BlackBerry Glossary
Push Email
Push email is commonly used to describe e-mail systems that provide an "always-on" capability, where whenever new e-mail arrives it is instantly available to read on a mail client device, such as a Blackberry handheld. More formally, a push e-mail system is one where the server (generically called the MDA) sends (or pushes) newly received mails to the client (the MUA).
PIN Messaging
Sending private emails, directly, between BlackBerries. A BlackBerry PIN is a special and unique number, for sending emails to other BlackBerries.
SMS
Short Message Service (SMS) is a service available on most digital mobile phones (and other mobile devices, e.g. a Pocket PC, or occasionally even desktop computers) that permits the sending of short messages (also known as text messages, or more colloquially SMSes, texts or even txts) between mobile phones, other handheld devices and even landline telephones. Other uses of text messaging can be for ordering ringtones, wallpapers and entering competitions. There are also many services available on the Internet that allow users to send text messages for free.
BIS
BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) allows you to access your @blackberry.net email via a web browser and to configure your BlackBerry through a web-based interface.
HTML
Short Message Service (SMS) is a service available on most digital mobile phones (and other mobile devices, e.g. a Pocket PC, or occasionally even desktop computers) that permits the sending of short messages (also known as text messages, or more colloquially SMSes, texts or even txts) between mobile phones, other handheld devices and even landline telephones. Other uses of text messaging can be for ordering ringtones, wallpapers and entering competitions. There are also many services available on the Internet that allow users to send text messages for free.
WAP
Wireless Application Protocol or WAP is an open international standard for applications that use wireless communication. Its principal application is to enable access to the internet from a mobile phone or PDA. A WAP browser is designed to provide all of the basic services of a computer based web browser but simplified to operate within the restrictions of a mobile 'phone. WAP is now the protocol used for the majority of the world's mobile internet sites, known as WAP sites. The Japanese i-mode system is currently the only other major competing wireless data protocol. Mobile internet sites, or WAP sites, are websites written in, or dynamically converted to, WML (Wireless Markup Language) and accessed via the WAP browser
PIM
A personal information manager (PIM) is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. As an information management tool, a PIM's purpose is to facilitate the recording, tracking, and management of certain types of "personal information". A personal information manager (PIM) is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. As an information management tool, a PIM's purpose is to facilitate the recording, tracking, and management of certain types of "personal information".
APN
Access Point Name or APN is the name of an access point for GPRS.
An access point is:
- An IP network to which a mobile can be connected
- A set of settings which are used for that connection
- A particular option in a set of settings in a mobile phone
When a GPRS mobile phone sets up a PDP context, the access point is selected. At this point an access point name (APN) is determined
- Example: bigcompany.mnc012.mcc345.gprs.
- Example: internet
- Example: mywap.
This access point is then used in a DNS query to a private DNS network. This process (called APN resolution) finally gives the IP address of the GGSN which should serve the access point. At this point a PDP context can be activated.
The APN DNS record is in the form of apn.mnc(Network Code).mcc(Country Code).gprs. The numbering is defined by ITU-T E.212.
APN in BGAN or RBGAN:
An Access Point Name (APN) identifies an external network that is accessible from a terminal. An APN has several attributes associated with it that define how you can access the external network at that point. By default, the SIM card in your terminal is configured with the APN of your Service Provider. You may want to configure further APNs if you have arranged with your Service Provider to use more than one SIM Card.
BES
BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). BES allows company controlled, secure, wireless email and PIM synchronization. It provides complete administrative control over a BlackBerry remotely, using the BES console. The BES provides MDS capability, which, in short, is highly reliable internet access.
MDS
Mobile Data Service (MDS) is a method of Internet connectivity for a BlackBerry, usually provided by your company.
RIM
Research In Motion (RIM) is the company that manufactures BlackBerries and related software.
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. GSM service is used by over 2 billion people across more than 210 countries and territories. The ubiquity of the GSM standard makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs significantly from its predecessors in that both signaling and speech channels are Digital call quality, which means that it is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This fact has also meant that data communication was built into the system from very early on. GSM is an open standard which is currently developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
GPRS
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a mobile data service available to users of GSM mobile phones. It is often described as "2.5G", that is, a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generations of mobile telephony. It provides moderate speed data transfer, by using unused TDMA channels in the GSM network. Originally there was some thought to extend GPRS to cover other standards, but instead those networks are being converted to use the GSM standard, so that is the only kind of network where GPRS is in use. GPRS is integrated into GSM standards releases starting with Release 97 and onwards. First it was standardized by ETSI but now that effort has been handed onto the 3GPP.
