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Definitions
Acronyms

Compacts – A written contract between public safety agencies for cooperating on a policy issue or program that extends across and through agency boundaries.

EMS – Emergency Medical Services

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.

Frequency – For a periodic function, the number of cycles or events per unit time.

HAZMAT – Hazardous Materials – part of an emergency response effort, a team of professionals trained to handle these materials.

Interoperability - Essential communication links within or between public safety and public service communication systems that permit units from two or more different agencies to interact with one another and to exchange information according to a prescribed method in order to achieve predictable results. This may include communication between governmental and non-governmental public safety and public service providers. (Reference Public Safety Wireless Network document “Survey Draft, April 1998”)Land Mobile Radio (LMR) – real time voice communication devices using radio frequencies.

MOU – Memo of Understanding – An agreement of cooperation between organizations defining the roles and responsibilities of each organization in relation to the other or others with respect to an issue over which the organizations have concurrent jurisdiction.

SPSICCC - New Jersey Statewide Public Safety Interoperability Communications Coordinating Council

OAG – The Office of the Attorney General

Radio Spectrum - Public Safety radio spectrum refers to the array of channels, like those on a television, available for communications transmissions. These channels are a finite natural resource – they cannot be created or discovered.

Radio Frequency – Excerpt from [Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 47, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
[CITE: 47CFR2.1]For the US, see 47 CFR § 2.1(c). For industrial, scientific, and medical equipment, 47 CFR §18.107(a) defines:
Radio frequency (RF) energy - Electromagnetic energy at any frequency in the radio spectrum from 9 kHz to 3 THz (3,000 GHz).Any frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum normally associated with radio wave propagation.

Radio Communications - The FCC’s constituting statute defines “radio communications” in a way that does not explicate the meaning of “radio”. Specifically, 47 USC 153(33) defines “radio communication” as “transmission by radio of writing, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds of all kinds,” as well as associated services and facilities.

SafeCom - The Wireless Public Safety Interoperable Communications (SAFECOM) Program - SAFECOM was established in the spring of 2002 to address the wireless communication needs of public safety organizations. SAFECOM serves as the umbrella program within the Federal government to help local, tribal, State and Federal public safety agencies to improve public safety response through more effective and efficient interoperable wireless communications. As a public safety practitioner driven program, SAFECOM is working with existing Federal communications initiatives and key public safety stakeholders to address the need to develop better technologies and processes for the cross-jurisdictional and cross-disciplinary coordination of existing and future communications systems.

Spectrum – The usable radio frequencies in the electromagnetic distribution.Statewide Public Safety Interoperability Communications Coordinating Council (SPSICCC) – A3390 established the council in January 2004. P.L.2003, CHAPTER 235, approved January 9, 2004.Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI)

Grant program - grants to urban areas to help enhance their overall security and preparedness level to prevent, respond and recover from acts of terrorism. The grants are administered by the Department of Homeland Security, Office for Domestic Preparedness and are specifically for urban areas.

Note: Definitions were taken from Public Safety Wireless Network program publications.

Amplifier - A device for obtaining an increase in voltage, current, or power.

Amplitude - Maximum departure of the value of an alternating current or radio wave from the zero point.

Analog - A signal that may vary continuously over a specific range of values.

Antenna - A device (usually metallic) for radiating or receiving radio waves.

Band - A well-defined range of wavelengths or frequencies.

Bandwidth - The range within a band of frequencies. A measure of the amount of information that can flow through a given point at any given time.

Bit - Abbreviation for binary digit (either a 0 or a 1), the basic unit for storing data in a computer.

Block Grant - Federal grant funds that are allocated based on a predetermined statutory formula.

Cavity Filter - A radio frequency device used to reduce interference to a receiver or from transmitter to other nearby radio frequency devices. Cavity filters are the primary component in a duplexer.

Channel - A band of frequencies of sufficient width to support a single radio communications path.

Combiner - A device used to combine the output signals from a number of transmitters into one antenna.

Coverage - The amount or percentage of area reached by a communications medium.

Cycle - One complete performance of a vibration, electrical oscillation, current alternation, or other periodic process.

Decibel - A unit for measuring the power of an electromagnetic signal; equal to the logarithm of the ratio of the measured signal to that of an arbitrary standard.

Digital - Information that can be represented by two discrete states (either 0 or 1). Most information in the speaking/seeing world is not digital, but must be converted into this form to be used by computers.

Dipole - A radio antenna consisting of two rods in line with each other, with their ends slightly separated.

