NEXT-Nortel | Newton[ap]s Telecom Dictionary

NEXT - Nortel

Near End Crosstalk. A type of crosstalk which occurs when signals transmitted on one pair of wires are fed back into another pair. Since at this point on the link the transmitted signal is at maximum strength and the receive signal has been attenuated, it may be difficult to maintain an acceptable ACR (Attenuation-to-Crosstalk Ratio). NEXT is particularly troublesome when a number of high-speed transmission services (e.g., ADSL, HDSL and T-carrier) are supported within a single copper cable system. Shielded or screened cable systems are more desirable in addressing this problem than are unshielded varieties. See also ACR and FEXT.

Next Generation Network

A next generation network is a fancy (basically meaningless) name for a phone company that, instead of using circuit switching to move phone calls, uses packets and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) technology. See also Softswitch.
A next-generation news portal focusing on technology for businesses, ZCast.tv uniquely uses streaming media as a primary means of content delivery. "Streaming media," a term describing broadcasting on the Internet, brings news stories to life with sound and video and is available on demand. This all-powerful broadcast medium allows businesspeople to view and listen to newsmakers rather than just reading about them. Or they can listen at their desks while performing other tasks .

NF

Noise Figure.

NFAS

Non-Facility-Associated Signaling. Another term for out-of- band signaling, such as SS7 (Signaling System 7), which is a Common Channel Signaling technique. ISDN is dependent on the use of SS7 for non- intrusive signaling and control. In an ISDN PRI (Primary Rate Interface) application, a PRI delivers 23 B (Bearer) channels of 64 Kbps each for information transfer, and a D (Data) channel of 64 Kbps primarily for signaling and control purposes between the CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) switch (e.g., PBX, ACD, or router) and the LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) CO (Central Office) switch. However, the original ISDN standards specify that as many as five PRIs can be supported with a single D channel, as the signaling and control activities of a B channel aren't excessively bandwidth- intensive . North American NI-2 (National ISDN 2) standards allow as many as 20 PRIs to be supported by a combination of a primary D channel on the first PRI in a trunk group, and a backup D channel on the second PRI in a trunk group . In the cellular domain, NFAS is known as NCAS (Non Callpath Associated Signaling).See also ISDN, NCAS, PRI, and D Channel.

NFPA

National Fire Protection Association. www.npfa.org. See NEC Requirements and the next definition.

NFPNA 90A

Writing in an issue of Cabling Business Magazine, Andrew Bushelman and Xiaomei Fang talked about "The issue with plenum ceiling cabling installations is that the large amounts of cable may impose an unacceptably large fuel load hazard for plenum spaces. Plenums are a special fire safety concern because they connect occupied areas and contain moving air. Plenums have been involved in serious fires in the past, and they can convey smoke and flame, and supply air to fires. Building codes rely on the NEC (National Electric Code) for safety requirements, including those for plenum cable. For plenum spaces, the NEC is based on NFPA 90A, which requires that materials exposed to airflow be non-combustible or limited combustible, and also meet stringent requirements for low smoke generation. Combustibility is measured by the NFPA 259 fuel load test and smoke generation and flame spread by the NFPA 255 Steiner tunnel test. Under an Exception to NFPA 90A adopted in 1975, plenum cables need not meet these requirements. Instead, they must pass the less stringent NFPA 262 Steiner tunnel test for smoke generation and flame spread. There is no requirement for fire load in the Exception. In response to requests from AHJs and end users, the cable industry has developed a new type of plenum cable that meets the full requirements of NFPA 90A for limited combustibility and low smoke generation. Called limited combustible (to be proposed as CMP-50 rated), the cable is listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and Intertek Testing Services/ETL Semko and is available from leading manufacturers. CMP-50 cable can be used today to provide the best available fire performance in the cable industry. It is well suited for densely populated buildings , laboratories and facilities with extensive computer installations and other electronic equipment. A proposal to recognize CMP-50 cable as a new class of plenum cable has been developed by the NEC Code Panel 16 for approval at the NFPA 2001 national meeting. Such recognition would enable AHJs and building owners to specify CMP-50 in high-risk situations. Under this proposal, CMP-50 is viewed as a cabling option for enhanced fire safety, not an across-the-board replacement for CMP (Communications Plenum) cable."

NFS

Network File System. One of many distributed- file-system protocols that allow a computer on a network to use the files and peripherals of another networked computer as if they were local. This protocol was developed by Sun Microsystems and adopted by other vendors . Network File System is an industry standard for remote file access across a common network. It allows workstations to share file systems in a multivendor network of machines and operating systems. Includes RFS, RPC, XDR, and YP.

NFT

Network File Transfer. Copies files between any two nodes on a network, either interactively or programmatically. Allows user to 1) copy remote files, 2) translate file attributes, and 3) access remote accounts.

ngDLC

next generation Digital Loop Carrier. A DLC that supports a hybrid fiber/copper transmission system, and both voice and data. The hybrid transmission system supports embedded UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) local loops to the customer premises, and uses optical fiber to the Central Office (CO). This configuration takes advantage of the UTP over short distances within a neighborhood, aggregates large volumes of traffic from multiple premises, and uses high-bandwidth optical fiber between the DLC and the edge of the carrier network. A ngDLC also supports both voice and packet data traffic, in combination with xDSL (generic Digital Subscriber Line) technology. xDSL supports both voice and packet data over embedded UTP local loops. Those UTP loops terminate in the ngDLC, which splits the voice and data channels based on Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM). The voice conversations are sent over the optical fiber medium in voice-grade channels which terminate in the circuit-switched Central Office (CO) for presentation to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). The packet data traffic is concentrated in a DSLAM (DSL Access Multiplexer) and sent over the optical fiber transmission system in data-grade channels which terminate in a packet switch or router for presentation to the Internet or other packet data network. See also DLC, DSLAM, FDM, PSTN, UTP, and xDSL.

NGI

Next Generation Internet. An initiative of the Clinton administration announced in February 1997, NGI is "a second generation of the Internet so that our leading universities and national laboratories can communicate in speeds 1,000 times faster than today." A large part of NGI is Internet2, a project of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID). See also Internet2.

NGN

Next Generation Network. I think that has something to do with voice delivered by IP and allied data services also delivered by IP on the same IP circuit. Basically, next generation network is another marketing term.

NGNP

Non-Geographic Number Portability. Toll-free numbers (e.g., 800, 888, 877 and 866 in the U.S.) are non-geographic. The ability to change service providers while retaining the same telephone number is known as number portability. The ability to change service providers while retaining the same toll-free number is known as NGNP.

NGOSS

New Generation Operations Services and Software. A program of the TeleManagement Forum to produce a framework that will help design new generation OSS/BSS solutions, and a repository of documentation, models and code to support these developments. The goal of NGOSS is "to facilitate the rapid development of flexible, low cost of ownership, OSS/BSS solutions to meet the business needs of the Internet enabled economy". See TeleManagement Forum.

