| PA |
Power Amplifier |
A device for taking a low or intermediate-level signal and significantly boosting its power level. A power amplifier is usually the final stage of amplification in a transmitter. |
| PABX |
Private Automatic Branch Exchange |
A customer premise telephone switching system capable of interfacing to a telephone central office with trunk groups and routing calls based on a 3 or 4 digit telephone extension number. |
| packet |
|
A piece of data transmitted over a packet-switching network such as the Internet. A packet includes not just data but also address information about its origination and destination. |
| packet radio |
|
A radio system that operates by sending data in packets. |
| PACS |
Personal Access Communications System |
|
| PAD |
Packet Assembler/Disassembler |
The part of a packet transmission system that segments the transmit data into packets and returns the receive data to longer messages. [5] |
| pad |
|
See attenuator. |
| PAM |
pulse amplitude modulation |
A technique for encoding the samples of an analog waveform as part of the PCM process. Also used to display the amplitude of QAM signals in an eye diagram. |
| path loss |
|
The amount of loss introduced by the propagation environment between a transmitter and receiver. |
| PBX |
Private Branch Exchange |
An exchange system used in companies and organizations to handle internal and external calls. |
| PCH |
Paging Channel |
|
| PCIA |
Personal Communications Industry Association |
A leading international trade association representing the personal communications services (PCS) industry. Its primary objective is to advance regulatory policies, legislation, and technical standards in this industry. |
| PCM |
Pulse Code Modulation |
|
| PCN |
Personal Communications Network |
A standard for digital mobile phone transmissions operating at a frequency of 1800 MHz (also referred to as GSM 1800). It is used in Europe and Asia Pacific. |
| PCS |
Personal Communications Services |
Generally, a marketing term used to describe a wide variety of two-way digital wireless service offerings in North America operating at 1900 MHz. PCS services include next generation wireless phone and communication services, wireless local loop, inexpensive walk-around communications service with lightweight, low-powered handsets, in-building cordless voice services for business, in-building wireless LAN service for business, enhanced paging service as well as wireless services integrated with wired networks. A Personal Communications System refers to the hardware and software that provide communications services. |
| PCS |
Personal Communications System |
The infrastructure used to provide personal communications services. |
| PCU |
Packet Control Unit |
A device that must be added to older GSM base stations if they are to
carry GPRS traffic. Functions include converting packet data into a format
that can be transferred over the air interface, managing radio resources,and
implementing quality of service (QoS) measurements. |
| PDA |
Personal Data Appliance/Assistant |
Also known as Personal Digital Appliance. |
| PDC |
Personal or Pacific Digital Cellular |
A Japanese standard for digital mobile telephony
in the 800 MHz and 1500 MHz bands. To avoid the previous problem of lack
of compatibility between the differing types of earlier analog mobile phones
in Japan (i.e. NTT type and US developed TACS type), digital mobile phones
have been standardized under PDC. In the case of the PDC standard, primarily
six channel TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology is applied. PDC,
however, is a standard unique to Japan which renders such phone units incompatible
with devices which adopt the more worldwide prevalent GSM standard. Nevertheless,
digitalization under the standard enables ever smaller and lighter mobile
phones which in turn has spurred market expansion. As a result, over 93%
of all mobile phones in Japan are now digital. |
| PDF |
Probability Density Function |
|
| PHP |
Personal Handy Phone |
The mobile hand-set used with the Japanese Personal Handy Phone system. |
| PHS |
Personal Handy Phone System |
|
| physical channel |
|
The actual radio channel that carries the various logical and traffic channels in a wireless system. |
| pico cell |
|
Very small cell in a mobile network for boosting capacity within buildings. |
| pilot pollution |
|
A type of co-channel interference in CDMA systems caused when the pilot code from a distant cell or base station is powerful enough to create an interference problem. |
| PIN |
Personal Identification Number |
A code used for all GSM-based phones to establish authorization for access to certain functions or information. The PIN code is delivered together with your subscription. |
| PLL |
Phase Locked Loop |
PLL is a major component in the frequency synthesizer scheme. This device provides a wide, flexible range of internal frequency dividers which allow the designer the ability to create a synthesizer to match design requirements. |
| PLMN |
Public Land-Mobile Network |
A European term used to describe the GSM system. |
| PMR |
Private Mobile Radio |
Generally for use within a defined user group such as the emergency services or by the employees of a mining project. |
| PN |
Pseudo-Noise |
Historically, the Ministry of Post, Telecommunications and Telegraph. Now a term to describe the incumbent, dominant operator in a country, many of which are being or have been privatized. |
| PNCQPSK |
Pseudo-Noise Complex Quadrature Phase Shift Keying |
The spreading technique that uses basic complex scrambling and PN signals for Is and Qs. For more information see Agilent application note "HPSK Spreading for 3G". |
| point to point |
|
A direct link between two network nodes. |
| POCSAG |
Post Office Code Special Advisory Group |
|
| power control |
|
A technique for managing the transmit power in base stations and mobiles to a minimum level needed for proper performance. Downlink power control applies to base stations and uplink power control to mobiles. Power control is used in nearly all wireless systems to manage interference, and in the case of mobiles, to extend battery life. |
| power spectral density |
|
Power normalized to 1 Hz. Knowing the power spectral density and system bandwidth, the total power can be calculated. |
| PQA |
Palm Query Applications |
|
| PRBS |
Pseudo-Random Binary Sequence |
|
| PRMA |
Packet Reservation Multiple Access |
|
| PSD |
Power Spectral Density |
See power spectral density. |
| PSK |
Phase Shift Keying |
A broad classification of modulation techniques where the information to be transmitted is contained in the phase of the carrier wave. |
| PSTN |
Public Switched Telephone Network |
Standard domestic and commercial phone service. |
