Bandwidth. Cloud-based. Lost? Understandable. Trying to understand the jargon behind telecoms can be a full-time job in itself. And who has time for that in their already busy life? You’ve got clients to meet, deals to close, and money to make. And you can get back to doing just that in no time once you can throw these terms around like you know what they mean— because now you will, with our dictionary of telecom terms.
Our blog decodes the telecom jargon that we get asked about the most. For further information, give our team at Blackbox UC a call.
1. Cloud-Based Phone System
Cloud-based phone systems allow you to make and receive phone calls over the Internet, rather than analogue phones which use wires and cables. Cloud-based systems use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and store data in offsite, secure data centres to keep your phone records safe.
2. Hosted Telecoms
These telecoms are hosted by the company’s data centre, where calls are redirected through an IP link to the phones at the client’s premises.
3. Call Reporting
Call reporting software allows you to keep track of key metrics in your office, such as call length, the audio of the call itself, and employee data like break times and shift adherence.
4. CRM Integration
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems hold customer data. Integrating your CRM system connects all the platforms you use together so that data can flow freely, allowing operations to run smoothly.
5. Bandwidth
Bandwidth is essentially capacity. It refers to the amount of data that can be transferred over an Internet connection in a given amount of time. It’s typically defined in ‘bits per second’: for example, 50 million bits is equal to 50 megabits, or 50 M/bs. Other common measurements are kilobits (Kb/s) and gigabits (Gb/s).
6. Broadband
In the olden days of the Internet, we had dial-up, which connected our computers to the Internet with a long, loud noise. Today we have broadband, which means a higher capacity for a telecom line to carry signals. This, combined with bandwidth and some other variables, determines the speed of your Internet connection.
7. Landline
A landline phone is a traditional analogue phone. They’re typically connected with a cord, although landlines can be wireless as well. They connect users through wires instead of over the Internet.
8. Roaming
Roaming is a term applied to mobile phones and other mobile devices. It means a mobile can connect to a service in a country outside of its home network. This allows users to access their phone and data when outside of the geographical coverage area of the network they use.
9. SIM Cards
A SIM card is a chip that goes inside your mobile phone or tablet. They are individualised to each person and each SIM card pertains to one phone number. They contain the data you choose to save on it, such as messages, photos, and emails.
