TIA-EIA-95.
ISDB
Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting: Japanese standard for digital TV and radio broadcast services. Also used in Brazil.
ISO
International Standards Organization (see SSO).
ISO/MPEG
See MPEG.
ITI, ITIC
Information Technology Industry Council: Trade organization of IT companies. See http://www.itic.org.
ITU
International Telecommunications Union: A division of the UN devoted to worldwide interoperability of telecommunications systems.
ITU-T
ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector: Concerned with international telecom standards and interoperability; based in Geneva. Known as CCITT prior to 1993.
ITU-R
ITU Radiocommunication Sector: Concerned with coordinated international use of RF spectrum and systems; based in Geneva. Known as CCIR prior to 1993.
IXC
Inter-Exchange Carrier: A long-distance telephone company. Sometimes referred to as LDS (Long Distance Service).
LATA
Local Access and Transport Area: The operating territory of a wireline telephone company.
LEC
Local Exchange Carrier: A local wireline telephone company.
Lossless coding
A codec that reduces the data rate of digital media content for more efficient transmission or storage using algorithmic processes, and which provides perfect bit-for-bit reconstruction of the original media stream upon decoding. Generally provides low to moderate reduction in data rate. (See Lossy coding.)
Lossy coding
A codec that reduces the data rate of digital media content for more efficient transmission or storage using perceptual coding techniques, and which provides a close representation of the original media stream upon decoding. Generally provides moderate to high reduction in data rate. (See Lossless coding.)
LTE
Long-Term Evolution: 3G and 4G (LTE Advanced) services for broadband wireless developed by 3GPP for GSM family of mobile telecommunications standards.
m4a, m4v
File extensions for files encoded in MPEG-4 audio or MPEG-4 (AVC) video formats, respectively.
Managed Copy
Allows Blu-ray content to be legally copied to computer hard drives, portable devices or streamed on home networks. Also called "Digital Copy" when consumer-facing.
Managed Recording
Allows downloaded content to be legally copied to DVD with CSS protection added. Also called "Managed Burning."
mp2
File extension for files encoded in MPEG-1 Audio Layer 2 format.
mp3
File extension for files encoded in MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer 3 format.
mp3PRO
Proprietary codec that adds SBR to standard MP3 coding.
mp4
File extension for files encoded in MPEG-4 format. Generally refers to MPEG-4 AVC format, but this can be ambiguous, since there are numerous audio and video codecs defined under MPEG-4. (See m4a, m4v.)
MPAA
Motion Picture Association of America: The trade association and lobbying organization representing the major Hollywood movie studios.
MPEG
Moving Picture Expert Group: An important SDO in the digital media space. Part of the ISO, and therefore often referred to as ISO/MPEG.
MPEG-1, -2, -4
Sets of audio and video coding and transport standards adopted by MPEG.
MPEG-7
A media metadata standard issued by MPEG.
MPEG-21
A suite of standards developed by MPEG for the commercial delivery of digital media. Includes a Rights Expression Language (REL) based on XrML schema developed by ContentGuard.
MPEG-LA
MPEG Licensing Authority: An organization that licenses consolidated portfolios ("patent pools") to implementers for the requisite IP contained in MPEG and other standards (including VC-1, IEEE 1394, ATSC, DVB-T and Blu-ray).
MPEG Surround
A parametric audio data codec that adds 5.1-channel surround data to any other coded audio file or stream (mono or stereo) with minimal additional data requirements (typically ~5 to 15 kb/s). It is audio-codec independent and backward compatible in that it is ignored by receivers that do not support it, which can still decode the original (or "downmixed") mono or stereo audio file or stream.
MRD
Market Requirements Document: Initial description of a product's design as developed by product marketing.
MSRC
Media Security and Reliability Council: A bureau formed by the FCC in 2002 (revised in 2004 as "MSRC II") to collect input from various sectors of the media industry as recommendations for improved emergency alerting systems to U.S. citizens.
MVPD
Multichannel Video Programming Distributor: The FCC's term for cable and satellite TV companies.
