0-9  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z cable A flexible metal or glass wire or group of wires. All cables used in electronics are insulated with a material such as plastic or rubber. cable modem Modem technology that allows businesses and individuals to use existing CATV (cable television) infrastructure for data communications. cable modem transmission system (CMTS) A computerized device that converts cable modem data into data packets for the Internet. The CMTS provides several functions, including routing to contain local data within the cable system, filtering to protect cable operators from unwanted hacking, and traffic shaping to deliver the quality of service a subscriber has signed on for. cable television (CATV) return path A television distribution method in which signals from distant stations are received, amplified, and then transmitted by (coaxial or fiber) cable or microwave links to users. caching Process by which content is stored closer to users requesting such content to improve download times, reduce network requirements and improve overall network management. CALEA Federal Wiretapping Act calendarized estimates Refers to estimates (revenues or earnings) that are adjusted to reflect a calendar year-end (December). It is used for consistency purposes, i.e., so that comparing estimates among companies that have varying fiscal year-ends can be done on an "apples-to-apples" basis. capable-to-promise A type of analysis used principally by manufacturing firms to determine whether sufficient production capacity (labor and machinery) exists to commit to a particular order's delivery date. capacity The information-carrying ability of a telecommunications facility. The type of facility determines the measurement. You might measure a line's capacity in bits per second. You might measure a switch's capacity by the maximum number of calls it can switch in one hour or by the maximum number of calls it can simultaneously keep in conversation. capital asset pricing model (CAPM) An economic model for valuing investments by relating expected risk and expected return. The model is based on the idea that expected risk premiums vary in proportion to the beta. That is, investors demand higher expected return for higher exposure to risk. capital expenditures Expenditures on property, plant and equipment, as well as the additional costs of improvements and additions, which will have a useful life of more than one year and provide future service potential. Capital expenditures are generally depreciated in the income statement over the useful life of the asset purchased (based on accounting guidelines). capital lease Refers to a lease that, based on requirements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, is owned on the lessee's balance sheet as an asset and liability. This occurs when the lessee leases the property for a substantial period of the asset's life, thus accrues essentially all the economic benefit and risks of leasing the asset. Also referred to as a long-term lease. captive supplier Companies that produce components primarily for their own consumption. carrier A carrier (or carrier signal) is a transmitted electromagnetic pulse or wave at a steady base frequency of alternation on which information can be imposed by increasing signal strength, varying the base frequency, varying the wave phase, or other means. carrier class Products designed specifically to meet the capacity, performance scalability, availability and network management requirements of network service providers. carrying costs The costs of maintaining inventory. Typically, this refers to the opportunity cost of invested capital, but it also refers to shrinkage from employee theft and obsolescence. cdma2000 A next-generation (3G) technology for wireless networks that increases data transmission rates in code division multiple access (CDMA) systems. cdma2000 has been renamed the 1x Multi-Carrier mode (1x MC) in the ITU's 3G specification, and is capable of transmitting data at speeds of up to 307 Kbps with the 3x Multi-Carrier mode of CDMA (3x MC) expected to produce rates up to 2 Mbps. cellular digital packet data (CDPD) A digital wireless transmission system that is deployed as an enhancement to the existing analog wireless network. Based on IBM's CelluPlan II, it provides a packet overlay onto the advanced mobile phone services (AMPS) network and moves data up to 19.2 Kbps over ever-changing unused intervals in the voice channels. If all the channels are used, the data is stored and forwarded when a channel becomes available. CDPD is used for applications such as public safety, point-of-sale, mobile positioning, and other business services. Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) Trade association based in Washington, D.C. that represents the interests of the wireless telecommunications industry. central office (CO) An ILEC facility where subscriber lines are joined to an ILEC switch. This is the entry point to the communications network for most customers. Chairman of the Board The highest-ranking officer of a corporation, this individual also runs the meetings of the Board of Directors. This person may or may not coincide with the position of chief executive officer (CEO), the highest position on the management team. The role of the Chairman of the Board varies amongst firms; he/she may or may not have a great deal of influence. channel A generic term for a communications path on a given medium; multiplexing techniques allow providers to put multiple channels over a single medium. channel associated signaling (CAS) In-band signaling chemical vapor deposition (CVP) Chemical Vapor Deposition is a chemical reaction that transform gaseous molecules, called precursor, into a solid material, in the form of thin film or powder, on the surface of a substrate. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) The executive officer that has ultimate responsibility for managing the company and determining the firm's competitive position. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who usually also holds another title such as Chairman of the Board or President, is therefore one of the key representatives in communicating the vision of the company and is responsible for overseeing the execution of the strategic plan. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) The executive officer who is responsible for the financial planning of the company, including keeping financial records, handling funds, and making future financial projections. Chief Operating Officer (COO) The executive officer that is responsible for day-to-day management of the company. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) reports to the Chief Executive Officer , and is typically responsible for the operations of the firm. chip The most elemental component of a spread spectrum signal when it is decompressed in time; that is, the longest duration signal in which signal parameters are approximately constant. chirp A source of noise in directly modulated transmission systems. chromatic dispersion The variation in frequency of an optical signal as it travels through a medium. circuit A physical connection between two points across various network elements that are capable of both sending and receiving. circuit switching A switching system that establishes a dedicated physical communications connection between end points, through the network, for the duration of the communication session. This is most often contrasted with packet switching in data communications transmissions. circulators A passive junction of three or more ports in which the ports can be accessed in such an order that when power is fed into any port it is transferred to the next port, the first port being counted as following the last in order. cladding Material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber. The lower index of refraction in the cladding causes the transmitted light to travel down the core. class 4 switch AT&T's name for the type of switch used in a telephone tandem office. In the past, Class 4 switches dealt only with high-speed, four-wire T1, T3 and OC-3 connections in contrast to two-wire local lines on Class 5 switches. Today, all switches support four-wire lines. class 5 switch AT&T's name for the type of switch used in a local telephone end office. It provides customer services such as call waiting and call forwarding. In the past, a Class 5 switch implied two-wire ports from the customer and four-wire ports out the back end. Today, all switches support four-wire lines. coax (coaxial) cable A wire cable composed of an insulated central conducting wire wrapped in another conducting wire. The shield is typically made of braided wire and is insulated from the center wire. The shield minimizes the effect of electrical and radio-frequency interference and emissions from the ground signal. Coax is currently the mainstay of cable television wiring- it was also used in high-speed data networks in legacy LANs. code division multiple access (CDMA) A spread spectrum air interface technology used in some digital cellular, personal communications, and other wireless networks. A spread spectrum air interface technology that assigns a code to all speech bits, sends a scrambled transmission of that scrambled encoded speech over the air, and then reassembles the speech to its original format. CDMA benefits wireless carriers by increasing capacity of their networks by as much as 20 times and by enabling more efficient use of spectrum. collimators A device that renders divergent or convergent rays more nearly parallel. co-location Process by which multiple service providers house and operate networking equipment in common areas in order to share resources or network access points. co-location facility Environmentally controlled facilities where service providers house and operate networking equipment in common areas in order to share resources or network access points. combiner A passive optical component that merges two light signals. communications protocol A set of rules or standards designed to enable computers to connect with one another and to exchange information with as little error as possible. compact hypertext markup language (CHTML) A scripting language (subset of several HTML versions) capable of delivering wireless data a speeds of 9.6 Kbps that excludes features such as JPEG imaging, image mapping, multiple character style and fonts, and background colors and images. Japanese wireless service provider NTT DoCoMo uses CHTML for its proprietary iMode wireless data service. comparable companies Securities analysts use comparable companies, or "comps," to assess how a company is performing relative to its comps and how the valuations compare in light of their relative operating performance. "Comparable companies" are companies that are similar to