NGSO Satellite

Non-Geostationary Orbit Satellite. NGSO Satellites do exactly what you'd think: They move. However, they must do so without interfering with GSO (GeoStationary Orbit ) Satellites, especially when they come between the crowded geostationary orbital arc and GSO earth stations . They do this by "arc avoidance ," that is, shutting down transmissions just before crossing between them. This requires complex programming, and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is currently working on developing standards for NGSO. Negotiations at the ITU between GSO and NGSO operators, as to the margin NGSO satellites will give GSO satellites before passing in front of them, are proceeding slowly. See GSO and Geostationary Satellite.

NH

National Host.

NHRP

Next Hop Resolution Protocol. A protocol suggested by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) as a means of extending the issue of address resolution beyond the borders of individual IP subnets. The central issue is one of address resolution between IP addresses and ATM addresses when one is attempting to send IP packets over an ATM network, i.e. Classical IP over ATM. NHRP makes use of a NHS (Next Hop Server) to advise routers and other network clients where the next hop toward a destination resides. NHRP is a critical protocol for NBMA (NonBroadcast MultiAccess) networks like ATM and X.25. NHRP is likely to be integrated into the Multiprotocol Over ATM (MPOA) architecture. See also Classical IP over ATM and MPOA.

NHS

Next Hop Server. See NHRP.

NI

National ISDN.
Network Interface. Demarcation point between PSTN and CPE.
Network Implementation.

NI-1

See National ISDN-1.

NI-2

See National ISDN-2.

NI-3

See National ISDN-3.

Ni-MH

Nickel Hydride is a new technology used in batteries for portable devices, such as cell phones and laptops, etc. Allegedly, these batteries do not have a "memory effect." Today, Ni-MH batteries cost about 30% more for a 20% or so gain in capacity. The average life of Ni-MH batteries is about 500 cycles. See Nickel Metal Hydride.

NIA

Network Interface Adapter. An IBM hardware device that with certain software, will allow an SNA device to communicate over a packet switching network.

Nibble

Four bits. Computer coding schemes usually, but not always, use eight-bit bytes. In other words, they encode a number, a letter or a character into 8-bits. Sometimes, they make use of smaller "bytes", like nibbles . Sometimes, but rarely, they make use of larger bytes. A nibble sometimes is referred to as a "quadbit." See also Byte and Hexadecimal.

Nibble Interleaving/Multiplexing

A technique where four bit nibbles (one at a time) from each lower speed input a channel are used to build the higher speed frame output of a multiplexer.

Nibble Mode

The Nibble mode is the most common way to get reverse channel data from a printer or peripheral. This mode is usually combined with the compatibility mode or a proprietary forward channel mode to create a complete bi-directional channel. All of the standard parallel ports provide five lines from the peripheral to the PC to be used for external status indications . Using these lines, a peripheral can send a byte of data (8-bits) by sending two nibbles (4-bits) of information to the PC in two data transfer cycles. Unfortunately, since the nACK line is generally used to provide a peripheral interrupt, the bits used to transfer a nibble are not conveniently packed into the byte defined by the Status register. For this reason, the software must read the status byte and then manipulate the bits in order to get a correct byte. www.fapo.com/nibble.htm.

NIC

Network Interface Card. The device that connects a device to a LAN. Usually in the form of a PC expansion board, the NIC executes the code needed by the connected device to share a cable or some other media with other stations. See Network Interface Card for a full explanation.
Near Instantaneous Companding. This describes the very fast, essentially real-time, process of quantizing an analog signal into digital symbols..and converting it back into its native form. See Companding.
Network Information Center; any organization that's responsible for supplying information about any network.
The InterNIC, which plays an important role in overall Internet coordination. See InterNIC.
The DDN NIC (Defense Data Network Network Information Center), which provides support for the defense community, much as does the InterNIC for all other Internet user communities.
National ISDN Council. A council of carriers and manufacturers which determines the generic guidelines for National ISDN. It also publishes those guidelines, as they are developed. NIC is a voluntary council. Membership includes Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, Cincinnati Bell, Lucent, Nortel and SBC. Administration and project management are the responsibility of Bellcore. See also National ISDN-1.

Nickel Cadmium Battery

NiCad: Nickel Cadmium is the most popular and durable type of rechargeable battery. It is quick to charge, lasts about 700 charge and discharge cycles, and works well in extreme temperatures . Unfortunately, NiCads suffer from "memory effect" if they are not completely discharged during each cycle. The memory effect reduces the overall capacity and run time of the battery. Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries do not suffer from memory effect. Compared to a NiCad battery of equal size , NiMH batteries run for 30% longer on each charge. They are also made from non-toxic metals so they are environmentally friendly. The downside to NiMH technology is overall battery life. These batteries last for 400 charge and discharge cycles.

Lithium Ion (LiON) is the latest development in portable battery technology. These batteries do not suffer from memory effect. Compared to a NiMH of equal size, a LiON will deliver twice the run time from each charge. Unfortunately, these batteries are only available for a limited number of models and are expensive. Similar to NiMH technology, LiON batteries have a life expectancy of 400 charge and discharge cycles.

See Nickel Metal Hydride.

Nickel Metal Hydride Battery

Ni-MH or NiMH. A rechargeable battery, now being used in laptop computers. Most of today's rechargeable batteries are nickel cadmium. These suffer from several problems:

They have a "memory." Which means they must be fully discharged once a month or they won't deliver their full potential.
They are hard to dispose of. Nickel hydride is a new technology with some benefits: It's easier to dispose of. It can hold at least 1.25 times as much power per unit as a standard nickel cadmium battery. It doesn't have a "memory." (Neither do car or telephone batteries, which are typically lead acid.) But there are some downsides: Nickel hydride batteries lose their charge faster than nickel cadmium. Nickel hydride batteries are ABOUT 30% more expensive than nickel cadmium. The Nickel hydride battery also can not put out power as fast as a nickel cadmium one can, so it probably won't be suitable for power tools and appliances that drain batteries quickly. But it's great for "slow-burning" items, like laptops and cellular phones. See Nickel Cadmuim Battery.

Nicname

A LAN protocol specified in RFC-812. It requests information about a specific user or hostname from the Network Information Center (or NIC) name database service.

NID

Network Inward Dialing. A service feature of an automatically switched telephone network that allows a calling user to dial directly to an extension number without operator intervention.
Network Interface Device. An electronic device that connects the telephone line and the POTS splitter to the local loop.

NIF

Network Interface Function.

Night Answer

Incoming calls to a switchboard during evening and weekend hours are automatically rerouted to ring only at designated night answering phones such as the security desk. See the next few definitions.

Night Answer ” Assigned

Night answer going to specific, assigned telephones.

Night Answer ” Offsite

Phones being answered after hours by people and machinery located offsite ” someplace else.

Night Answer ” Universal

Anybody and everybody can answer the incoming calls from any phone. In TELECONNECT, if the phone rings after hours, we simply touch "6" on any phone and we can answer that incoming call ” whether it's a local, normal DDD or incoming WATS.

Night Audit

This feature provides automatic printout of message registration data for all quest rooms at the front desk console.

Night Chime

An auxiliary ringer, usually wall mounted, used to indicate a ringing trunk during night operations or used as a "phantom" extension for overflow applications.