NAND, NAND Flash
A solid-state memory technology that is rapidly replacing DRAM as preferred choice for memory in digital consumer devices. (NAND refers to Boolean operation "Not And," the logic gate used in these Flash chips.)
NCD
National Council on Disability: An independent U.S. federal agency that advises and makes recommendations to the President and Congress on issues affecting Americans with disabilities.
NCMEC
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: Private, nonprofit U.S. organization that works to help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation, find missing children and assist victims of child abduction and sexual exploitation, their families and the professionals who serve them.
Net Neutrality
General title given to a wide range of specific issues regarding the openness of the Internet.
NFB
National Federation of the Blind: Leading U.S. association of visually impaired citizens.
NFC
Near-Field Communications: A very short-distance bidirectional communication technology, operating at 13.56 MHz, with data rates up to 424 kb/s. It is widely used today in "contactless" smart cards, credit cards, mobile phones and digital cameras. The NFC Forum is a trade association and SDO for this space. See http://www.nfc-forum.org/home.
NN
See Net Neutrality.
NOI
Notice of Inquiry: The first step in a new regulatory proceeding, by which the regulator requests input ("Comments") from the industry and citizens on a particular topic of possible future regulation, or the potential amendment of current rules.
NPRM
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: A request for comment by the industry and citizens on new regulation that is being developed by a regulator.
NRSC
National Radio Systems Committee: An SDO for U.S. radio broadcasting, jointly sponsored by NAB and CEA.
NTIA
National Telecommunications and Information Administration: Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce; sets telecom and information policy for the federal government. (See http://www.ntia.doc.gov/.)
NTT
Nippon Telephone & Telegraph: Largest telecom operator in Japan.
OASIS
Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards: International SDO producing open standards for the global information society.
OATC
Open Authentication Technology Committee: Industry forum of programmers, distributors and technology suppliers, formed to establish specifications for content distribution in the TV Everywhere environment.
OCAP
OpenCable Application Platform: The OS layer for standard digital cable STBs, developed by CableLabs.
OCUR
OpenCable Unidirectional Receiver: Spec produced by CableLabs defining a standard unidirectional digital cable ready ("digital plug-and-play") device.
Ofcom
Office of Communications: The U.K.'s telecom regulatory agency.
OFDM
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing: A method of data encoding used in digital communications and broadcasting systems, by which a large number of closely spaced subcarrier signals are used to carry data in parallel across a channel. Each subcarrier is modulated with a conventional modulation scheme (such as QAM or PSK) at relatively low symbol rates, allowing payloads similar to single-carrier modulation schemes in the same bandwidth, but often with higher robustness.
OLCA
Online Content Access: CableLabs spec enabling flexible user/device authentication and authorization to display content. See http://www.cablelabs.com/olca/index.html.
OMA
Open Mobile Alliance: SDO for the mobile phone industry.
OMA-BCAST
OMA Broadcast Services Enabler Suite: An open global specification for mobile TV and on-demand video services.
OpenCable
A broad initiative of CableLabs for development of standardized digital cable TV services.
OPEX
Operating Expense: The ongoing costs of operating a business. In contrast to CAPEX.
OTA
Over-The-Air.
OTA Download
See Sideload.
Patent Pool
A set of companies contributing essential IP to a standard that forms an entity for "one-stop" collection of licensing fees from implementers of the standard. This saves implementers from the effort of establishing individual licenses from each of the contributing companies independently.
PCS
Personal Communications Service: An early (mid-1990s) North American digital mobile telephony system, using GSM or CDMA in the 1900 MHz band.
PEGI
Pan European Game Information: European video game content rating system, developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe. See also BBFC and ESRB.
Perceptual coding
Technique used by some audio and video codecs to reduce data rate of digital media content by exploiting the limits of human perception, such that artifacts produced in the data compression process remain generally unnoticeable. (See also Lossy coding and Lossless coding.)
PHILA
POD (Point-Of-Deployment) Host Interface Licensing Agreement (pronounced "FY-luh"): A permission mechanism to build and test devices using a CableCARD.