Discretionary Grant - Federal grant funds that are distributed at the discretion of the agency administering the funds.

Duplexer - A device that allows a radio transmitter and receiver to share the same radio antenna without interference to each other.

Effective Radiated Power - A term to describe radio system transmitted power that takes into account transmitter output power, combiner and feedline losses, and antenna gain.

Flowchart - A diagram showing the step-by-step progression through a complicated process or system.

Formula Grant - Federal grant funds that are allocated based on a predetermined statutory formula.

Frequency - The number of repetitions of a periodic process in a unit of time.

Frequency Multiplier - A device for multiplying the frequency up to a desired output frequency.

Gain - The effectiveness of a directional antenna, given as the ratio in decibels of standard antenna input power to the directional antenna input power producing the same field strength in the desired direction.

Guard Band - A non-overlapping space between radio channels used to minimize interference.

Hertz - Alternate term for cycles per second, abbreviated as Hz.

Implementation Team - A group of officials charged with ensuring that a project is planned, managed, and completed.

Infrastructure - The underlying permanent installations required for radio communications. Infrastructure includes antennas, base/repeater stations, consoles, links (fiber, microwave, radio and wire), towers, and support structures (such as buildings and towers).

Interference - Confusion of received radio signals due to strays or undesired signals.

Isolator - A device that may be added to the circuit between each transmitter and the combiner and used to increase the isolation to the other transmitter outputs.

Isotropic Radiator - A theoretical antenna that radiates equally in all directions.

Modem - An acronym for modulator/demodulator, which is a device that translates digital signals coming from your computer or other digital device into analog signals that can be transmitted over standard telephone lines or radio circuits. The modem also translates the analog signal back into a digital signal.

Modulation - The process of implanting information onto a wave by varying the amplitude, frequency, or phase of a carrier or signal in telephone, radio, or television.

Multicoupler - A device used to connect a multitude of receivers to a single antenna.

Noise - An unwanted signal or disturbance (e.g., static) in a radio communications system.

Omnidirectional - Receiving or sending radio waves equally well in all directions.

Oscillator - A device for producing alternating current, specifically for producing radio frequencies.

Polarization - The action or process of affecting radiation so that the vibrations of the wave assume a definite form, usually horizontal or vertical as compared to the earth’s surface.

Propagation - The action of traveling and spreading through space, in reference to wave energy.

Receiver - The portion of a radio device that converts the radio waves received over the air into a usable audible signal or data stream.

Refarming - An administrative process being conducted by the FCC to reduce channel bandwidths and, as a result, promote spectrum efficiency.

Repeater - A transmitter and a receiver operating on different frequencies and connected such that the signal received on one frequency is simultaneously retransmitted on the other frequency. Repeaters are often connected to a common antenna using a combiner.

Skip - The phenomenon by which a radio wave reflects from the ionosphere during the height of the sunspot cycle, often resulting in severe interference problems on frequencies below about 90 MHz.

Spectrum - The region of the electromagnetic spectrum in which radio transmission and detection techniques may be used.

Spectrum Efficiency - Optimizing the amount of information sent over a given amount of bandwidth.

Steering Committee - A group of usually high-level officials charged with setting policy for a project.

Transmitter - The portion of a radio device that converts an audible signal or data stream into a radio wave and sends it out over the air.

Vocoder - Abbreviation for voice coder, a circuit that samples an analog voice frequency and then changes the sampled information into binary digits to modulate a digital transmitter.

Wave - A disturbance or variation that transfers energy progressively from point to point in a medium and that may take the form of a variation in electric or magnetic intensity or electric potential.

Wavelength - The distance from one point along the progression of a wave to the next point on the wave of corresponding amplitude and phase.

