Telecommunications terms starting with G

122 terms

gain The ratio of output current, voltage, or power to input current, voltage, or power, respectively. Note 1: Gain is usually expressed in dB.
gain hit See yyhit.
gain medium An active medium, device, or system in which amplification of input occurs with or without feedback.
gain of an antenna Synonym antenna gain.
galactic radio noise Synonym cosmic noise.
gamma correction In video, the insertion of a nonlinear output-input characteristic for the purpose of changing the system transfer characteristic.
gap A missing section on one of the strands of double-stranded DNA. The DNA will therefore have a single-stranded region.
gap loss The power loss that occurs when an optical signal is transferred from one fiber to another that is axially aligned with it, but longitudinally separated…
gap-loss attenuator An optical attenuator that exploits the principle of gap loss to reduce the optical power level when inserted in-line in the fiber path; e.g.
gaps Periods of no speech activity or low-energy content signals present in the access channel of a wideband packet network. [T1.312-1991]
garble 1. An error in transmission, reception, encryption, or decryption that changes the text of a message or any portion thereof in such a manner that it is…
Gate A device that controls the flow in a conduit, pipe, or tunnel without obstructing any portion of the waterway when in the fully open position.
gateway An element that contained a node on the SDS backbone network as well as on some other network(s) and would have performed protocol and format conversions…
gating The process of selecting only those portions of a wave between specified time intervals or between specified amplitude limits. 2.
gaussian beam A beam of light whose electric field intensity distribution is gaussian. Note: When such a beam is circular in cross section the intensity at distance r…
gaussian filter A filter having a response curve (magnitude versus frequency) that approximates an ideal gaussian curve.
gaussian pulse A pulse that has a waveform described by the gaussian distribution. Note: In the time domain, the amplitude of the waveform is given by where A is the…
Gb/s Abbreviation for gigabytes per second. See International System of Units.
GBH Abbreviation for group busy hour.
GCT Abbreviation for Greenwich Civil Time. See Coordinated Universal Time.
GDF Abbreviation for group distribution frame.
gel support medium (agarose) that holds DNA molecules in place during the separation phase of electrophoresis.
general purpose computer A computer designed to perform, or that is capable of performing, in a reasonably efficient manner, the functions required by both scientific and business…
general purpose network See common user network.
general-purpose system A computer system that is designed to aid in solving a wide variety of problems [TCSEC].
Generation The electricity generated by a system as recorded by a KWH meter, recorded in KWH or MWH.
generation loss In analog recording, cumulative deterioration of signal quality introduced as a consequence of limitations of the recording electronics and storage…
genlock The synchronization of two television signals at the vertical, horizontal, and chroma phase levels such that the signals may be cut, mixed, or cross-faded…
geometric optics The branch of optics that describes light propagation in terms of rays. Note 1: Rays are bent at the interface between two dissimilar media, and may be…
Geometric spreading As the sound moves away from the source, the area that the sound energy covers becomes larger and thus sound intensity decreases.
geostationary orbit A circular orbit in the equatorial plane, any point on which revolves about the Earth in the same direction and with the same period as the Earth's…
Geostationary Satellite A satellite that rotates at the same rate as the earth, remaining over the same spot above the equator.
geostationary satellite orbit The orbit in which a satellite must be placed to be a geostationary satellite. [NTIA] [RR]
geosynchronous orbit Any orbit about the Earth, which orbit has a period equal to the period of rotation of the Earth about its axis, and in the same sense, i.e.
germanium photodiode A germanium-based PN- or PIN-junction photodiode. Note 1: Germanium photodiodes are useful for direct detection of optical wavelengths from approximately…
GETS Abbreviation for Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS).
Ghost See Bit Stream Back-up.
Ghosting This condition occurs when two or more targets reside close to the same plane also containing two sensors viewing the targets so they are within…
GIF Generic Interface.
gigaflop A billion, i.e., 109, floating point operations per second.
gigahertz (GHz) A unit of frequency denoting 109 Hz.
