Toll-Free Number Management Telecom Acronyms Guide

Description

The Telecom industry is complicated and full of unnecessary acronyms. This document is to assist with providing you with some of our favorite/commonly used Telecom acronyms. 

API	A set of functions and procedures allowing the creation of applications that access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.
ASR	Automated Speech Recognition. Technology that allows users of information systems to speak entries rather than punching numbers on a keypad.
ATIS	Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions
BLOCK	A group of 1,000 contiguous telephone numbers in the range NPA-NXX-X000 through NPA-NXX-X999. Usually referred to as a "pooled bock" even when not actually assigned by the nation number pooling administrator
BTN	Billing Telephone Number
CAD	Customer Administrative Data. Screen in the SMS databased containing the basic customer record.
CIC	Carrier Identification Code. The 4-digit code which identifies a carrier. It is used in the SMS database to direct traffic. Used as a verb it means changing the CIC codes in SMS to move traffic between carriers.
CLEC	Competitive Local Exchange Carrier. Local carrier that started operations to compete with a LEC
CONTAMINATED BLOCK	"Contamination" refers to the fact that some telephone numbers are working in a block. If the block is then assigned to another service provider, not all of the telephone numbers in the block are available to the new block-owner for its use
CPR	Call Processing. Screen in the SMS database containing the information on the carriers and the areas for which they carry the traffic.
CRR	Customer Record Resend. Screen which displays how orders have been processed through the switches knows as SCP's.
DAR	Daily Activity Report.  List of transactions for each Resporg produced form the access database
DID	Direct Inward Dialing
DL	Distribution List
DR	Disaster Recovery. Ability to route 8XX numbers to a different carrier if carrier A is having an outage or scheduled downtime.
ENHANCED ROUTING	Routing usually done through the off-net carrier for special requests such as percentage splits or time-of-day routing.
EXCHANGE	Geographical area established by a BOC to encompass areas of common local calling.
EXCHANGE CARRIER	Another name identifying the local telephone company providing exchange service within the confines of a LATA.
FCC	U.S. government entity endowed with the responsibility to direct the U.S. national telecommunications regulatory environment.
GUI	Graphical User Interface. Software used to transmit images through the internet.
HOT CUT	Moving one or more lines to a T-1 or Fiber. Important that all lines e set to move at the same time.
ICONECTIV	Iconectiv manages the NPAC system that supports the implementation of local number portability and is used to facilitate number porting in the US.
ILEC	The local wireline service provider, either an RBOC or an Independent LEC, that served a market prior to the market being opened to competition.
ISDN	Integrated Services Digital Network. Dial up using high-speed transmission. Suitable for communications within local calling area.
LATA	The geographic region beyond which a former BOC, and certain independent LECs, cannot transport a call without involving an IXC
LCR	Least Cost Routing
LEC	Local Exchange Carrier.  Franchised telecommunications company providing originating exchange and exchange access services.
LERG	Local Exchange Routing Guide. National system that manages area codes and NXX's.
LOA	Letter of Agency. Form sent by RespOrg to request release of one or more 8XX numbers by the losing RespOrg.
MRC	Monthly Reoccurring Charges
MSA	Master Service Agreement
NANC	North American Numbering Council): The NANC was established by the FCC October 5, 1995 to provide advice and recommendations to the FCC and other governments (including those of Canada and the Caribbean countries) on numbering issues.
NANP	(North American Numbering Plan): The NANP is the plan for telephone numbers in Canada, the US and its territories, and the Caribbean. Telephone number addresses in the NANP are in the form NXX-NXX-XXXX, where N is any digit from 2-9 and X is any digit from 0-9.
NANPA	(North American Numbering Plan Administrator): The entity selected by the FCC to administer the NANP.