Night Console Position

Provides an alternate attendant position which can be used at night in lieu of the regular console. Usually cheaper than buying a second normal console.

Night Patch

Assigned Night Answer, Fixed Night Service, Programmable Night Connections. Provides arrangements (which are prewired into the system) to route incoming central office calls normally answered at the attendant position, to preselected stations within the PBX system when the attendant is not on duty.

Night Service

Your operator goes home, puts your phone system into "night service." A call now comes in. The night bell rings. You hear it. You go to a phone and hit a code (such as #6) or hit the flashing "Nigh Answer" button. And you answer the call. Not all phone systems need to be placed in Night Service for you to answer an incoming call from any phone. And you can program the night bell to ring all day.

Night Service Automatic Switching

Should the attendant neglect to place the console in the night answering mode, after a certain period of timed ringing from an incoming central office call, the entire system will automatically jump to the night service.

Night Service ” Expanded Service

Routes calls normally directed to the attendant to preselected station lines within the system when it is arranged for night service. Calls to specific exchange trunks can be arranged to route to specific station lines and can be assigned on a flexible basis. Trunk Answer From Any Station capability is provided for calls which are handled by assigned night stations.

Night Service ” Fixed Service

Provides arrangements to route calls normally directed to the attendant to preselected station lines within the PBX system when regular attendant positions are not in use. In addition, calls to specific trunks can be arranged to ring on specific phones. The receiving phone can then transfer the call.

Night Station

The phone assigned to automatically handle incoming calls after the main switchboard has shut down for the day.

NIH

Not Invented Here. The tendency of organizations to reject ideas and inventions which they didn't think of. A major and continuing problem in the telephone industry.
National Information Highway. A term coined by Al Gore when he was Vice President of the United States under President Clinton. See also NII.

NII

National Information Infrastructure. A clumsy name for the Information SuperHighway. NII is a term that came from a paper which the Gore-Clinton Administration released, called "National Information Infrastructure; Agenda for Action." According to one engineer, NII is "multiple, interconnected interoperable networks."

NIMBY

Not In My BackYard. I love cellular telephones, although the coverage and transmission quality isn't always as good as I'd like. More cell sites would help, but NIMBY. The same goes for toxic waste dumps, nuclear reactors, public fills, and so on.

NIMTO

Not In My Term of Office.

NiMH

Nickel Metal Hydride. See Nickel Metal Hydride.

NIMQ

(pronounced "nihm-kyoo") Acronym for "Not in My Queue." Said in response to suggestions to take on more work when you're already overwhelmed. Similar to the more common "It's not my job."

NIMS

Network Information Management System.

Nine Yards

There are many theories on where this term comes from. The theory I like the most is that it came from World War II fighter pilots battling in the Pacific. Laid on the ground, before loading, the .50-caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet. If a pilot fired all his ammunition at a target, it got "the whole nine yards."
The Federal Reserve's boardroom table in Washington is nine yards long. I don't know why.

Ninkasi

In ancient Egypt, Ninkasi was the goddess of beer.

NIP

Network Intrusion Prevention. NIP systems are devices that are meant to protect your network from the bad guys getting and wreaking havoc on your servers and computers. In the old days such devices were called firewalls. But our industry has a tendency to create new terms so that vendors have something new to sell. This view is probably a little cynical . But you get the point. There are two broad types of NIP systems: signature based IPSs (Intrusion Protection Systems), which match packets or flows to known signatures and traffic anomaly IPSs, which learn normal flow behavior for a network and alert you (the IP manager) to statisticaly significant deviant events.

Nipper

The name of the RCA dog, once used by RAC as its logo.

NIOD

Network Inward/Outward Dialing.

NIOSH

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

NIS

Network Information Service. A way of centralizing user configuration files in a big distributed computing environment. NIS was created by Sun Microsystems.
Network Imaging Server. A local area network based server largely devoted to storing, retrieving and possibly manipulating images. See also Server.

NISDN-1

See National ISDN-1.

NIST

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, which was formed in 1901 as the National Bureau of Standards, is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. NIST works with industry and government to advance measurement science and to develop standards in support of industry, commerce, scientific institutions, and all branches of government. NIST comprises four major programs, according to their literature. The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) provides cost-shared awards to companies and consortia for project geared toward the development of high-risk, enabling technologies during pre-product phases of research and development. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is a network of extension centers, co- funded by state and local governments , to provide small and medium- sized manufacturers with technical assistance toward improved performance and competitiveness . Laboratory research and services focus on development and delivery of measurement techniques, test methods and standards. NIST manages the Baldrige National Quality Award program, including providing U.S. industry with comprehensive guides to quality improvement. www.nist.gov.

NIU

Network Interface Unit. Also known as a NID (Network Interface Device). The NIU serves as the point of demarcation between the local exchange carrier network and the customer premise. As required by the Modified Final Judgement (MFJ), which broke up the Bell System, the NIU currently is positioned outside the main body of the premise , generally on an exterior wall, inside the garage, or just inside the point of cable entrance . NIUs are multi-function devices, including a protector block which serves to premise equipment and inside wire from high-voltage surges. The NIU also typically includes electronics which allow the carrier to initiate a loop-back test from the central office for purposes of testing the integrity of the local loop.

NIUF

North American ISDN Users' Forum.

NKT

Nederlands Keuringsinstituut voor Telecommunicatieapparatuur (Private laboratory for regulatory testing, The Netherlands).

NL

See New Line.

NL-port

Port that connects a node to an FC-AL. See Fibre Channel.

NLA

Network Layer Address. An address appended to the LAN packet that, unlike a MAC name, indicates exactly where a computing device is located within an internetwork. TCP/IP, DECNet and IPX support network layer addressing and each has its own unique NLA format. Protocol dependent routers use the NLA to make routing decisions.

NLDM

Network Logical Data Manager. An IBM term. See also Netview.

NLETS

The National Law Enforcement Telecommuncation System.

NLM

NetWare Loadable Modules. NLMs are applications and drivers that run in a server on a local area network under Novell's NetWare operating system and can be loaded or unloaded on the fly. The category of applications ranges from complex voice mail/auto attendant programs and electronic mail gateways to simple programs like drivers for PCI cards. In some other networks, such applications could require dedicated PCs. See Netware Loadable Module for a longer explanation.

NLOS

Non Line of Sight.

NLPI

Network Layer Protocol Identifier.

NLS

Name Lookup Service. An electronic directory service which is designed to respond to external queries for general information about a large group of users. Once installed, NLS can be accessed via finger or whois.
Non-Linear Schrodinger equation. Refers to the propagation of an optical pulse in a dispersive medium (in the presence of Kerr nonlinearity). Note: there should be an umlaut over the "o" in Schrodinger.

NLSP

NetWare Link Services Protocol. A link state protocol from Novell to improve performance of IPX traffic in large internetworks.

nm

nm. Nanometer. A billionth of a meter. Often used as a measure of frequency in a fiber optic link.
Network Management. A business process in a telecommunications organization that constantly monitors the state of the network and invokes changes to the network when outages or problems occur. In an ATM network, NM is the body of software in a switching system that provides the ability to manage the PNNI protocol. NM interacts with the PNNI protocol through the MIB.

