Glossary

3G Third generation of mobile systems. Provides high-speed data transmission and supports multimedia applications such as full-motion video, video-conferencing and internet access, alongside conventional voice services.

Access network Electronic Communications Network which connects end-users to a service provider; running from the end-user’s premise to a Local Access Node and supporting the provision of access based services. It is sometimes referred to as the local loop or last mile.

Broadband A service or connection generally defined as being ‘always on’ and providing a bandwidth greater than narrowband.

DAB Digital Audio Broadcasting. A set of internationally accepted standards for the technology by which terrestrial Digital Radio multiplex services are broadcast in the UK.

Dongle A physical device, attached to a PC's USB port, which adds hardware capabilities.

DVR Digital Video Recorder (also known as Personal Video Recorder and Digital Television Recorder). A digital TV set top box including a hard disc drive which allows the user to record, pause and rewind live TV.

Free-to-view Broadcast content that people can watch or listen to without having to pay a subscription.

HDTV High Definition Television. A technology that provides viewers with better quality, high-resolution pictures.

Headline connection speed The theoretical maximum data speed that can be achieved by a given broadband. A number of factors, such as the quality and length of the physical line from the exchange to the customer, mean that a given customer may not experience this headline speed in practice.

HSPA Jointly, downlink and uplink mobile broadband technologies are referred to as HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) services.

Internet A global network of networks, using a common set of standards (e.g. the Internet Protocol), accessed by users with a computer via a service provider.

LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) LLU is the process where the incumbent operators (in the UK it is BT and Kingston Communications) make their local network (the lines that run from customers premises to the telephone exchange) available to other communications providers. The process requires the competitor to deploy its own equipment in the incumbent’s local exchange and to establish a backhaul connection between this equipment and its core network.

Mobile Broadband Various types of wireless high-speed internet access through a portable modem, telephone or other device.

MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) A standard technology and format for compressing a sound sequence into a very small file (about one-twelfth the size of the original file) while preserving the original level of sound quality when it is played.

MP3 Player A device that is able to store and play back MP3 files.

Multichannel In the UK, this refers to the provision or receipt of television services other than the main five channels (BBC ONE & TWO, ITV1, Channel 4/S4C, Five) plus local analogue services. ‘Multichannel homes’ comprise all those with digital terrestrial TV, satellite TV, digital cable or analogue cable, or TV over broadband. Also used as a noun to refer to a channel only available on digital platforms (or analogue cable).

Multiplex A device that sends multiple signals or streams of information on a carrier at the same time in the form of a single, complex signal. The separate signals are then recovered at the receiving end.

Narrowband A service or connection providing data speeds up to 128kbit/s, such as via an analogue telephone line, or via ISD.

Next-generation access networks (NGA) Broadband access networks that connect the end-user to the core network capable of with a bandwidth quantity and quality significantly in excess of current levels (a benchmark of 20Mbit/s or more is often used).

PSB Public Service Broadcasting, or Public Service Broadcaster. The Communications Act in the UK defines the PSBs to include the BBC, ITV1, Channel 4, Five and S4C.

RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research –The pan-industry body which measures radio listening.

Service bundling (or multi-play) A marketing term describing the packaging together of different communications services by organisations that traditionally only offered one or two of those services.

Service provider A provider of electronic communications services to third parties whether over its own network or otherwise.

Share (radio) Proportion of total listener hours, expressed as a percentage, attributable to one station within that station’s Total Survey Area.

Share (TV) Proportion of total TV viewing to a particular channel over a specified time, expressed as a percentage of total hours of viewing.

Telecommunications, or 'Telecoms' Conveyance over distance of speech, music and other sounds, visual images or signals by electric, magnetic or electro-magnetic means.

Timeshifting The broadcasting of a television service on more than one channel with a specified delay (typically an hour), to provide more than one opportunity for viewers to watch the service. Alternatively, the recording of programmes by viewers (using PVRs, recordable DVDs or VCRs) to watch at another time.