Jargon busting in telecoms

Jargon Busting in Telecoms

Everyone loves to use jargon in their chosen field and some professions are worse than others at complicating things. On entering the telecom industry I was peppered with acronyms and nicknames for equipment and functions, so this blog is aimed at helping you, the customer, to get exactly what you want for your business network solution.

But what is a Network Solution? This means your phones can be linked to your computers, your mobiles and homeworkers, a well organised ‘solution’ will help you make your office more efficient and reduce your costs. This is also called Unified Communication.

VoiP This is short for Voice Over Internet Protocol and means using your internet connection to make phone calls.

PABX or PBX These are the ‘exchanges’ used to route calls to the correct person. Years ago my Mum worked for the Post Office, plugging in and unplugging the wires to make the calls. Nowadays they are boxes full of expensive circuits rather than very smartly spoken young ladies.

ISDN The Integrated Services Digital Network is the standard telephone network system used since the 1980’s to transmit voice and data. It is being phased out by BT and will be switched off (probably!) in 2025 to be replaced by internet based systems.

The Cloud Using the internet to store and process your telecom information’ in a cloud’ helps businesses access high quality features which would have been hugely expensive on a traditional system.

Auto-attendant or AVR (Automated Voice Responder) This is the correct term for the mystery voice that demands you press button 1,2 or 3 and then can route your call to the best person to answer your question. For even a small office it can revolutionise their business, less time wasted by everyone’s phone ringing and less harassed callers who are passed around until they find the right person.

These are just a few of the most common telecom acronyms and terms, there are many more so perhaps a Part 2 blog post with appear later!