NM Forum

Network Management Forum. International forum for network management.

NMC

Network Management Center. A centralized location at the network management layer used to consolidate input form various network elements to monitor, control, and manage the state of a network in a telecommunications organization.

NMCCC

Network Management Command and Control Center.

NMCM

Network Management Communications Manager.

NMCN

Network Management Communications Network.

NMF

Network Management Forum. An international forum of service providers and suppliers developing network management solutions. Now known as the TeleManagement Forum. See Network Management Forum and TeleManagement Forum. www.nmf.org.

NMI

No Middle Initial.

NML

Network Management Layer. The layer in the Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) standard addressing network functions including monitoring, management, and control. The network management layer is an abstraction of the functions provided by systems which manage network elements on a collective basis, so as to monitor and control the network end-to-end.

NMOS

N-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor.

NMP

Network Management Protocol. An AT&T-developed set of protocols designed to exchange information with and control the devices that govern various components of a network, including modems and T-1 multiplexers.

NMS

Network Management Station or Network Management System. The system responsible for managing a portion of a network. The NMS talks to network management agents , which reside in the managed nodes, via a network management protocol. The NMS is the entity that implements functions at the Network Management Layer. It may also include Element Management Layer functions. A Network Management System may manage one or more other Network Management Systems.
Network Management Support.

NMSE

Network Management Systems Engineering.

NMT

Nordic Mobile Telephone. One of the earliest 1G cellular network developed jointly in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Originally operated in the 450 MHz band. Later the 900 MHz was used as well.

NMVT

Network Management Vector Transport. A network management protocol which provides alert problem determination statistics and other network management data within SNA management services.

NN

Network Node. In frame relay, a network node is typically the frame relay service port connection and its associated virtual circuits.

NN

National Number.

NNC

National Control Center.

NNI

Network Node Interface. An Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) term. The interface between two public network pieces of equipment (contrast that to UNI, which stands for User Network Interface).
Network to Network Interface. A protocol defined by the Frame Relay Forum and the ATM forum to govern how ATM switches establish connection and how ATM signaling requests are routed through an ATM network. Equivalent to a routing protocol in a router environment.
Network to Network Interface. There are two types of network interfaces specified by frame relay standards. The first is a user-to-network (UNI) interface and the second is a network-to-network interface (NNI). The NNI describes the connection between two public frame relay services, and includes elements such as bidirectional polling, to assist the network services providers with gaining information on the status of the public networks being interconnected.

NNM

National Network Management.

NNMC

National Network Management Center.

NNTP

Network News Transport Protocol. An extension of the TCP/IP local area network protocol that provides a network news transport service. NNTP is the standard for Internet exchange of Usenet messages, published in RFC-977. See Network News Transport Protocol.

NNS

National Network Support NNS: Network Software Support.

NNSC

National Network Surveillance Center.

NNTM

National Network Trouble Management.

NNX

The first three digits of a North American local telephone number, NNX once upon a time was used to identify the local central office exchange, or CO prefix. This prefix code breaks down as follows : N is a specific digit (i.e., 2- 9) and X is any digit (i.e., 0-9). Originally, only NNX codes were used to identify and number local central offices. Now all subscribers dial 1+ when making a direct distance dialed long distance call. NNX has been changed to NXX, which allows local central offices to have numbers which look like area codes, e.g. 206, 210, etc. This gives us more central office numbers. We needed more central office prefixes for several reasons. First, CO prefixes are unique within each area code, or NPA, and we assign both NPAs and CO prefixes on a very wasteful basis. Second, the popularity of fax machines, pagers and cell phones has resulted in demand for millions of telephone numbers. See Local Number Portability, NPA and NXX.

NNX Codes

The 3-digit code used historically for local telephone exchange prefixes. In the electromechanical era, limitations applied to the range of numbers usable in each position of the prefix. The current numbering plan allows for more variation in assigning Exchange Codes, and under it exchange codes are commonly referred to as "NNXs." See NNX for a full explanation.

NO

No is the hardest word in the English language to say. Saying it can win you long- term friends , though it may cost you something short-term. Mostly, it's better to say No politely and not give a reason for saying No. If you do give a reason, you might find yourself in an argument about the "logic" or otherwise of your reason. And that's usually a nowin argument.
Network Object.
Number.

No Answer Transfer

A service provided by a cellular carrier that automatically transfers an incoming cellular call to another phone number if the cellular subscriber is unable to answer. Most no-answer transfer systems will automatically transfer an incoming cellular call to another phone number if the cellular subscriber is unable to answer (it's not turned on) or if it's not answered after the third or fourth ring if the phone is turned on.

No Attendant Option

CBX systems with Direct Inward Dialing may be designed (configured) without an attendant console.

No Bill Phone

A name for a cellular phone from which you can make free phone calls ” local or long distance. The name "no bill" was given by crooks, largely in Southern California in the Spring of 1992, to phones they had modified to emulate other legitimate cellular phones. Thus all calls made by "no bill" phones are billed to legitimate users, who happen to have other cellular phones with identical codes and now have huge cellular bills. Sorry about that.

No Busy Test

A circuit used to connect to a busy subscriber's line number.

No Hold Conference/transfer

In the event that a call to 911 is being transferred to a secondary or what they call a downstream PSAP (Public Service Answering Position), it is important that the caller never be left in disconcerting silence. After all it is an emergency call. "No hold" features allow the conference or transfer to be done while the PSAP 911 agent is in full uninterrupted communication with the caller.

No Incoming Calls

A cell phone carrier restriction that prevents incoming calls to the assigned cellular number. Only outgoing calls are permitted. This is an optional feature that some cellular phone users subscribe to because it saves them money, In North America, calls coming into a cell phone typically cost the user a per minute charge that is equal to the cost of an outgoing call. This not the case in most GSM cell phone systems in Europe, Japan and Australia, etc.

No Line Preference

Requires the user to manually select (i.e. punch down) a line for each call.

No Op

Instruction that does nothing. It is used to hold the place for future insertion of a machine instruction.

NOAA

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A US government agency which runs satellites used, inter alia, to track wildlife movements. Two satellites, called NOAA-11 and NOAA-12, orbit the earth via the poles every 100 minutes. As the Earth revolves beneath them, they are able to scan every point on its surface. The satellites work by listening for the "Doppler Shift" in the signal being transmitted by a collar round an animal's neck. The shift is a change in the perceived frequency of the radio signal ” similar to what a pedestrian hears happen to the pitch of a police siren as the police car speeds by. Using this technique, you can track animals to with an accuracy of a little more than half a mile, or one kilometer.

NOBIS

Network Operations Business Information System.

NOC

Network Operations Center, a group which is responsible for the day-to-day care and feeding of a network. Each service provider usually has a separate NOC, so you need to know which one to call when you have problems. Also called NCC for Network Control Center. See also NOCC.

NOCC

Network Operations Control Center. See also NOC.

NOD

Network Outward Dialing. A service feature of an automatically switched telephone network that allows a calling user to dial directly all user numbers on the network without operator intervention. See also Direct Outward Dialing.

