Glossary

ADSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line: This is the method, which provides broad band always on Internet access for many organisations. Asymmetric means that the upload speed is slower than the down load speed i.e. 512 kb/s download with 128 kb/s upload. ADSL is being provided at faster rates with 4 Mb/s now being quite common.

Adapter Modules: Clip on underneath an Optipoint handset. The following types are available:

Phone adapter: Provides support for another Optipoint handset. It is entirely independent from its host having a separate telephone number and features. Both Optipoints’ can be used simultaneously. This is a very useful feature when either the Hipath system is running out of capacity or it would be difficult and expensive to provide additional wiring.
Analogue adapter : Provides support for an analogue extension. It is entirely independent from its host having a separate telephone number and features. Both extensions’ can be used simultaneously. This is very useful where a modem or fax machine is required in the same vicinity.
ISDN adapter : Provides an ISDN line. The ISDN line is independent from the host except where applications utilise both channels. I.e. The Optipoint telephone could not be used. This is useful for digital faxes or fax servers or where broadband is not available or practical.
Headset adapter : Gives support for a headset to be plugged into an Optipoint telephone. Provides facilities for volume control, switching from headset to handset and one touch answering of calls.

Agent(s): In call centre speak anybody who, answers calls in a call centre is known as an agent.

Analogue adapter: Provides support for an analogue extension. It is entirely independent from its host having a separate telephone number and features. Both extensions’ can be used simultaneously. This is very useful where a modem or fax machine is required in the same vicinity.

Assistant C: Is a user friendly windows based customer programming tool, which enables organisations to effect most of their moves and changes on a Siemens Hipath system, at considerable cost saving. Please see download in section “Moves and Changes” for further information on Assistant C.

BT Business Plan: In return for a spending commitment of between £250 & £5000 + per annum (Minimum contract period 12 months) Brightel Datanet can arrange the following:-

Free upgrade to ISDN 2E lines
A lower per minute rate in accordance with the amount of commitment
National & Local calls capped at 10p for up to an hours duration
Mobile calls capped at 30p for up to an hours duration
International calls capped at 30p for up to an hours duration

Bearer: Is the physical media used to carry information. It can be a copper pair of wires typically used for analogue lines, ISDN 2E, broadband, and sometimes ISDN30E. It can be fibre optic sometimes used for ISDN30E or private circuits.

Call Centre: For further information please see our section “Call & Contact Centres”

Callview: Is a Siemens approved Hipath ready suite of software from third party developer Swan solutions supporting a range of CTI and call centre features for the Siemens Hipath range of systems.

Card(s): Cards are housed in slots in the Siemens Hipath control unit. A number of different types of card are available to support the likes of extensions, lines, voicemail, VOIP working etc.

Card Slot(s): Are the slots in a Siemens Hipath system into which cards are inserted. A number of different types of card are available to support the likes of extensions, lines, voicemail, VOIP working etc.

Carrier: Any company, which connects telephone calls also known as a network provider. E.G.:- BT, Cable & Wireless, NTL

Cat 5 Cabling: is a structured data cabling system based on twisted copper pairs with a bandwidth of up to 1000mb/s.

Cat 5E Cabling: is a structured data cabling system based on twisted copper pairs with a bandwidth of up to 1000mb/s. New cabling is usually of this standard.

Catastrophic Failure: More than 20% of the extensions on a Siemens system are not working.

Central Control Unit: Or CCU; Is the unit at the heart of a Siemens telephone system which, can be either rack, wall or floor mounted, containing the processor, and cards for interfaces or connection points to lines, extensions and computer networks.

Control Unit: Is the unit at the heart of a Siemens telephone system which, can be either rack, wall or floor mounted, containing the processor, and cards for interfaces or connection points to lines, extensions and computer networks.

CPS Carrier Pre-Select: Your BT telephone lines are permanently connected to an alternative carrier at the BT exchange. All your calls are routed through that carrier. Due to excessive bureaucracy and reluctance for carriers to release lines to rivals it can take a long time to be connected and a long time to cease connection.

CLI Calling Line Identity: Is the telephone number displayed on a Siemens display phone from an incoming call. It is also the telephone number displayed to the called party when you phone them (Outgoing CLI). Not all incoming calls have a CLI. With the Siemens Hipath 3000 you can opt to send outgoing CLI, on a system wide, per extension or per call basis. You can also elect to send the main system number or the individual extension.

CSTA Computer supported telephony application: Is a standard defining the communication protocols between a telephony server on a computer network and a telephone system.

CTI Computer telephony integration: Please see our Computer telephony integration section for more information.

DECT Digital European Cordless Telephony: Is a standard defined by ETSI the European telecomms standards institute, used for home and business cordless, cordless headsets, and integrated cordless systems like the Siemens Hipath solution.

DDI Direct Dialling Inwards: Means that a telephone number dialled in the public network can directly ring an extension or extension group on your Siemens telephone system. DDI numbers can be purchased for ISDN lines in blocks of 10 from BT. ISDN lines are not associated with a specific number so you can have many more numbers than lines. I.e. A Siemens system with 10 lines and 50 extensions could have a DDI number for each extension.