NASC	Number Administration and Service Center.  Provides log-on capability, tariff compliance and other admin needs for the functions of the national 8XX databased.
NCC	Network Control Center
NECA	National Exchange Carrier Association. Controls assignment of OCN numbers.
NOC	Network Operations Center
NPA	(Number Plan Area): The first three digits of the 10-digit NANP telephone number. An NPA is always contained within the boundaries of a single state.
NPAC	(Number Portability Administration Center): The term NPAC refers to the entire operation: both personnel and equipment.
NPA-NXX	The first six digits of a NANP telephone number (or of an LRN). The NPA-NXX is the PSTN address of the switch serving the telephone number. In a non-pooling area, the NPA-NXX code and the associated 10,000 numbers are assigned by the NANPA.
NPA-NXX-X	The NPA-NXX-X represents a pooled thousand block drawn from the NPA-NXX.
NXX	Three-digit telephone prefixes, NPA/NXX for the office is 541-593
OBA	Out of band announcement. Recording received when a caller reaches a toll-free number for which access is not allowed because the originating area is blocked or not covered in the area of service.
OBF	Ordering and Billing Forum
OCN	(Operating Company Number): The OCN is assigned by The National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc. (NECA) and is used as an identifier for inter-carrier transactions. The OCN of a service provider is used as its NPAC SPID
OFFNET	Secondary carrier which carries traffic to those areas not served by the primary carrier.
PENDING ADD	This status is for future effective times. AKA "Presets".
PENDING PROCESSOR	Waiting to be processed and sent to SOMOS
PENDING REVIEW	RespOrg Team is reviewing the order
PENDING VALIDATION	Action sent/received by SOMOS and waiting to receive a complete or add status
PIC CODE	Four-Digit code which directs 1+ dialing to the carrier.
PIN	Personal Identification Number
PORT	Move an 8XX number or local number between controlling parties
PORT-IN	Porting In a local or toll-free number to a defined service provider/carrier
PORT-OUT	Porting Out a local or toll-free number to a defined provider/carrier
POTS	Plain Old Telephone Service
QUEUING	Somos is currently experiencing delayed processing times.
RBOC	Regional Bell Operating Company
REC	Customer Record Selection. Section in the SMS database containing the log for recent transactions for the 8XX number
RESPORG	Responsible Organization.  The entity designated to manage and administer a customer's SMS/800 records.
RESPORT ID	Code in SMS database that identifies the RespOrg responsible for an 8XX number.
RFP	Request for Proposal
RING-TO-NUMBER	The local number where an 8XX number terminates. Also called "Termination Number".
RLEC	Rural Local Exchange Carriers are rural telecom companies that provide telephone service for defined areas
SCP	Service Control Point. Real-time database system in the Exchange Carrier Network that contains routing instructions downloaded by the SMS800, the 36 switches in the US/Canada witch direct toll-free calls.
SERVICE AREAS	Geographical areas served by a LEC
SMS/800	800 Service management System. Organization that provides user support for the SMS800.
SNAC	SMS/800 Number Administration Committee. An open industry forum sponsored by ATIS, which addresses issues related to SMS800 and toll-free number administration.
SOMOS	Somos, Inc., formerly known as SMS/800, Inc., is a company that manages the toll-free number registry databases for the telecommunications industry
SSSP	Service Switching Point
STP	Signal Transfer Point. A Signaling point in the Common Channel Signaling network with the function of transferring signaling messages from one signaling link to another.
T-1	Digital Transmission Link
TCP/IP	Transmission Control protocol/Internet Protocol
TFN	Toll free number
TN	Telephone Number
TOLL-FREE NUMBER ADMINISTRATION	The process of assigning, reserving and releasing toll-free numbers for the public use.
TOLL-FREE NUMBER PORTABILITY	The ability for the subscriber to transport its toll-free number from one service provider to another without the need for a number change.
TOLL-FREE SERVICE	A telecommunications service for which the dialing party incurs no toll charges
VANTITY NUMBER	A specific number requested by a customer. Usually a number that spells something or on with a repeated digits. Often called an "easy number"
VOIP	Voice over Internet Protocol
WTN	Working Telephone Number