Nodal Architectures

Also called Hub architectures. Nodal network architectures means that network traffic from many locations are connected into a single network site for consolidation and aggregation to higher speed circuits. The traffic is then transmitted from this hub site to a central network site, or to other hub sites. Nodal architectures save money, but also increase the risk of a single network failure affecting multiple network locations.

Nodal Attribute

A nodal state parameter that is considered individually to determine whether a given node is acceptable and/or desirable for carrying a given connection.

Nodal Clock

The principal clock or alternate clock located at a particular node that provides the timing reference for all major functions at that node.

Nodal Constraint

A restriction on the use of nodes for path selection for a specific connection.

Nodal ID

Another name for a MAC address. Every Network Interface Card (NIC) has a MAC address hardcoded into it. That address is unique in all the world to that NIC card. The MAC address effectively identifies the LAN-attached device with which it is associated. A NIC works with the network software and computer operating system to transmit and receive messages on the network. I first saw the use of the term Nodal ID in instructions to instal a PCMCIA network card into a laptop running Windows NT. Those instructions asked you for the card's nodal ID, which happened (though I didn't know it) to be printed on the card itself. I had never run into this problem because Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95 and Windows 98 automatically recognize the MAC address. See Network Interface Card.

Nodal Metric

A nodal parameter that requires the values of the parameter for all nodes along a given path to be combined to determine whether the path is acceptable and/or desirable for carrying a given connection.

Nodal State Parameter

Information that captures an aspect or property of a node.

Node

A point of connection into a network. In multipoint networks, it means it's a unit that's polled. In LANs, it's a device on the ring. In packet switched networks, it's one of the many packet switches which form the network's backbone.
An SCSA term. An independent SCSA unit in a distributed processing SCSA network, consisting of one or more resource and/or network boards, and one or more SCxbus adapter boards. Communication between nodes take place via the SCxbus. From a device programming point of view, a node is simply an addressable system unit which contains boards connected by an SCbus. See S.100.

Node Address

The unique identifier used to describe a specific node. See Node Number.

Node Number

A node number identifies a network board on a local area network. Every station on a network must contain at least one network board. Each network board must have a unique node number to distinguish it from all the other network boards in that network. In a file server with more than one network board, the node number in LAN A is designated for all traffic addressed to that server. Node numbers can be set in a variety of ways, depending on which network board you use: (1) with jumpers or switches on boards such as Arcnet, (2) at the factory for Token-Ring and Ethernet boards, or (3) with software.

Node Type

In IBM's SNA, the classification of a network device based on the protocols it supports and the network addressable units (NAUs) it can contain. Type 1 and Type 2 nodes are peripheral nodes. Type 4 and 5 nodes are subarea nodes.

NoFA

NoFA (pronounced as one word, /NO-fuh/). Notice of Field Activity. A notification created by engineers to notify others (users, other engineers , etc...) of scheduled service outages. Used at Broadwing and other fine companies. Contributed by Harvey Madison in customer care planning (whatever that is). This mention, Harvey claims, will get him free beer from his co-workers . He claims it's a legitimate word.

NOI

Notice Of Inquiry. The first public notification that the FCC is about to hold a public inquiry into a particular subject.

NOIS

Microsoft has coined the term, NOIS, for the group of four Net-centric companies that tend to believe that what happens on the Internet might be so strong as to alleviate Microsoft's hegemony over the PC industry. The four members are Netscape, Oracle, IBM and Sun.

Noise

Unwanted electrical signals introduced into telephone lines by circuit components or natural disturbances which tend to degrade the performance of the line. Also known as Line Noise.
Noise in stock market parlance is market rumors, guesses, and faulty analysis. It contrasts with information, which consists of solid verifiable information. The concept of noise was first introduced by Fischer Black in his 1986 presidential address to the American Finance Association. His speech, called "Noise", contains this wonderful paragraph, "Noise makes financial markets possible, but it also makes them imperfect. If there is no noise trading, there will be very little trading in individual assets. People will hold individual assets, directly or indirectly, but they will rarely trade them.... The whole structure of financial markets depends on relatively liquid markets in the shares of individual firms. Noise trading provides the missing ingredient."

Noise Cancelling

Headset manufactures have long sought to reduce the background noise transmitted via headsets. One approach is the use of noise cancelling microphones. These microphones consist of two separate microphones, one directed at the headset user's mouth, the other in the opposite direction. The room side element will pick up ambient room noise along with some ambient user sound. The microphone directed at the user will receive the same amount of ambient room noise as the other microphone, but a much greater amplitude of the user's voice. Both signals are then transmitted to the amplifier . At this point, signals common to both microphones are cancelled out. What remains is the extra voice signals received by the user side microphone. This signal is then amplified and transmitted to the party on the receiving end of the call. This approach has one drawback. It demands perfect microphone positioning, because without it, the headset user's voice is cancelled. The technology works well with highly-trained people such as pilots, astronauts, and military personnel, but can be difficult to implement in the office environment where less skilled personnel struggle to properly position sensitive microphones. Headset manufacturers compromised by using noise cancelling microphones with more limited capabilities but that were easier to use.

A second approach to noise reduction is the use of voice switching technology. This technique only allows the microphone to transmit when volume reaches a predetermined level. When the headset user is not talking, or is pausing during the conversation, no sound is transmitted. When the headset user speaks at a normal level, the microphone is "live" and will transmit in a normal fashion. This approach also has it drawbacks. When the microphone is "live" it picks up not only the voice of the person using the headset, but any and all background noise. Voice switching helps the headset user hear what is being said more clearly, but does little to help the person to whom they are talking.

As a solution, some headset manufacturers have merged the two technologies. By using a noise cancelling microphone and voice switching, they achieve near perfect noise reduction. Each manufacturer offers noise cancelling technology on some of their headsets.

Noise cancelling is important in a telephone call center. In a large center, as room noise rises, agents speak louder. For those employees , noise is more than just an inconvenience, or a black spot on a professional image, it directly affects productivity. When conversations must be repeated, call durations increase. Multiply this by enough calls, and staffing and equipment must also be increased. The above information from headset distributor, CommuniTech.

Noise Equivalent Power

At a given data-signaling rate or modulation frequency, operating wavelength, and effective noise bandwidth, the radiant power that produces a signal-to-noise ratio of unity at the output of a given optical detector. Information Gatekeepers defines NEP as a measurement in fiber optics that at a given modulation frequency, wavelength, and for a given effective noise bandwidth, the radiant power that produces a signal-to-noise ratio of 1 at the output of a given detector. Some manufacturers and authors, according to Information Gatekeepers, define NEP as the minimum detectable power per root unit bandwidth; when defined in this way, NEP has the units of watts/(hertz) 1/2. Therefore, the term is a misnomer, because the units of power per watts. Some manufacturers define NEP as the radiant power that produces a signal-to-dark current noise ratio of unity. This is misleading when dark-current noise does not dominate, as is often true in fiber systems.

Noise Figure

NF. The ratio (in dB) between the signal-to-noise ratio applied to the input of the microwave component and the signal-to-noise ratio measured at its output. It is an indication of the amount of noise added to a signal by the component during normal operation. Lower noise figures mean less degradation and better performance.

