802.11b
Industry standard for wireless Internet use, analogous to Wi-Fi. Operates through radio frequencies around 2.4 GHz. Common electronics like cordless phones and microwaves also operate on this frequency.

Access Point
A hardware device that serves as a communications hub to provide a wireless connection to a wireless-enabled computer. The range of an Access Point can be up to 300 feet.

Analog
Radio signals that are converted into a format that allows them to carry data.

Antenna
A device for transmitting and/or receiving signals. The size and shape of antennas are determined, in large part, by the frequency of the signal they are receiving.

Bandwidth
The size of a network "pipe" or channel for communications in wired networks. In wireless, it refers to the range of available frequencies that can carry signal.

Bits per Second (bps)
A measurement of how fast data moves over a communication line. A bit is the basic measure of data.

BlackBerry:
Two-way wireless device, made by Waterloo, Ontario-based Research in Motion, that allows users to check e-mail and voice mail (translated into text), as well as page other users via a wireless network service. Also known as a Rim device, it has a miniature qwerty keyboard for users to type their messages. It uses the SMS protocol (see SMS). BlackBerry users most subscribe to a wireless service that allows for data transmission.

Bluetooth
A short-range wireless specification that allows for radio connections between devices within a 30-foot range of each other. The name comes from 10th-century Danish King Harald Blatand (Bluetooth), who unified Denmark and Norway.

Circuit Switched
Used by wireless carriers, this method lets user connect to a network or the Internet by dialing in, such as with a traditional phone line. It's a dial-in Internet service provider for wireless device users. Circuit-switched connections can be slow and unreliable compared with packet-switched networks, but for now circuit-switched networks are the primary method of Internet and network access for wireless users in the United States.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
SDSL. Two other types of xDSL technologies are High-data-rate DSL (HDSL) and Very high DSL (VDSL). DSL technologies use sophisticated modulation schemes to pack data onto copper wires. They are sometimes referred to as last-mile technologies because they are used only for connections from a telephone switching station to a home or office, not between switching stations. xDSL is similar to ISDN inasmuch as both operate over existing copper telephone lines (POTS) and both require the short runs to a central telephone office (usually less than 20,000 feet). However, xDSL offers much higher speeds - up to 32 Mbps for upstream traffic, and from 32 Kbps to over 1 Mbps for downstream traffic.

Dial-Up
A dial-up connection is a connection from a computer to a server over standard telephone lines, establishing a direct connection to the Internet.

Driver
A driver is a program that controls a device; it acts as a translator between the device and programs that use the device.

Firewall
A software program that keeps unauthorized users out of a private network. Everything entering or leaving a system's internal network passes through the firewall and must meet the system's security standards in order to be transmitted. Often used to keep unauthorized people from using systems connected to the Internet.

Fixed Wireless
Refers to wireless devices or systems that are situated in fixed locations, such as an office or home, as opposed to devices that are mobile, such as cell phones and PDAs. Fixed wireless devices normally derive their electrical power from utility mains, as opposed to portable wireless devices that normally derive their power from batteries.

Gigahertz (GHz)
One billion hertz. A Hertz is the international unit for measuring frequency, equivalent to the older unit of cycles per second. The standard U.S. electrical power frequency is 60 Hz and wireless 802.11 LANs operate at 2.4 GHz.

GPRS (general packet radio service)
A technology that sends packets of data across a wireless network at speeds of up to 114Kbps. It is a step up from the circuit-switched method; wireless users do not have to dial in to networks to download information. With GPRS, wireless devices are always on-they can receive and send information without dial-ins. GPRS is designed to work with GSM.

GSM (global system for mobile communications)
A standard for how data is coded and transferred through the wireless spectrum. The European wireless standard also used in Asia, GSM is an alternative to CDMA. GSM digitizes and compresses data and sends it down a channel with two other streams of user data. The standard is based on time division multiple access.

HOTSPOTZZ-In-A-Box
The Hotspot-In-A-Box package includes all the network equipment needed to install a wireless hotspot as well as end-user billing capabilities.

I-Mode
A wildly popular service in Japan for transferring packet-based data to handheld devices. I-Mode is based on a compact version of HTML and does not use WAP (see WAP), setting it apart from other widely used transmission methods. I-Mode's creator, NTT DoCoMo of Tokyo, agreed in November 2000 to pay $9.8 billion to buy 16 percent of AT&T Wireless. Since then, AT&T Wireless has talked about bringing I-Mode to the United States by the end of 2001-a daunting prospect that requires the rebuilding of U.S. wireless networks, analysts say. DoCoMo is developing a version of I-Mode that supports the WAP standard.

Internet
A global network of computer networks, evolved from the ARPANET that use TCP/IP to communicate and share information. Often, the Internet refers to a group of Local Area Networks (LAN) connected by wire, radio, satellite signals or some other form of communication.

Internet Protocol
A method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on a network or over the Internet. IP provides the basis of the Internet.

IP-Address (IP)
A 32-bit number that identifies each sender or receiver of information that is sent across the Internet. An IP address has two parts: the identifier of a particular network on the Internet and an identifier of the particular device (which can be a server or a workstation) within that network.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)
An organization that provides access to the Internet. Small ISPs provide service via modem and ISDN while the larger ones also offer private line hookups (T1, fractional T1, etc.). Kilobytes per second (Kbps) It is 1,000 bits per second, a measure of the speed in which data can be transmitted from one device to another.