Extension(s): Are the telephones and terminals connected to a Siemens telephone system. Also known as handsets, phones, telephone instruments, work points and work stations. They can be:-

Analogue: including ordinary telephones, Fax machines, modems or DECT cordless
Digital: are Siemens system phones including Optiset & Optipoint 500 ranges
Integrated Cordless: Siemens Gigaset range for inclusion with Siemens Cordless Systems
IP Hard phones: Optipoint 410 & 420 ranges; similar to the Optipoint 500 range but utilising VOIP
IP soft phones: Opticlient 130 is a PC hosted VOIP phone

See our “Optipoint Handsets” section for further information on Optipoint phones

Extension Group(s), Also known as Group, Hunt Group or Ring Group: Is a collection of extensions in a Siemens system, which when rung either internally or from the public network can ring:

Collective or Group : All extensions ring at once
Sequential : Each extension is rung in turn from a fixed point

Cyclic: phones in group ring one at a time from the one after the last one rung

Uniform Call Distribution: The phone that has not had a call for the longest time rings next

If an extension is busy or its out of group key is activated the next extension in the group rings.

First Party CTI: Means that the computer and telephone on the user’s desktop are directly connected together.

FCT Fixed Cellular Terminal: This is effectively a special mobile phone, which is connected to your Siemens telephone system. By purchasing minutes on a monthly basis in accordance with the number of calls from your office to mobile phones you can considerably reduce this part of your bill. Your calls are now mobile to mobile and not landline to mobile which can be considerably cheaper.

Free Call Flow: An agent who is logged on receives a warning tone followed by the next call without their phone ringing. Administration can program the normal length of time between calls and the agent can extend the administration time between calls when necessary using a key known as the “wrap up” key.

Full Duplex hands free: Without lifting the handset you can have a normal conversation over the loud speaker just as if you were using the handset. This is a major improvement over half duplex whereby whichever party was speaking loudest cut off the other party. Very useful for small conferences.

Half Duplex hands free: conversation is only possible in one direction at once. Whichever party is speaking cuts off the other party.

Headset adapter : Gives support for a headset to be plugged into an Optipoint telephone. Provides facilities for volume control, switching from headset to handset and one touch answering of calls.

HG 1500: Is the card used in a Siemens Hipath system to support VOIP and associated features. Please see our section “Convergence VOIP” for further information.

Hipath Ready: Means that an application designed by a third party has been tested and approved by Siemens to work with a Siemens Hipath system

Hybrid telephone systems: Like the Siemens Hipath 3000 means that as well as supporting quality VOIP communication they support conventional infrastructure such as analogue and digital lines and extensions. This protects your investment in cabling and handsets and allows you to progress your VOIP roll out as and when you decide.

Integrated voice mail: Is Siemens Xpressions or the new “entry level voice mail” EVM, now included with smaller Hipath systems, which is physically located in the Siemens Hipath 3000 system.

Installation & Commissioning: Prices vary in accordance with site circumstances and system size. I.e. A site already cabled with CAT 5 cabling will be considerably cheaper than one which requires Brightel Datanet to effect major cabling infrastructure changes. Please ring 01273 244400 to discuss your site. Quotes would be subject to survey.

Integrated Cordless: Please see our “Cordless Systems” section for more information.

IP Internet Protocol: As used for VOIP voice over Internet protocol. extensions utilising VOIP are often referred to as IP phones.

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network: This was developed as a voice and data service. The data side has largely been superseded by the advent of broadband service. Still used for data where broadband is unavailable and still very important for telephony. ISDN 2E means 2 speech channels per line. ISDN 30 means 30 channels per line.

ISDN2E Integrated Services Digital Network: This was developed as a voice and data service. The data side has largely been superseded by the advent of broadband service. Still used for data where broadband is unavailable and still very important for telephony. ISDN 2E means 2 speech channels per line.

ISDN30E Integrated Services Digital Network: As ISDN 2E above but up to 30 speech channels on one line.

ISDN adapter : Provides an ISDN line. The ISDN line is independent from the host except where applications utilise both channels. I.e. The Optipoint telephone could not be used. This is useful for digital faxes or fax servers or where broadband is not available or practical.

Key Modules: Are added to Optipoint telephones to facilitate more one touch key features. The keys can be programmed as appropriate for any telephone feature. Typically used by receptionists to show at a glance which extensions are busy.

LAN Local Area Network: Is the network comprising servers, computers and cabling situated at one location.

LCR Least Cost routing: Please see our section on “Least Cost Routing” in “Network Services” for further information.

Least Cost Routing : Please see our section on “Least Cost Routing” in “Network Services” for further information.

Lines: telephone lines used to connect a Siemens system to the public network. Also known as trunks and exchange lines.