Noise Floor

The lowest input signal power level which will produce a detectable output signal from a microwave component, determined by the thermal noise generated within the microwave component itself. The noise floor limits the ultimate sensitivity to the weak signals of the microwave system, since any signal below the noise floor will result in an output signal with a signal-to-noise ratio of less than one and will be more difficult to recover.

Noise Generator

Let's say you're designing wireless local area networking transmitter/receivers. In your lab everything is peaceful and tranquil. But the real world is different. There's the guy next door with his vacuum cleaner and the elevator in his building is old, creaky and noisy . And there's a bunch of cordless phones in the neighborhood. So now what do you do in your pristine perfect lab? You get yourself a noise generator. Basically this gadget produces what's called white Gaussian noise. For example, a noise generator to test wireless LAN receivers might generate white Gaussian noise from 2.0 through 6.0 GHz. The output might be controllable in 1 dB steps up to -15 dBm. You might also want features on this gadget, like high peak to average noise ratio, and some software for programmable routines such as automatic steps in noise or signal as a function of time.

Noise Measurement Units

A series of terms used to express circuit noise. These units include: -dB RN ” Decibel rated noise -dBrnC ” C message weighting refers to the noise measured at 1000 Hz.

Noise Suppressor

Filtering or digital signal-processing circuitry in a receiver or transmitter that automatically eliminates or reduces noise.

Noise Temperature

An amplifier noise rating based upon temperature measured in degrees.

Noise Voltage

In optical communication, an rms component of the optical detector electrical output voltage which is incoherent with the signal radiant power.

Noise Weighting

A method of assigning a specific value to the transmission impairment due to the noise encountered by an average user operating a particular telephone. Noise weightings generally in use have been established by regulatory agencies concerned with public telephone service. They are tightened as technology improves .

NOL

NOL is shorthand for net operating loss carried forward for income tax purposes and is an indication of how much future earnings are potentially able to sheltered from taxes, i.e. how much you can earn and not pay taxes on.

Nom De Ligne

For those of you who don't speak French, particularly Old French, "Nom de Ligne" translates to "Line Name." It's a pseudonym, or "handle" that you use when on-line-in an Internet Chat Room, for instance. You adopt a Nom de Ligne to give yourself anonymity for whatever reasons you find convenient . Nom de ligne is called a "handle" in some circles. Other French terms for pseudonyms include "Nom de Guerre" (war name) and "Nom de Plume" (pen name). I don't have a "Nom de Ligne" or a "Nom de Plume." My "Nom de Guerre" is "Harry The Terrible."

NOM112

Mexican flavor of C7, which is the ITU flavor (i.e. version) of Signaling System 7, also called SS7. See Signaling System 7.

Nomadic Broadband

Nomadic broadband means broadband that can be accessed anywhere within the service area. The CPE/modem is connected to the desk- top/laptop via USB or Ethernet port and can be moved to get broadband access anywhere ...in your house, office, local cafe', etc.

Nomadic Computing

A fancy name for allowing laptop and home computer users to dail over the public telephone network, from hotel rooms, from client offices, from home or from airports to access information on the corporate LAN.

Nomadic Node

See Mobile IP.

NOMDA

National Office Machine Dealers Association. NOMDA merged with LANDA (Local Area Network Dealers Association) and became NOMDA/LANDA. It's now known as BTA (Business Technology Association). See BTA.

Nominal

Approximate. For example, the nominal signaling rate of T-1 is 1.5 Mbps, and the actual rate is 1.544 Mbps. The nominal signaling rate of T-3 is 45 Mbps, and the actual rate is 44.736 Mbps. In conversational terms we use the nominal rates of 1.5 Mbps and 45 Mbps just because they're easier to say. We assume that the other party in the conversation understands that the nominal rate is not the actual rate. Assuming, of course, can cause big problems. The devil is in the details, as the old saying goes.

Nominal Bit Stuffing Rate

The approximate rate at which stuffing bits are inserted (or deleted) when both the input and output bit rates are at their nominal values.

Nominal Linewidth

In facsimile systems, the average separation between centers of adjacent scanning or recording lines.

Nominal range

An RFID definition. The read range at which the tag can be read reliably.

Nominal Velocity of Propagation

The approximate speed at which a signal moves through a cable, expressed as a percentage or fraction of the speed of light in a vacuum. Some cable testers use this speed, along with the time it takes for a signal to return to the testing device, to calculate cable lengths.

Non-adaptive Routing

A routing method that cannot adapt to or accommodate changes in a network.

Non-blocking

A device which can support a full traffic load without experiencing congestion. The term typically is applied to a switch, such as a PBX or an ATM switch. A PBX can be characterized as fully non-blocking if the internal switching matrix is capable of supporting connectivity between all ports, simultaneously . In other words, the total number of transmission paths is equal to the total number of ports. In a purely voice application, this means that every user with a telephone set can be talking at the same time-this is a highly unlikely scenario involving a ridiculously expensive PBX. It is especially expensive if the PBX is designed to provide a non-blocked path between every PBX station set and the wide area network, as trunk cards and trunks both are very expensive-it's one thing to equip a system so that all station users can talk to each other, but quite another to expect that they all would be connected to the outside world at the same time. ACDs, on the other hand, typically are effectively non-blocking, as productivity objectives demand that all agents in a call center be active as much as possible. Non-blocking switch architectures can be very important in the data world, as holding times are very long in comparison to voice calls.

ATM backbone switches commonly are virtually non-blocking, as traffic loads are very heavy and as Quality of Service (QoS) requirements can be extreme.

Non-blocking Switch

A switching system where a connection path always exists for attached device. See Non-Blocking.

Non-busy Season

A telephone company definition. The nine months not selected as part of the Busy Season.

Non- coherent Interference

Any unintelligible television interference such as sparklies, heavy snow, lines in the picture, tearing , or herringbone.

Non-concur

IBM-speak for to withhold approval, as in I non-concur with this proposal.

Non-connectable mode

A Bluetooth term. A device that does not responds to paging (an attempt to establish a communication link) is said to be in non-connectable mode. The opposite of connectable mode is connectable mode.

Non-consecutive Hunting

Often referred to as "jump hunting." NON-CONSECUTIVE lines, trunks or extensions can be accessed or "searched" by the switching equipment upon dialing the initial number in the hunting group to find a connection to the first non-busy phone. NON-CONSECUTIVE hunting can be used on incoming and outgoing lines. For example, you could order four trunks from your local phone company which are to "hunt" on. Should the first be busy, the call will go to the next. If the next is busy, then it will hunt to the next. TELECONNECT Magazine has "consecutive" numbering in its first four phone numbers ” 212-691-8215, 8216, 8217 and 8218. But let's say we only started with one number and then, because of growth, we needed three more. It's possible consecutive numbers might be taken. Therefore to get the hunting feature, the phone company might have assigned us NON-CONSECUTIVE hunting numbers like 691-8220, 8256, 8678. Sometimes the phone company will also assign us "coded" trunks as part of our trunk group. These are trunks which have no dialable number associated with them. It's best to get real numbers so you can test them by calling them individually. You cannot test coded trunks.

