Have you ever searched for a simple description of what something is, but got even more confused after Googling it? Sometimes it takes very long for that “a-ha!” moment when you realise how simple it actually is.
Well, we plan to fix that. We will try to describe a variety of technical objects and terms in a very simple manner. Our aim is just to tell you in simple terms what it is, and if you’re still interested you can read more about it. First on our list is telecommunication terms
Telecommunications
Telecomms is basically anything that has to do with TELEphones (voice) and COMMunications (data). Thus the way that communications takes place over distances.
PBX / PABX
This is a box where all the wires of the telephones in a company plugs into. It also connects to your telephone company.
When you pick up a phone in the office and dials a number, it decides whether it should connect you to another person in the company, or to dial out to the telecoms company for an outside line.
Cellphone Router (GSM router / premicell)
Basically a cellphone, but instead of a keyboard it has a connector that plugs into a normal telephone (or PABX). If you have a cellphone router connected to your PABX and make a call to a cellphone from one of the telephones in the company, the call will go through the router and not your telephone company (because it is cheaper to dial from cellphone to cellphone than from a landline to a cellphone)
See also LCR (Least Cost Routing)
GSM Gateway
This is a box with a lot of cellphone routers inside it (up to 60 cellphones in the Busiraks Taros.) Because it can handle so many calls, it will usually connect to your PABX with one of the folllowing interfaces:
Basic Rate (BRI) – Also known as ISDN, which can take 2 calls simultaneously
Primary Rate (E1/T1) – Almost the same as ISDN, but can do 30 (E1) or 24 (T1) calls simultaneously
VOIP – An ethernet connection which can usually make as many calls simultaneously as there are cellphones in the box
2G and 3G
Second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) cellphone equipment. 2G is also known as GSM and 3G is known as UMTS.
Least Cost Routing (LCR)
Equipment (routers and gateways) that connects to your PABX to save money on calls. When you make a call to an outside number, the PABX will take the route that cost the least, e.g. if you dial a cellphone number, it will route the call via the GSM gateway/router and if you dial a landline number, it will route the call via your landline operator. To save even further on cellphone calls, you can connect routers with SIMcards from different operators to your PABX and route the dialed numbers to the cheapest operator. E.g. in South Africa, if the number starts with an “082” you will dial out on a router with a Vodacom SIMcard, and if the number starts with “083” you will dial on a router with an MTN SIMcard.