PMSE
Programme-Making and Special Events: In the U.K., a category of spectrum usage defined by Ofcom, for which it issues licenses (at a fee) to users requiring spectrum for wireless transmissions during the production of an event (concert, speech, theater, etc.).
POD
Point Of Deployment Module: CableLabs term for its CableCARD device used for content protection in digital cable ready systems. Project Canoe Alliance formed by the six major U.S. cable TV companies for delivery of targeted advertising to cable STBs. Considered to be a response to Google's advertising partnership with satellite TV operators.
PSK
Phase-Shift Keying: A digital modulation scheme that conveys data by varying the phase of a carrier.
PSP
PlayStation Portable: A handheld videogame platform from Sony.
QAM
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation: A form of data transmission using two or more amplitude-modulated carriers at different phase relationships to one other, thereby conveying information via variations in both amplitude and phase simultaneously.
QoS
Quality of Service: Usually refers to the ability of a communications system to set a level (or multiple levels) of guaranteed robustness for payload delivery.
R&O
See Report and Order.
RAND
Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory: Refers to royalty terms for licensing of IP, typically in a standards context. It implies that royalties may be charged for such licensing by the IP owner, but that licensing must be granted to all who request it, and at rates that are fair to each requestor (not necessarily equal to all licensees, however). See also FRAND and RAND-z.
RAND-z
Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory, Zero rate: Refers to royalty terms for licensing IP, typically in a standards context. It means that licensing must be granted by the IP owner to all who request it, at no charge. (Sometimes called, simplistically, "Royalty Free.") See also FRAND and RAND.
RBOC
Regional Bell Operating Company: The local phone companies ("Baby Bells") that were created when the Bell System was broken into component parts by the 1984 divestiture of AT&T.
Real-Time Text
See RTT.
REL
Rights Expression Language: A method of communicating the rights associated with a particular piece of content, typically intended to be bound to the content in distribution.
Report and Order
(R&O) (U.S.) A notice from a regulator to the industry and public describing new regulations that have been enacted.
RIA
Rich Internet Applications: Run-time environments that allow high-end media content experiences via the Internet. Requires client download of browser plug-ins or other applications (e.g., Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe AIR).
RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America: The trade association representing record labels in the U.S.
RM
Real Media: A family of streaming media formats competitive with Windows Media. Developed by Real Networks. The .RM extension is used on all Real Media files.
RNIB
Royal National Institute of Blind People: An association of visually impaired citizens of the U.K.
RNID
Royal National Institute for Deaf People: An association of hearing-impaired citizens of the U.K.
RTT
Real-Time Text: A format for transmission of text via communication networks in which each character is transmitted as soon as it is typed.
SAME
Specific Area Message Encoding: The digital protocol used by the U.S. Emergency Alert System (EAS). Expected to be enhanced or eventually replaced by CAP.
SARFT
State Administration of Radio, Film and Television: Chinese media regulatory agency.
SBR
Spectral Band Replication: A technique used in audio codecs to improve quality with high efficiency through use of parametric coding of harmonic redundancy rather than actual audio sample compression. Used in mp3PRO, AAC+ and HEAAC codecs.
SCTE
Society of Cable Television Engineers: Professional technical society and SDO for cable TV industry.
SDO
Standard Development Organization: Typically an industry group, trade association or other consortium that develops and writes voluntary standards. An SDO may submit one or more of its standards to an SSO for a higher level of acceptance or authority.
Section 115
Usually refers to Section 115 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which addresses royalties paid to music copyright holders under compulsory license by certain distributors.
Section 255
Refers to Section 255 of the U.S. Telecommunications Act, which mandates accessibility for disabled users of telecom equipment and services. Enforced by FCC Rules.
Section 508
Refers to Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act, which requires federal agencies (and some private entities receiving federal funds or under contract with a federal agency) to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.
Section 629
Refers to FCC Rules covering retail availability of cable set-top boxes, including Separable security.
Separable security
Refers to FCC Rules on unbundling of cable content protection from tuner and display capabilities in set-top boxes. Allows portability of retail set-top boxes using CableCard smart-cards, similar to satellite TV operation.
