Glossary of Terms

DTMF Dialling:
DTMF Dialling is the system used in telephone exchanges as a replacement for pulse tone dialling. Although mobile phones can connect to the network without tone dialling, the ability to generate the DTMF tones during a call allows the phone to access automated services like booking lines etc.

Dual Band:
Mobile communications work in 'bands' of frequencies. BTCellnet and Vodafone originally operated in the 900Mhz band, with Orange and One2One in the 1800Mhz band. Recently though, BTCellnet have adapted their sites to operate both frequencies. This means that a Dual Band phone on BTCellnet can switch seamlessly between the two bands to avoid network congestion. Similarly, an Orange or One2One Dual band phone will operate on the continent and in 900Mhz countries.

GSM:
A French acronym for the Global Mobile System, a generally agreed protocol for mobile communications. Generally speaking, GSM phones run on the 900Mhz band.

PCN:
Personal Communications Network - a network operated by Orange on the 1800mhz frequency.

Predictive Text Input:
When writing a text message or inputting text, a phone with predictive text input tries to guess what word you are trying to type and complete it for you. This system means that instead of pressing a button three times to get a given letter, you press it once for every letter in the word, and the phone tries to guess what you meant.

Single Band:
The opposite of Dual Band. A phone which operates on only one frequency.

Sim Card:
A smart card fitted in every modern mobile phone which stores the phone's identity and settings. Phone numbers can be stored on the card, but its primary function is to allow the networks to identify your phone to make calls.

SMS Messaging:
Short Message Service - Allows text messages of no more than 160 characters to be sent between SMS enabled handsets. If the receiving handset is turned off at the time of sending, the message will be retrieved the next time the phone registers on the network.

Voice Dialling:
A system which uses advanced voice recognition technology to allow voice tags to be assigned to people's phone numbers. Having assigned a voice tag, the handset can be made to dial the number simply by saying the stored name into the microphone.