EDGE
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution, or EDGE, is a digital mobile phone technology which acts as a bolt-on enhancement to 2G and 2.5G General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks. This technology works in GSM networks. EDGE (also known as EGPRS) is a superset to GPRS and can function on any network with GPRS deployed on it, provided the carrier implements the necessary upgrades. EDGE provides Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS), which can be used for any packet switched applications such as an Internet connection. High-speed data applications such as video services and other multimedia benefit from EGPRS' increased data capacity. EDGE Circuit Switched is a possible future development. In addition to Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK), EDGE uses 8 phase shift keying (8PSK) for the upper five of its nine modulation and coding schemes. EDGE produces a 3-bit word for every change in carrier phase. This effectively triples the gross data rate offered by GSM. EDGE, like GPRS, uses a rate adaptation algorithm that adapts the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) according to the quality of the radio channel, and thus the bit rate and robustness of data transmission. It introduces a new technology not found in GPRS, Incremental Redundancy, which, instead of retransmitting disturbed packets, sends more redundancy information to be combined in the receiver. This increases the probability of correct decoding. EDGE can carry data speeds up to 236.8 kbit/s for 4 timeslots (theoretical maximum is 473.6 kbit/s for 8 timeslots) in packet mode and will therefore meet the International Telecommunications Union's requirement for a 3G network, and has been accepted by the ITU as part of the IMT-2000 family of 3G standards. It also enhances the circuit data mode called HSCSD, increasing the data rate of this service. EDGE has been introduced into GSM networks around the world since 2003, initially in North America. EDGE is actively supported by GSM operators in North America. Some GSM operators elsewhere view UMTS as the ultimate upgrade path and either plan to skip EDGE altogether or use it outside the UMTS coverage area. However, the high cost and slow uptake of UMTS (as demonstrated by the upstart network 3) have resulted in fairly common support for EDGE in the global GSM/GPRS market. Although EDGE requires no hardware changes to be made in GSM core networks, base stations, however, must be modified. EDGE compatible transceiver units must be installed and the base station subsystem (BSS) needs to be upgraded to support EDGE. New mobile terminal hardware and software is also required to decode/encode the new modulation and coding schemes and carry the higher user data rates to implement new services. Whether EDGE is 2G or 3G depends on implementation. While Class 3 and below EDGE devices clearly are not 3G, class 4 and above devices perform at a higher bandwidth than other technologies conventionally considered as 3G (such as 1xRTT).
iDEN
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN) is a mobile communications technology, developed by Motorola, which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular telephone. iDEN places more users in a given spectral space, compared to analog cellular systems, by using time division multiple access (TDMA). Up to six communication channels share a 25 kHz space; some competing technologies place only one channel in 12.5 kHz. In the United States there are two iDEN service providers: Sprint/Nextel and SouthernLINC Wireless. Countries which have operating iDEN networks not currently connected with the US include Canada, Jordan, Israel, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, El Salvador and China. Motorola is committed to continued support of iDEN technology despite the Sprint buyout of Nextel and Sprint/Nextel's supposed eventual conversion to Sprint's CDMA system. Nextel has stated they will support iDEN until at least 2010, while other iDEN carriers have no forseeable expiration date for their services. iDEN's Push-To-Talk feature is the fastest in the industry.
CDMA
Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a form of multiplexing (not a modulation scheme) and a method of multiple access that does not divide up the channel by time (as in TDMA), or frequency (as in FDMA), but instead encodes data with a special code associated with each channel and uses the constructive interference properties of the special codes to perform the multiplexing. CDMA also refers to digital cellular telephony systems that make use of this multiple access scheme, such as those pioneered by Qualcomm, or W-CDMA. CDMA is a military technology first used during World War II by English allies to foil German attempts at jamming transmissions. The allies decided to transmit over several frequencies, instead of one, making it difficult for the Germans to pick up the complete signal. CDMA has since been used in many communications systems, including the Global Positioning System (GPS) and in the OmniTRACS satellite system for transportation logistics. The latter system was designed and built by Qualcomm, and became the seed which helped Qualcomm engineers to invent Soft Handoff and fast power control, the necessary technologies that made CDMA practical and efficient for terrestrial cellular communications.
Mobitex
Mobitex is an OSI based open standard, national public access wireless data network first introduced in 1991 by carriers RAM Mobile Data and in Canada 1990 by Rogers Cantel. Developed by Ericsson, Mobitex puts great emphasis on safety and reliability with its use by military, police, firefighters and ambulance services. During 9/11 and the 2005 Hurricane rescue and clean up operations, Mobitex proved itself to be a very reliable and useful system for first responders. In the mid '90s Mobitex gained consumer popularity by providing two-way paging network services. It was the first wireless network to provide always on, wireless push email services such as RadioMail and Inter@ctive Paging. It is also used by the first model of Research in Motion's BlackBerry, and PDAs such as the Palm VII. Mobitex is a packet-switched, narrowband, data-only technology mainly for short burst data. Mobitex channels are 12.5 kHz wide. In North America, Mobitex runs at 900 MHz, while in Europe it used 400-450 MHz. The modulation scheme used is GMSK with a slotted aloha protocol at 8000 bits/s, although user throughput is typically around half of that. The Network provided the first public access wireless data communication services in North America. Subscriber services included electronic messaging with Cc capabilities to multiple recipients combined with the ability to logon to any wireless or fixed terminal and receive stored mailbox messages, ie. push messaging. Mobitex is offered on over 30 networks on five continents. However, as of 2005, it is primarily used in the USA and Canada. European Mobitex networks withered in the shadow of the overwhelming success of GSM there in the early 1990's. Mobitex networks in North America have been marketed under several names, including RAM Mobile Data, BellSouth Wireless Data, Cingular Interactive, Cingular Wireless and Velocita Wireless (now part of the Sprint Nextel group)and Rogers Wireless in Canada. Mobitex is now marketed world wide by Mobitex Technology.
