User's Manual
PART 2 – Embedded Wireless Modems Chapter 3 – SocketModem CDMA
Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. Universal Socket Hardware Guide for Developers (S000342K) 70
CDMA Terminology and Acronyms
This is an alphabetical list of the CDMA cellular industry’s terminology and acronyms.
2G Second Generation. This is an all digital cellular systems developed to replace the first analog
cellular systems. (GSM and CDMA).
3G Third Generation. This is the next generation digital cellular systems designed to have high-speed
data access and higher voice capacity (CDMA & CDMA2000).
CBM Cell Broadcast Message. This is an SMS message that is broadcast to all mobiles on the network.
CDMA CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). CDMA is a spread spectrum, digital wireless modulation
scheme for cellular communications systems. It has approximately 3 times the voice capacity of
GSM networks. See IS-95, IS-95B, IS-2000.
cdmaONE cdmaOne is a brand name, trademarked and reserved for the exclusive use of the CDMA
Development Group (see their Web site at cdg.org). cdmaOne describes a complete wireless
system that incorporates the IS-95 CDMA air interface, the ANSI-41 network standard for switch
interconnection and many other standards that make up a complete wireless system.
cdma2000 cdma2000 is a third generation (3G) wireless system. It contains a significant increase in voice
capacity and high-speed data rates. It is backward compatible with IS-95B and IS-95A.
cdma2000 1xRTT "1xRTT" stands for 1 times Radio Transmission Technology and is used to identify the version of
CDMA2000 radio technology that operates in a pair of 1.25-MHz radio channels (one times 1.25
MHz, as opposed to three times 1.25 MHz in 3xRTT). Although theoretically capable of higher data
rates, most carrier implementations have limited the peak data rate to 144 kbit/s. While 1xRTT
officially qualifies as 3G technology, 1xRTT is considered by some to be a 2.5G.
ESN "ESN" stands for Electronic Serial Number. It is a 32-bit binary number that identifies each cellular
phone.
Handset (Path) Handset (Path). This is the audio path (microphone & speaker) that connects to a traditional hand
held telephone receiver, usually dual balanced electrical lines.
Headset (Path) Headset (Path). This is the audio path (microphone & speaker) that connects to an earpiece with
a microphone, usually single electrical lines.
IMSI International Mobile Station IS. This is an international 15 digital phone number that uniquely
identifies a mobile. IMSI=MCC + MNC + MIN.
IOTA IOTA stands for Internet Over The Air.
IS-95 IS-95 is the first CDMA standard published by Qualcomm in 1993. It is a TIA standard for North
American cellular systems based on CDMA. It is widely deployed in North America and Asia.
IS-95A IS-95A is a CDMA standard with improved voice quality. IS-95A defines what generally is known as
cdmaOne, which supports voice and 14.4 Kbps data rates. This standard is widely used throughout
the world.
IS-95B IS-95B is a CDMA standard contains Medium Data Rate capabilities and bug fixes for system
access failures. It is considered a 2.5G system. It supports data rates up to 115 Kbps.
IS-2000 IS-2000 is the first 3G CDMA standard based on IS-95B. It contai
ns a sig
nificant increase in voice
capacity and high-speed data rates. It is backward compatible with IS-95B and IS-95A.
IS-707 TIA/EIA/IS-707 describes data services available on wideband spread spectrum systems. It is
organized into a series of related recommendations, some of which address functions common to
all CDMA data services and others that describe a specific data service.
MCC Mobile Country Code is a pre-defined 30-digital number that represents a country in the IMSI.
MDN MDN stands for Mobile Data Number or the mobile phone number.
MIN MIN stands for Mobile Identification Number or mobile user account number.
MNC MNC stands for Mobile Network Code, a pre-defined 2-digital number that represents a sub-
network in the IMSI (usually set to “00”).
MO MO stands for Mobile Originated, an action (usually a call) that is first started from the phone. An
outgoing call or SMS.
MS MS stands for Mobile Station. The term MS is commonly used to represent the phone or mobile.
MT MT stands for Mobile Terminated. MT is an action, usually a call that is first started from a land
based network. An incoming call or SMS.
MSM MSM stands for Mobile Station Modem.
NAM NAM stands for Number Assignment Modem. The NAM is collection of internal parameters that
define a working phone for a given network (phone number, access parameters, etc.).
NID NID stands for Network ID. The NID is an identification number that represents geographic location
of a common coverage area; but is a subset of the SID, usually a neighborhood in a large city. NID
is usually not used and is set to zero. Also see SID.
NV-RAM NV-RAM stands for Non-Volatile Random Access Memory. NV-RAM is a data storage device that
does not lose its data when power is turned off.