Non-critical Technical Load

That part of the technical load not required for synchronous operation.

Non-data Bit

Bit with encoding violating normal format: used for special control purposes.

Non-dedicated Server

A node on which user applications are available while network resource maintenance applications execute in the background.

Non-deterministic

A term which refers to the inability of being able to predict the performance or delay on a network where collision is possible.

Non-deterministic Network

A network where access to the transmission medium within some specified period, cannot be guaranteed .

Non-dialable Toll Point

Six-digit telephone numbers which follow the pattern 88X-NXX, for routing and billing of calls to extremely isolated stations. Such stations are either beyond the reach of the wireline public switched telephone network (PSTN) or are too low (e.g., in a canyon) for satellite communications. Operator intervention is required to reach these remote areas by radio or some other means. Note that each non-dialable toll point consumes a full NNX, often referred to as a Central Office prefix, of 10,000 telephone numbers. This fact adds to the strain on the North American Numbering Plan (NANP).

Non-directional Antenna

An antenna that transmits and receives equally well in all directions, usually on one plane; also called omnidirectional antenna.

Non-disclosure Agreement

See NDA.

Non-discoverable mode

A Bluetooth term. A device that cannot respond to an inquiry is said to be in non-discoverable mode. The device will not enter the INQUIRY_RESPONSE state in this mode. See also discoverable mode. non-pairable mode A device that does not accepts pairing. is said to be in non-pairable mode. The opposite of non- pairing mode is pairable mode.

Non-dispersion Shifted Fiber

A type of Single Mode Fiber (SMF) used in fiber optic transmission systems. See NDSF.

Non-DIV

Non DIVersity.

Non-dominant carrier

Non-dominant carriers were identified by the Federal Commmunications Commission as small long distance carriers. These carriers received a special dispensation from the FCC ” namely they didn't have to make public the long distance prices they charged.

Non-duplication Rules

Restrictions placed on cable television systems prohibiting them from importing distant programming that is simultaneously available locally.

Non-email

Stockbrokers are subject to all sorts of rules and regulations by the Federal Government. Every phone call they make or receive is recorded. Every correspondence they send ” from faxes to handwritten notes, from xeroxes to business cards ” is checked by a compliance officer. Sort of like having on-staff your own censor . Most brokers don't have email because their bosses haven't figured out how to include email in the censoring process. Some brokers , however, have subscribed to their own email service, e.g. with AOL or MSN. They refer to this email as "non-email," since their firms won't allow them to have real email. This way when they talk to their clients on the phone (which is recorded), they won't be talking about a verboten subject, email. They will talk about a non-verboten subject, namely non-email. Of course, if they didn't have email, they wouldn't have many clients. You figure Wall Street.

Non-erasable

A switch where a through traffic path always exists for each attached phone. Generically, a switch or switching environment designed never to experience a busy condition due to call volume. See Non-Blocking, which is a better term.

Non-Geographic Number Portability

See NGNP.

Non-impact Printer

Refers to printers that do not strike a hammer to a platen as typewriters do. Usually a heat sensitive paper or laser printing technology is involved.

Non-intelligible Crosstalk

Crosstalk which is not of sufficient level to be understood by a listener but which is more annoying than other crosstalk because you think it's intelligible. Or think it should be intelligible.

Non-interlaced

Non-interlaced refers to monitors whose electron gun scans the entire screen without skipping any scan lines. There's a good definition on interlacing and non-interlacing under Interlacing.

Non-ionizing Emissions

Radio waves, infrared rays and visible light rays, none of which can affect an atom's electrical balance.

Non-ISDN Line

Any connection from a CPE to a central office switch that is not served by D-channel signaling.

Non-ISDN Trunk

In ISDN language, a non-ISDN trunk is any trunk not served by either SS7 or D-channel signaling.

Non-linear Distortion

Amplitude distortion of a signal in which the output signal does not have a linear relationship to the input signal.

Non-loaded Lines

Cable pairs or transmission lines with no added inductive loading coils. In short, straight, raw copper pairs. See Load Coils.

Non-maskable interrupt

An interrupt on a PC that cannot be disabled by another interrupt.

Non-persistent

In local area networking technology, describes a carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) local area network (LAN) in which the stations involved in a collision do not try to retransmit immediately ” even if the network is quiet. Compare with persistent and p-persistent.

Non-printing Character

A character in a transmission code which performs a control function but is not reproduced when the transmission is printed.

Non-progressive Display

See Interlaced GIF.

Non-proprietary LAN

A Local Area Network that can connect the equipment of many vendors. See Proprietary LAN.

Non-published

There are various interpretations of what constitutes an "non-published," "unpublished" and "unlisted" phone number in North America. Some phone companies use these words interchangeably. Some don't. In California, Pacific Bell offers unpublished phone service. Your phone number is not listed in the paper phone directories, but is listed with dial up "Directory Assistance." Pacific Bell also has a more expensive service called "Unlisted Service." Here, your phone number is not included in the paper phone directories or given out to callers to Directory Assistance. Verizon (and I presume other phone companies) has a service whereby you can leave a message for the owner of an unlisted number. "Please call me. You've won the lottery." The owner of the unlisted number then has the choice to return the call or not. He doesn't pay to receive this message. Some telephone companies confuse the definitions and some invent new ones. For example, some phone companies use the term "non-published" number. You won't find the number in a phone book or by calling Directory Assistance. Over 25% of many private phone numbers in major metropolitan areas are unlisted, unpublished or non-published ” a "service" their subscribers pay extra for. To my simple brain, it's a lot easier to simply publish your name as "Apple Plumpudding." See Unpublished.

Non-receipt Notification

In X.400, a non-receipt notification is a report prepared by a recipient UA (User Agent) or Access Unit (upon request) and sent to the originating UA or Access Unit when a message is deemed unreceivable by a recipient.

Non- repudiation

A mechanism which prevents a user from denying a legitimate, billable charge. For instance, a user engaged in an Internet-based voice or video conference might later repudiate the charge, alleging that he was not a party to the conference. A non- repudiation mechanism would provide for monitoring of all endpoints (connected users or machines) during the course of the conference in order that any applicable charges might be supported in the event that they are challenged.

Non-routable Protocols

LAN protocols, such as IBM's NetBIOS, LAN Server and SNA, that use names and not Network Layer Addresses to identify devices and therefore supply no routing information. Internetworking devices must find other ways to route traffic in networks that use nonroutable protocols.

Non-selective Routing

In the US emergency services telephone network, the routing of 911 calls to a serving public safety answering point based only on the originating Central Office. Compare to Selective Routing. See E-911 Service.

Non-sent Paid

Utility industry term for calls made as third party billings, reversed charges or with a Calling Card.

Non-session

A type of synchronous access mode that can exist between an end user and a host computer in an Amdahl packet network. In non-session access, the calling line (PU) is mapped to a specific offering line (LU). The offering line is reserved for that calling line at all times.

