Glossary
| AAA | Authentication, Authorization and Accounting. A method for transmitting roaming access requests in the form of user credentials (typically user@domain and password) service authorization, and session accounting details between devices and networks in a real-time manner. |
| Alliance Members | The members of Wireless Broadband Alliance consisting of Operators, WRIX providers, Wi-Fi Infrastructure Vendors, Software Vendors and other ecosystem players. |
| Broadband router | A device that provides access to the internet for multiple computers. Routers typically include a network switch with four or more Ethernet ports for wired connections to desktop and laptop computers. ‘Wireless’ broadband routers include an 802.11 access point. The device switches internet traffic between the computers and a cable or DSL modem, and non-internet traffic between machines. Routers also include a network switch and DHCP server (to assign IP addresses to stations). |
| CDMA | Code Division Multiple Access; also known as spread spectrum, CDMA cellular systems utilise a single frequency band for all traffic, differentiating the individual transmissions by assigning them unique codes before transmission. There are a number of variants of CDMA (see W-CDMA, B-CDMA, TD-SCDMA et al) |
| EAP | Extensible Authentication Protocol or EAP is used to pass the authentication information between the supplicant (e.g. the Wi-Fi device) and the authentication server (usually a radius server). The actual authentication is defined and handled by the EAP type. |
| EAP-AKA | EAP-Authentication and Key Agreement protocol |
| EAP-FAST | EAP-FAST (Flexible Authentication via Secure Tunneling) |
| EAP-SIM | Extensible Authentication Protocol Method for GSM Subscriber Identity, or EAP-SIM, is an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) mechanism for authentication and session key distribution using the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). |
| EAP-TLS | Extensible Authentication Protocol Transport Layer Security |
| EAP-TTLS | EAP-TTLS (Tunneled Transport Layer Security) |
| EVDO | Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data only, abbreviated as EV-DO or EVDO and often EV, is a telecommunications standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals, typically for broadband Internet access. It uses multiplexing techniques including Code division multiple access (CDMA) as well as Time division multiple access (TDMA) to maximize both individual user's throughput and the overall system throughput. It is standardized by 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) as part of the CDMA2000 family of standards and has been adopted by many mobile phone service providers around the world – particularly those previously employing CDMA networks. |
| GSM | Global System for Mobile communications, the second generation digital technology originally developed for Europe but which now has in excess of 71 per cent of the world market. Initially developed for operation in the 900MHz band and subsequently modified for the 850, 1800 and 1900MHz bands. GSM originally stood for Groupe Speciale Mobile, the CEPT committee which began the GSM standardisation process |
| Hotspot | A location where users can access the Internet using Wi-Fi laptops and other Wi-Fi enabled devices. Access may be provided free or for a fee. Hotspots are often found at coffee shops, hotels, airport lounges, train stations, convention centers, gas stations, truck stops and other public meeting areas. Corporations and campuses often offer it to visitors and guests. Hotspot service is sometimes available aboard planes, trains and boats. |
| LTE | 3GPP Long Term Evolution, a beyond-third-generation mobile broadband standard |
| PDA | Personal Digital Assistant |
| RADIUS | Remote Access Dial-Up User Service. A standard technology used by many major corporations to protect access to wireless networks. RADIUS is a user name and password scheme that enables only approved users to access the network; it does not affect or encrypt data. The first time a user wants access to the network, secure files or net locations, he or she must input his or her name and password and submit it over the network to the RADIUS server. The server then verifies that the individual has an account and, if so, ensures that the person uses the correct password before she or he can get on the network. RADIUS can be set up to provide different access levels or classes of access. For example, one level can provide blanket access to the Internet; another can provide access to the Internet as well as to e-mail communications; yet another account class can provide access to the Net, email and the secure business file server. Like other sophisticated security technologies, RADIUS comes in a variety of types and levels. |
| Roaming | The ability to move seamlessly from one area of Wi-Fi or cellular phone coverage to another with no loss in connectivity. Roaming also refers to the ability to wirelessly connect to the Internet from different hotspots without confronting the array of schemes used by different providers to authorize use and track billing. Roaming agreements among providers allow mobile professionals to a single authentication and authorization scheme to have all charges resolved to a single bill. |