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Aconyms

1XRTT - Single carrier (1x) Radio Transmission Technology

3G - Third generation wireless

AASHTO - American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials

ACSB - Amplitude Compandered Single Sideband

AGILE - Advanced Generation of Interoperability for Law Enforcement

AM - Amplitude Modulation

AMPS - Advanced Mobile Phone System

ANSI - American National Standards Industry

APCO - Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, International

AVL - Automatic Vehicle Location

BJA - Bureau of Justice Assistance

BJS - Bureau of Justice Statistics

CALEA - Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies

CALEA - Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act

CAPRAD - Computer Assisted Pre-coordination Resource and Database

CCITT - International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee

CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access

CDPD - Cellular Digital Packet Data

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations

COPS - Community Oriented Policing Services

COTS - Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software

CTCSS - Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System

CDCSS - Continuous Digital-Coded Squelch System

DAWS - Digital Advanced Wireless Services

dB - Decibel

DoC - Department of Commerce

DoD - Department of Defense

DOJ - Department of Justice

DOT - Department of Transportation

DSP - Digital Signal Processing

EHF - Extremely High Frequency

EIS - Environmental Impact Statement

EMS - Emergency Medical Service

ERP - Effective Radiated Power

ESA - Endangered Species Act

ESMR - Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio

ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute

FAA - Federal Aviation Administration

FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation

FCC - Federal Communications Commission

FCCA - Forestry Conservation Communication Association

FDMA - Frequency Division Multiple Access

FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency

FLEWUG - Federal Law Enforcement Wireless Users Group

FM - Frequency Modulation

FSK - Frequency Shift Keying

GEO - Geosynchronous Earth Orbit

GHz - Gigahertz (1 billion cycles per second)

GITSB - Government Information Technology Services Board

GPRS - General Packet Radio Service

GPS - Global Positioning System

GSA - General Services Administration

GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications

HALE - High Altitude Long Endurance

HAP - High Altitude Platform

HF - High Frequency

Hz - Hertz (cycles per second)

IACP - International Association of Chiefs of Police

IAFC - International Association of Fire Chiefs

ICS - Incident Command System

IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

IGA - Intergovernmental Agreement

IM - Intermodulation

IMSA - International Municipal Signal Association

ISP - Internet Service Provider

JPA - Joint Powers Authority

KHz - Kilohertz (1,000 cycles per second)

LAN - Local Area Network

LCRA - Lower Colorado River Authority

LEAA - Law Enforcement Assistance Administration

LEO - Low Earth Orbit, also Law Enforcement Online

LLEBG - Local Law Enforcement Block Grants

LOS - Line of Sight

MBTA - Migratory Bird Treaty Act

MEO - Medium Earth Orbit

MESA - Mobile Broadband for Emergency and Safety Applications

MHz - Megahertz (1 million cycles per second)

MIU - Mobile Imaging Unit

MTSO - Mobile Telephone Switching Office

NAMPS - Narrowband Advanced Mobile Phone System

NASTD - National Association of State Telecommunications Directors

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NCC - National Coordination Committee

NENA - National Emergency Number Association

NCIC - National Crime Information Center

NCJRS - National Criminal Justice Reference Service

NCS - National Communications Systems

NEPA - National Environmental Policy Act

NENA - National Emergency Number Association

NHPA - National Historic Preservation Act

NIC - Network Interface Card

NIJ - National Institute of Justice

NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology

NLECTC - National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center

NPSPAC - National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee

NPSTC - National Public Safety Telecommunications Council

NTIA - National Telecommunications and Information Administration

OET - Office of Engineering and Technology

OJJDP - Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

OJP - Office of Justice Programs

OLES - Office of Law Enforcement Standards

OST - Office of Science and Technology

OTAR - Over-The-Air-Rekeying

PAN - Personal Area Network

PBX - Private Branch Exchange

PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

PCS - Personal Communications System

PDA - Personal Digital Assistant

PLMRS - Private Land Mobile Radio Service

POCSAG - Post Office Code Standardization Advisory Group

PSCC - Public Safety Coordinating Council

PSPP - Public Safety Partnership Project

PSTN - Public Switched Telephone Network

PSWAC - Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee

PSWN - Public Safety Wireless Network

RF - Radio Frequency

RFI - Request for Information

RFP - Request for Proposals

RFQ - Request for Quotation

SDMA - Space Division Multiple Access

SDR - Software Defined Radio

SHF - Super High Frequency

SIEC - State Interoperability Executive Committee

SIS - State Identification Systems

SMR - Specialized Mobile Radio

SMS - Short Messaging System

TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

TDMA - Time Division Multiple Access

TETRA - TErrestrial TRunked Radio

TIA - Telecommunications Industry Association

TIIAP - Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program

TOP - Technology Opportunities Program (formerly TIIAP)

UART - Universal Receiver/Transmitter

UHF - Ultra High Frequency

ULS - Universal Licensing System

UWB - Ultra Wide Band

VHF - Very High Frequency

VoIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol

WAN - Wide Area Network

WAP - Wireless Access Point

WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network

WRC - World Radio Conference

WSCA - Western States Contracting Alliance

Note: Definitions were taken from: http://www.justnet.org/pdffiles/wireless2003.pdf