Non-Signaling Data Protocol for Billing and Settlements

NSDP-B&S. Part of the EIA/TIA Interim Standard-124 (IS-124) for Data Message Handler (DMH), a method used in the cellular industry for exchanging non-signaling messages between service providers on a near real-time basis. DMH originally was used to facilitate call hand-offs between carriers. It was extended to serve a number of other purposes. NSDP-B&S is the DMH extension for the transfer of billing and settlement information on an electronic basis. It facilitates the exchange of roamer information between systems and countries , regardless of the air interface (e.g., AMPS, TDMA, and GSM), thereby considerably reducing clearing costs for both charges and adjustments.

Non-Signaling Data Protocol for Fraud

NSDP-F. Part of the EIA/TIA Interim Standard-124 (IS-124) for Data Message Handler (DMH), a method used in the cellular industry for exchanging non-signaling messages between service providers on a near real-time basis. DMH originally was used to facilitate call hand-offs between carriers. It was extended to serve a number of other purposes. NSDP-F is the DMH extension for the detection and prevention of cellular fraud. As the carriers can communicate access and usage on an electronic basis in near real-time through DMH, it is possible to more readily detect fraud by identifying collision, measuring velocity, and profiling. Collision is the association of multiple call records occurring at overlapping times, and is indicative of multiple fraudulent callers accessing one or more cellular networks at the same time, masquerading as a single legitimate user. Velocity is a measurement of the speed of calling activity; i.e., the number of calls placed during a given period of time. If the velocity is exceptionally high, the implication is that multiple fraudulent callers might be masquerading as a single legitimate user, perhaps across multiple networks. Profiling simply involves the home service provider's maintaining a profile of calling activity over a period of time. If calling activity suddenly fails to match that profile, especially on a roaming basis, the implication is that calling activity may be fraudulent in nature. In all cases, it is the responsibility of the home service provider to detect the fraudulent activity, and to advise all other service providers to deny future calling attempts.

Non-simultaneous Transmission

Half duplex transmission. Transmission in one direction at a time. This mode of transmission may be the result of limitations of the transmission channel or of the transmitting/receiving equipment.

Non-subscriber calling

See Casual Calling.

Non-synchronous Communications

See Asynchronous Communications.

Non-traditional Retailing

A fancy word for selling your wares via a Web page on the Internet.

Non-traffic Sensitive Plant

Telephone company facilities which are unaffected by changes in volume of telephone activity.

Non-transparent Mode

A transmission environment, mainly of bisynch transmission, in which control characters and control-character sequences are recognized through the examination of all transmitted data. Compare with transparent mode. Also called normal mode.

Non-trivial

Microsoft word for "hard."

Non-volatile

Memory which is not lost (i.e. that does not "forget") when the power is shut off.

Non-volatile Random Access Memory

Electronic circuitry that provides back-up operation of CMOS RAM and/or Flash PROM in case of a power failure.

Non-volatile (Nonvolatile) Storage

A storage medium that does not lose its contents when power is removed.

Non-wireline

Also called the block "A" carrier. The "A" originally stood for "alter- nate." The FCC, in setting up the licensing and systems in each market. It reserved one for the local wireline telephone company, and opened the second system ” the Block A system ” to other interested applicants . The distinction between Block A and Block B is meaningful only during the licensing phase at the FCC. Once a system is constructed , it can be sold to anyone . Thus in some markets today, both the A and B systems are owned by a telephone company. One happens to be the local phone company, and the other is a phone company that decided to buy a cellular system outside its home territory. Non-Wireline, or Block A systems, operate on the radio frequencies from 824 to 849 Megahertz.

Non Zero Dispersion Shifted Fiber

NZDF. A type of Dispersion Shifted Fiber (DSF) that is used in long haul, high speed fiber optical transmission systems. See DSF for a full explanation.

Nonextended Network

AppleTalk Phase 2 network that supports addressing of up to 253 nodes and only 1 zone.

Nonce

In information technology, a nonce is a parameter that varies with time. A nonce can be a time stamp, a visit counter on a Web page, or a special marker intended to limit or prevent the unauthorized replay or reproduction of a file. Because a nonce changes with time, it is easy to tell whether or not an attempt at replay or reproduction of a file is legitimate; the current time can be compared with the nonce. If it does not exceed it or if no nonce exists, then the attempt is authorized. Otherwise, the attempt is not authorized.
In general usage, a nonce is a pronounceable string of characters invented and used only in a given context. The origin of the term goes back to the Middle Ages with "the anes," an expression meaning "for the immediate occasion." This evolved to "the nonce."

Nonswitched

A leased or hardwired connection line permanently installed between two points. Also called leased line or private line.

NOP

Network Operations Protocol.

NOPS

New Order Processing System.

NOR

North Royalton.

NOR Gate

An OR Gate with a digital inverter at its output.

NORC

Network Operators Research Committee.

Nordic Mobile Telephone @ 450 MHz (NMT450)

The Nordic Mobile Telephone system operating at 450 MHz; introduced in 1981. See the next definition.

Nordic Mobile Telephone @ 900 MHz (NMT900)

Essentially an upgrade of the NMT450 to 900 MHz with enhancements and more channels. See the previous definition.

Normal

My loving wife says I have no idea of the meaning of the word normal.

Normal Distribution (Gaussian)

Bell shaped curve, with 90% of the values within 1.645 standard deviations of the mean and 98% of the values within 2.33 standard deviations of the mean. In each case, half of the values are greater than the mean and half are less than the mean. See Mean.

Normal Mode

The AC voltage that exists between the normal current-carrying wires, that is, between neutral and hot or live.

Normal Response Mode

NRM. HDLC mode for use on links with one primary and one or more secondaries. Under NRM, a secondary can transmit only after receiving a poll addressed to it by a primary. It may then send a series of responses. But after it sets the F bit in a response, it cannot transmit any more until it receives another poll.

Normal Tennis

Tennis without the emotion, mistakes and frustration. What Patrick Bullot and Harry Newton would prefer to play, but can't.

Normalize

A call center term. To change an unusual call statistic reported by the ACD so as to reflect what would have been usual for that period of the day or that day of the week. Normalizing is something you do before updating historical patterns so that the historical patterns will not be distorted by the unusual data.

Normalized Average Transfer Delay

Average transfer delay divided by packet transmission time at the clock rate of the medium.

Normalized Network Throughput

Network throughput in packets per second divided by maximum throughput possible at clock rate of medium. Less than one.

Normalized Offered Traffic

The average number of attempted packet transmissions per second divided by the average number of packet transmissions/second possible at the clock rate of the medium. May exceed one.

Nortel

Nortel is a shorthand version of Northern Telecom's corporate name (which remains Northern Telecom Limited). According to the company's annual report, it is designed to reflect the corporation's heritage, while signaling a new direction, presenting a single face that reinforces Northern Telecom's global presence. The new logo, with its Globemark "O", creates a dynamic visual symbol for a corporation whose business knows no boundaries and whose spirit is one of leadership, innovation, dedication and excellence. In the U.S., Northern Telecom's principal subsidiary is called Northern Telecom Inc. Nortel is now commonly called Nortel Networks since its acquisition of Bay Networks in 1998. The former BNR is now integrated into Nortel Networks. www.nortel.com.