List Dialling: A group of agents are presented with a list of people to call on their PC’s. They mouse click a number on the list to initiate the call. A form usually appears at the end of the call, which the agent completes with that call’s results.

Maintenance Contract: Please see our “Maintenance and Support” section for further information.

Mini switch: Enables you to plug your PC into your Optipoint phone and your Optipoint into the computer network. This means that as only one data point is required per desk considerable savings can be made on cabling costs

Moves and Changes: Please see our section “Moves and Changes” for further information.

Multi-Media: more than one media; typically in a call centre environment; voice, Email and FAX.

Network Services: For more information please see our “Network Services” section.

On hook dialling: Calls can be made without lifting the handset. Tones and speech are heard on the speaker. The called party cannot hear you until you lift the handset and speak.

Optiguide: Used on Siemens range of system display phones such as the optipoint and cordless Gigaset ranges. Context sensitive help lets you know your options at any point in the call. Simple sophistication without the need for a weighty handbook.

Optiset range of Siemens system phones: Please see our “2nd User” section for more information on the Siemens Optiset range.

Optipoint: Please see our section “Optipoint handsets” for further information.

Opticlient 130: Software to enable a fully featured Hipath extension to run on a PC with either a USB phone or Multi-Media facilities.Please download “Opticlient 130 V5 brochure” at the end of our section “Optipoint handsets” for further information.

PABX: Private Automatic Branch Exchange is a commonly used term to describe a telephone system situated in an organisations premises. Also in common use is PBX: Private Branch Exchange. Telephone systems can also be described as; switches switchboards, exchanges, telephony servers and nodes.

Paging: By pressing a key or dialling a code on a Siemens Hipath system an announcement can be broadcast to all or a group of Siemens system phones containing a loud speaker. When looking for a specific person to take a waiting call the wanted person can answer the page and pick up the call. The Hipath paging system can be integrated with a conventional public address system to cover large areas.

Partial Failure: Less than 20% of the extensions on a Siemens system have failed.

Phone adapter : Provides support for another Optipoint handset. It is entirely independent from its host having a separate telephone number and features. Both Optipoints’ can be used simultaneously. This is a very useful feature when either the Hipath system is running out of capacity or it would be difficult and expensive to provide additional wiring.

Port(s): Is the physical interface or connection point between different elements of a system. I.e. one extension port on the Central Control Unit (CCU), will connect one extension to the system. There are ports on the CCU for other types of connection interface, including telephone lines and computers. Optipoint system phones can also have ports for connection to headsets etc.

Power Hubs: Are a way of providing power to VOIP phones via data cabling and the computer network, eliminating the need for a power supply (PSU) for every individual VOIP phone.

Primus: Is a US based international phone service provider with an annual turnover of $3 billion. National calls are competitive with international calls being exceptional value. Be-spoke rates are available for high volume users.

Private Circuits: Are point to point circuits for an organisations exclusive use. Network providers such as BT provide them. They cost more than ADSL or SDSL broadband but can give the advantage of higher bandwidth and guaranteed quality of service.

Progressive Dialling: A PC based application is loaded with a list of numbers to dial. The application monitors the call, and connects only answered calls to an agent on a Siemens Hipath system.

PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network: This is the expression for the conventional public telephone network as a whole and comprises all carriers in all countries that can be dialled.

PSU: Power supply unit.

QOS: Quality of Service: Is a standard which defines how speech packets are handled in a computer network environment. To maintain speech quality all elements in a network, such as routers and switches, supporting VOIP should be QOS compliant

RRP: Recommended Retail Price: Siemens list prices

SDSL Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line: As ADSL but upload and download speeds the same i.e. 512kb/s download and upload.

Speed Dial(s): Also known as abbreviated or short code dialling. A code is dialled or a key is pressed followed by a 2 or 3 digit code to dial a full number. Siemens Hipath range supports up to 1000 of these.

Switch: used in computer data networks, usually located in the patch cabinet to allow connection to each individual device on the network, including servers computers and Optipoint IP phones.

Tapi Telephony Application Programming Interface : Is a standard defining how software applications running on PC’s communicate with the telephony world.

Third Party CTI: The Siemens Hipath telephone system is connected to a server on the user’s computer network. Any extension on the Hipath system can have CTI facilities irrespective of extension type, with no local connection between the users PC and telephone.

UCD Uniform Call Distribution: In a group of extensions the phone that has not had a call for the longest time rings next.

USB Universal serial bus: An external peripheral interface standard for communication between a computer and external peripherals over a cable using bi-directional serial transmission.

VOIP Voice Over Internet Protocol: Telephone calls are supported using the same technology as is used on the internet for carrying data. Data and voice traffic can share the same media.

Voice Over IP: Telephone calls are supported using the same technology as is used on the internet for carrying data. Data and voice traffic can share the same media.

VPN Virtual Private Network: Is an encrypted high security point to point connection, via the internet which can support VOIP and data communications.

WAN Wide Area Network: Is the network which joins Local Area Networks together, where an organisation is located on more than one site.

top of page

01273 244400