Kbps (kilobits per second)
A measurement of bandwidth in the United States.

Laptop Computer
A small, portable computer -- small enough that it can sit on your lap. Nowadays, laptop computers are more frequently called notebook computers.

Local Area Network (LAN)
A high-speed, privately owned computer network covering a limited geographical area, such as an office or a building. The benefits include the sharing of Internet access, files, and equipment such as printers and storage devices. Wireless LANs use wireless communications in a home or office to network all PCs together.

Megabyte (MB)
A megabyte (MB) is a standard measure of data size. A megabyte is equal to 1024 kilobytes (KB).

Mobile Internet Value Pack
The Mobile Internet Value Pack gives you access when and where you need it. Whether you're at home, traveling or visiting your favorite coffee shop, you can stay connected at high-speeds for a fraction of the price of a dial-up connection.

Modem
A device used to connect a computer to a phone line, which converts signals between a digital form and an analog form.

Network
Two or more computers connected together in order to share resources.

Packet
A chunk of data that is sent over a network, whether it's the Internet or wireless network. Packet data is the basis for packet-switched networks, which are under development in the United States as a faster, more reliable method of transferring wireless data than a circuit-switched network. Packet-switched networks eliminate the need to dial in to send or receive information because they are "always on," transferring data without the need to dial. The packets that hold data depend on the size of the data involved; "chunks" are broken down into an efficient size for routing. Each of these packets has a separate number and carries the Internet address for which it is destined.

Packet-switched network
Networks that transfer packets of data.

PayGo (Pay as You Go)
The PayGo (Pay as You Go) plan gives you the freedom to use HOTSPOTZZ just when you need it for just $5.95. You get 12 consecutive hours of non-stop HOTSPOTZZ at one location! (Time expires 12 hours after sign-up. Additional time can be purchased in 12-hour increments at any location after expiration.) One time registration! Once you set up a PayGo account, you simply log back on with the same username and password. No contract minimum requirement and NO activation fees.

PDA (personal digital assistant)
Mobile, handheld devices-such as the Palm series and Handspring Visors-that give users access to text-based information. Users can synchronize their PDAs with a PC or network; some models support wireless communication to retrieve and send e-mail and get information from the Web.

Router
A device that forwards data from one WLAN or wired local area network to another. The router is able to determine the fastest and most reliable way to send data from LAN to LAN.

Server
The computer or software that holds information and responds to requests for services from other computers known as clients.

T1
A telephone company's high-speed, leased-line connection for data traffic.

TDMA (time division multiple access)
This protocol allows large numbers of users to access one radio frequency by allocating time slots for use to multiple voice or data calls. TDMA breaks down data transmission, such as a phone conversation, into fragments and transmits each fragment in a short burst, assigning each fragment a time slot. With a cell phone, the caller would not detect this fragmentation. Whereas CDMA (which is used more frequently in the United States) breaks down calls on a signal by codes, TDMA breaks them down by time. The result in both cases: increased network capacity for the wireless carrier and a lack of interference for the caller. TDMA works with GSM and digital cellular services.

WASP (wireless application service provider)
These vendors provide hosted wireless applications so that companies will not have to build their own sophisticated wireless infrastructures. Vendors include Etrieve and Wireless Knowledge.

WCDMA (wideband CDMA)
A third-generation wireless technology under development that allows for high-speed, high-quality data transmission. Derived from CDMA, WCDMA digitizes and transmits wireless data over a broad range of frequencies. It requires more bandwidth than CDMA but offers faster transmission because it optimizes the use of multiple wireless signals-not just one, as with CDMA.

WEP (Wired equivalent privacy)
Wired equivalent privacy or wired encryption protocol, basic Wi-Fi security used to protect data and Internet access from outside users. The encryption process uses algorithms to secure data being transferred via radio waves.

Wi-Fi (shorthand for "wirless fidelity")
Is the common term for a high-frequency wireless local-area network (WLAN). The term used generically when referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band, etc. Wi-Fi operates in the 2.4 GHz range offering data speeds up to 11 megabits per second. Wi-Fi is gaining acceptance as an alternative to a wired LAN in companies and multicomputer homes. Unless protected, a Wi-Fi wireless LAN can be susceptible to access from the outside by unauthorized user seeking to access the Internet for free. Locating and exploiting security-exposed WLANs is called war driving. Warchalking is the term for the markings used to indicate where an exposed WLAN is accessible. Companies can safeguard these networks using the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption standard, a virtual private network and other options.

Wireless LAN
It uses radio frequency technology to transmit network messages through the air for relatively short distances, like across an office building or college campus. A wireless LAN can serve as a replacement for or extension to a wired LAN.

Wireless Spectrum
A band of frequencies where wireless signals travel carrying voice and data information. Wireless carriers are bidding at Federal Communications Commission auctions on slivers of airwaves through which they will ultimately be able to send third-generation communications. The auctions, which began in December 2000 in the United States and already occurred in several European nations, will give providers access to new pieces of the spectrum that will allow them to move to third-generation services. More auctions relevant to 3G communications are on tap (see 3G).

WISP (wireless Internet service provider)
A vendor that specializes in providing wireless Internet access.

WML (wireless markup language)
A version of HDML, WML is based on XML and will run with its own version of JavaScript. Wireless application developers use WML to repurpose content for wireless devices.