Glossary of Terms:
In case there are any words related to cellular plans or cell phones we've provided this cell phone glossary for you.

Access fee: A special fee that local telephone companies are allowed to charge all telephone customers for the right to connect with the local phone network. Cellular subscribers pay this fee along with a 3 percent federal telephone excise tax.

Airtime: Actual time spent talking on the cellular telephone. Most carriers bill customers based on how many minutes of airtime they use each month. Airtime charges during peak periods of the day vary from about 20 cents to more than 40 cents per minute, depending on the service plan selected. Most carriers offer reduced rates for off-peak usage.

Alphanumeric: A message or other type of readout containing both letters ("alphas") and numbers ("numerics"). In cellular, "alphanumeric memory dial" is a special type of dial-from-memory option that displays both the name of the individual and that individual's phone number on the cellular phone handset. The name also can be recalled by using the letters on the phone keypad. By contrast, standard memory dial recalls numbers from number-only locations.

Authentication: A fraud prevention technology that takes a number of values to create a shared, secret value used to verify a user's authenticity.

Caller I.D.: A call-screening feature that allows the user to pinpoint the origin of an incoming call prior to answering the phone.

Digital modulation: A method of decoding information for transmission. Information, or in this case, a voice conversation is turned into a series of digital bits - the 0s and 1s of computer binary language. At the receiving end, the information is reconverted.
ESN (Electronic Serial Number): Each cellular phone is assigned a unique ESN, which is automatically transmitted to the cellular tower station every time a cellular call is placed. The Mobile Telephone Switching Office validates the ESN with each call.

Frequency reuse: The ability to use the same frequencies repeatedly across a cellular system, made possible by the basic design approach for cellular. Since each cell is designed to use radio frequencies only within its boundaries, the same frequencies can be reused in other cells not far away with little potential for interference. The reuse of frequencies is what enables a cellular system to handle a huge number of calls with a limited number of channels.

Handoff: The process by which the Mobile Telephone Switching Office passes a cellular phone conversation from one radio frequency in one cell to another radio frequency in another. The handoff is performed so quickly that users usually never notice.

Hands-free: An important safety feature that's included with most of today's mobile phones. It permits drivers to use their cellular phone without lifting or holding the handset to their ear.
Message alert: (Also referred to as "call-in-absence" indicator) A light or other indicator announcing that a phone call came in; an especially important feature if the cellular subscriber has voice mail.

No-answer transfer: A service feature (provided by some cellular carriers in combination with call-waiting) that automatically transfers an incoming cellular call to another phone number if the cellular subscriber is unable to answer.

Off-peak: The period of time after the business day has ended during which carriers may offer reduced airtime charges.

Peak: Highest-usage period of the business day when a cellular system carries the most calling traffic.

Repertory dialing: Sometimes known as "memory dialing" or "speed-calling." A feature that allows you to recall from 1-to-99 (or more) phone numbers from a phone's memory with the touch of just one, two or three buttons.

Roaming: The ability to use your cellular phone outside your usual service area - when traveling, for example.

Service plan: A rate plan selected by subscribers when they start up cellular service, usually consisting of a base rate for system access and a per-minute rate for usage. Service plans are designed to provide the most cost-effective rates for different types and amounts of usage by the cellular subscriber.
Standby time: The amount of time you can leave your fully charged cellular portable or transportable phone turned on before the phone will completely discharge the batteries. See talk time.

Talk time: The length of time you can talk on your portable or transportable cellular phone without recharging the battery. The battery capacity of a cellular portable or transportable is usually expressed in terms of so many minutes of talk time OR so many hours of standby time. When you're talking, the phone draws additional power from the battery.

Voice-activated dialing: A feature available only on selected phones that permits you to dial numbers by calling them out to your cellular phone, instead of dialing them manually. This function is especially convenient for making calls from your vehicle while driving.

Voice mail: (Also called voice messaging) A computerized answering service that automatically answers your call, plays a greeting in your own voice and records a message. After you retrieve your messages, you can delete, save, reply to or forward the messages to someone else on your voice mail system.

Common Misspellings

It's amazing how many ways people spell the various words relating to the cell phone industry. Here's just a few of the more popular misspellings:

Kyocera - kyosera, keocera, keyocera, kyoceta, kyocerra, kiocera and kiosera.

Ericsson - erricson, erriccson, ericson, ericssen and erricssen.

Nokia - nokia, nokkia, nokiia, nolia, nokio, mokia and nopia.

Motorola - motorala, motorolo, notorola, motorolla

Cell phone - cellphone, cellphone, cellularphone, cellularphones, celphone, and celphones.

Batteries - battery, bateries, and batery.

Samsung - samsun, sansung,

Verizon - Verison, verixon

Nextel - nextell, nestel, nex tel, nex tell