and/or are competing against the company that is being evaluated. Some of the most common metrics used when comparing a company to its comps include equity market capitalization, enterprise value, revenue growth, CAGRs, P/E ratios, and valuation multiples of revenue, EBIT, EBITDA and other entries. competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) Telephone service providers that offer local communications services, as allowed by changes in telecommunications law and regulations stated in the 1996 Telecom Act. A CLEC may also provide other types of services, such as long distance, Internet access, and value-added and enhanced services. completed contract method An accounting method whereby revenues and expenses (and therefore taxes) on long-term contracts, such as government defense contracts, are recognized in the year the contract is concluded, except that losses are recognized in the year they are forecast. This method differs from the percentage-of-completion method, where sales and costs are recognized each year based on the value of the work performed. complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) A family of IC's. Particularly useful for low-speed or low-power applications. component An assembly, or part thereof, that is essential to the operation of some larger assembly and is an immediate subdivision of the assembly to which it belongs. compound annual growth rate (CAGR) The rate of growth (e.g., of invested capital, revenues, earnings, etc.) compounded over a specified number of years. Securities analysts often use a company's 5-year CAGR of revenues or earnings to judge its long-term growth potential and trends. computer-aided design (CAD) computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) connection oriented A term applied to network architectures and services that require the establishment of an end-to-end predefined circuit prior to a communications session. content providers Commercial entities whose business model involves offering content (in the form of text, pictures, video or audio) through the Internet. Monetizing these users either occurs via membership fees or advertising revenue from outside parties interested in reaching users. continuous wave laser (CW) An assembly, or part thereof, that is essential to the operation of some larger assembly and is an immediate subdivision of the assembly to which it belongs. convertible debt Refers to debt that can be converted into stock at the option of the holder and/or the issuer at a preset price and number of shares. Investors benefit from the higher interest income earned as a debt instrument, as well as the opportunity to share in the greater price appreciation potential of the stock. Similar to that of convertible preferred stock, the convertible feature is considered a sweetener. Convertible debt may be considered tax-disadvantageous to the issuer compared to straight debt, as interest payments on debt are tax-deductible whereas common stock dividends are not tax-deductible. convertible preferred stock Refers to preferred stock that can be converted into a specified amount of common stock at the holder's option. The conversion option makes the preferred stock more valuable, and is referred to as a "sweetener" to help market the issue, since investors have the right, but not the obligation, to convert their shares. Since preferred and common stock dividends are not tax deductible, there is no tax-incentive or disincentive to the issuer in issuing convertibles. Although preferred stock enjoys benefits such as priority in the distribution of dividends and in the event of liquidation, as well as supervoting power in some instances, the convertible option may be exercised if the appreciation of the common stock has been significant. core The light-conducting central portion of an optical fiber, composed of material with a higher index of refraction than the cladding. The portion of the fiber that transmits light. core router Routers placed in service provider core networks mostly directing traffic between electronic and optical networks. cost of goods sold (COGS) Represents the cost of acquiring and producing finished products, including the cost of buying materials, direct factory labor, and overhead, within a given period. Companies attempt to reduce their cost of goods sold using methods such as buying in bulk purchases, increasing production efficiencies, and automating. For service companies, cost of goods sold may often include a high level of professional services (i.e., salary expenses). cost per thousand (CPM) Cost associated with units recognized in thousands. CPM is used to measure the cost of high-volume products when evaluating marketing effectiveness. coupling Transfer of light into or out of an optical fiber. crosstalk The undesirable effect of a transmission on one channel interfering with the transmitted signal on another channel. customer premises equipment (CPE) A piece of networking equipment that resides at the user's location and that usually consists of routers. customer relationship management (CRM) Enterprise-wide software applications that allow companies to manage every aspect of their relationships with customers. The aim of these systems is to assist in building lasting customer relationships, turning customer satisfaction into customer loyalty. Traditional CRM automates sales force activities as well as customer service call center operations.