| SSID | A unique 32-character network name, or identifier, that differentiates one wireless LAN from another. All access points and clients attempting to connect to a specific WLAN must use the same SSID. The SSID can be any alphanumeric entry up to a maximum of 32 characters. |
| SSL | SSL-Secured Sockets Layer. A protocol used to secure Internet communications. SSL is commonly used to encrypt transactions on online retail and banking. SSL encrypts the exchange of information between a user's browser and Web server so only the intended parties can read it. When an SSL session begins, the server sends its public key to the browser. The browser then sends a randomly generated secret key back to the server in order to have a secret key exchange for that session. |
| UMTS | It is one of the third-generation (3G) mobile telecommunications technologies, which is also being developed into a 4G technology. |
| WBA | Wireless Broadband Alliance. |
| WCDMA | It is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile telecommunications networks |
| Wi-Fi | Wireless Fidelity. A certification logo for Ethernet devices that comply with the 802.11 standard, offered by the Wi-Fi Alliance. (Source: TechEncyclopedia.) |
| WiMAX | WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, which is also called WirelessMAN. |
| WISPr 1.0 | “Wireless Internet Service Provider roaming”. This is a best practices document available in the public domain. This protocol defines the Smart Client to Access Gateway interface. This Universal Access Method (UAM)protocol has become widely used to access public IEEE 802.11 |
| WISPr 2.0 | This document contains release 2.0 of the Annex D “Smart Client to Access Gateway Protocol” defined in WISPr 1.0 best practices document which has been available in the public domain. WISPr 2.0 scope is limited to the specification of client software to public WLAN network interface. The WISP 2.0 is designed for “non” IEEE 802.1x networks as it requires IP communication with the AGW prior to the authentication of the user. WISPr offers authentication services based on layer 3 networking. It is designed as a front-end to authentication protocols such as Radius, Diameter and the WBA WRIX specification. |
| WLAN | A local area network that transmits over the air typically in the 2.4GHz or 5GHz unlicensed frequency band. It does not require line of sight between sender and receiver. Wireless base stations (access points) are wired to an Ethernet network and transmit a radio frequency over an area of up to several hundred metres through walls and other non-metal barriers. Roaming users can be handed off from one access point to another like a cellular phone system. The wireless LAN standard today is 802.11 (Wi-Fi), and modems are either built in to laptops or added via a PC card. Desktop machines can be equipped with 802.11 PCI cards. For short distances between two devices, Bluetooth wireless is used (does not support roaming). Infrared transmission (IrDA) is used for very short distances between two devices, and requires line of sight. |
| WRIX | Wireless Roaming Intermediary eXchange – a modular set of standard service specifications to facilitate commercial roaming between operators. It includes WRIX-i (Interconnect), WRIX-d (Data Clearing) and WRIX-f (Financial Settlement). Each of these can be deployed by Visited Network Providers (VNPs) and Home Service Providers (HSPs) either in-house or through an intermediary WRIX service provider. |
| WRIX - L | This document defines the format and data the operators shall exchange for feeds of partner service locations. This specification includes both the file format and file exchange method. It clearly describes the Mandatory verses Optional fields in the WBA Location database so that there is uniformity of information across all the WBA Members. |
| 3G | 3G is the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology, superseding 2G. It is based on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) family of standards under the International Mobile Telecommunications programme. |
| 802.11 IEEE | 802.11 is a set of standards carrying out wireless local area network (WLAN) computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. They are implemented by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee |
| 802.16 IEEE | 802.16 is a series of Wireless Broadband standards authored by the IEEE. The current version is IEEE 802.16-2009 amended by IEEE 802.16j-2009. Though officially under IEEE umbrella it is referred to as 802.16 or WirelessMAN, it has been commercialized under the name “WiMAX” (from "Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access") by the industry alliance called the WiMAX Forum. |
| 802.1x | IEEE 802.1X is an IEEE Standard for port-based Network Access Control ("port" meaning a single point of attachment to the LAN infrastructure). It is part of the IEEE 802.1 group of networking protocols. It provides an authentication mechanism to devices wishing to attach to a LAN, either establishing a point-to-point connection or preventing it if authentication fails. It is used for most wireless 802.11 access points and is based on the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP). |