Sideload
Used in mobile device context, Sideload refers to a device's ability to ingest media content via sync (via USB, WiFi, IR, BT, etc.) with an associated PC or directly via wireless broadband connection. Contrasts with OTA reception, by which device can acquire/ingest content directly via broadcast transmission.
Silverlight
A cross-platform, online media content format from Microsoft, which operates via a browser plug-in similar to Adobe Flash.
SKU
Stock-Keeping Unit: a unique identifier code associated with each separate product or service that can be purchased from a vendor.
SME
Subject Matter Expert/Expertise (also Small to Medium Enterprise)
SOC
Selectable Output Control: In content protection systems, the ability to block the output of content from specific interfaces on a device. For example, a certain usage-rights mode may allow an HD program to only be viewed or copied through an SD output (e.g., composite video) of a STB. This is also called downresolution (also "downres," "downrezzing").
SSO
Standard Setting Organization: The top tier of standards bodies, usually referring to those national or international bodies whose standards may be mandated by statute or otherwise referenced by governmental agencies (e.g., ISO, ANSI, ITU).
STB
Set-Top Box: Generic term for end-user receiver of digital media content from MVPDs and other service providers. Often a proprietary device dedicated to a particular distribution system; increasingly, however, standards are being developed enabling open availability of STBs that can be used as terminal devices on multiple MVPD networks.
TEITAC
Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee: U.S. federal advisory committee providing recommendations for updates of accessibility standards issued under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and guidelines under Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act.
TIA
Telecommunications Industry Association: A leading telecom trade association. See http://www.tiaonline.org/.
TRAI
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India: The telecom regulatory agency in India.
TVA, TVAF
TV-Anytime Forum: An SDO that has developed a family of metadata standards for the identification and location of AV content. Adopted, recommended or referenced by DVB and other DTV SDOs.
TWF, TVWF
Television Without Frontiers Directive: Former name for EU rules now superseded by Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AMS).
UGC
User Generated Content: AV content created by consumers/non-professionals and posted on websites established for aggregation of such content (e.g., YouTube, MSN Soapbox).
UltraViolet
See DECE.
UMG
Universal Music Group: One of the four major record labels.
UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System: 3G successor in GSM family of wireless telecom standards. See also 3GPP, HSPA, LTE.
US Access Board
Independent U.S. federal agency, the primary mission of which is providing accessibility for people with disabilities. See http://www.access-board.gov/.
USF
Universal Service Fund: A U.S. federal program administered by the FCC that attempts to provide equivalent telecommunications services and costs for all U.S. citizens, regardless of their location (urban or rural).
USISPA
U.S. Internet Service Provider Association: A trade association of U.S. ISPs, which sets policy for its members' practice in the areas of Security, Privacy, Cybercrime and Content.
VAIJ
Volunteer Advocates for Immigrant Justice
VPAT
Voluntary Product Accessibility Template: Created in 2001 by ITI and the U.S. General Services Administration, it helps U.S. federal agency procurement officers fulfill the guidelines outlined in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Walled Garden
Term used to describe a communications network in which the service provider limits the sites that can be accessed by its users.
WCAG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: Web accessibility guidelines published by the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative, primarily for disabled users but also for all user agents, including highly limited devices such as mobile phones.
W-CDMA
Wideband CDMA: An early 3G wireless data service used by TDMA or GSM-based service providers, offering up to 400 kb/s down.
WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access: 3.5G or 4G technology that provides for wireless data transmission in a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular-type access, with up to 70 Mb/s symmetric speed. Based on the IEEE 802.16 standard.
WIPO
World Intellectual Property Organization: UN agency promoting protection of intellectual property throughout the world.
WMDRM
Windows Media Digital Rights Management
WorldDAB Forum
See WorldDMB.
WorldDMB, WorldDMB Forum
SDO for DAB, DAB+ and DMB formats, headquartered in London and Geneva. Prior to October 2006, known as WorldDAB Forum. See http://www.worlddab.org.