GII Global Information Infrastructure.
Glare The excessive brightness from a direct light source that makes it difficult to see what one wishes to see.
glare master The Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) switch designated as control switch for circuits in the both-way circuit group.
glass In the strict sense, a state of matter. [FAA] 2. In fiber-optic communication, any of a number of noncrystalline, amorphous inorganic substances, formed…
glide slope facility In aeronautical navigation, an instrument approach landing facility that furnishes vertical guidance information to an aircraft from its approach altitude…
global Something you can see from anywhere, usually used of variables and subroutines that are visible everywhere in your program.
global address In a communications network, the predefined address that is used as an address for all users of that network, and that may not be the address of an…
global area network (GAN) A network that (a) is composed of different interconnected computer networks and (b) covers an unlimited geographical area.
global functional plane (GFP) The plane in the intelligent network conceptual model that defines service independent building blocks (SIBs) used in providing service features. [T1.
global information infrastructure See GII.
Global Positioning System (GPS) A navigation system which uses a constellation of artificial earth satellites to make precise determinations of the latitude and longitude of locations on…
global security environment A security domain in a System Security policy. The GSE is the general security environment in which the system is located.
global status The set of attributes of an entity, described at a particular time, when that set is extended to every occurrence of that entity within a prescribed…
global system for mobile communications (GSM) A public, all-digital cellular network that is standardized worldwide and that uses (a) TDMA techniques for multiplexing at approximately 900 MHz, (b)…
global title (GT) A "logical" or "virtual" address used for routing Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) messages using signaling connection control part (SCCP) capabilities.
glyph Any graphic symbol not in the ASCII character set. [After IS 14651]
GMT Greenwich Mean Time (now known as Universal Coordinated Time)
go list Synonyms bookmark list, history list, hotlist.
go-ahead message Synonym go-ahead notice.
go-ahead notice In a tape-relay communications system, a service message, usually sent to a relay station or to a tributary station, that contains a request to the…
go-ahead tone In communications systems, an audible signal transmitted by a system indicating that the system is ready to receive a message or signal. [From Weik '89]
gold code In spread-spectrum systems, a code that is generated by summing, using modulo-two addition, the outputs of two spread-spectrum code-sequence generators.
Gopher A menu-based information searching tool that allows users to access various types of databases, such as FTP archives and white pages databases.
gopherspace That part of the cyberspace to which the user has access by means of gopher software. [2382-pt.
GOS Abbreviation for grade of service.
GOSIP Government Open Systems Interconnect Profile (CALS term).
Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) A special federal government telecommunications service that provides National Security and Emergency Preparedness (NS/EP) users with priority switched…
Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile See GOSIP.
GPI Abbreviation for general purpose interface. An equipment-interface device (usually computer equipment) with some number of digital lines, usually a…
GPS An acronym for Global Positioning System. A network of satellites which provide extremely accurate position and time information.
Graceful Degradation A condition in which a system continues to operate, providing service in a degraded mode rather than failing completely or catastrophically.
grade of service (GOS) 1. The probability of a call's being blocked or delayed more than a specified interval, expressed as a decimal fraction.
graded-index fiber An optical fiber with a core having a refractive index that decreases with increasing radial distance from the fiber axis.
graded-index profile In the core of an optical fiber, a plot of the variation of refractive index such that the refractive index decreases with increasing radial distance from…
Gradient General slope or rate of change in vertical elevation per unit of horizontal distance of water surface of a flowing stream.
grandfathered systems Systems, including but not limited to: (a) PBX and key telephone systems, directly connected to the public switched telephone network on June 1, 1978…
grandfathered terminal equipment Terminal equipment (other than PBX and key telephone systems) and protective circuitry connected to the public switched telephone network before July 1…
Granularity The size of the pieces you're dealing with, mentally speaking.
graphic character A visual representation of a character, other than a control character. 2. In the ASCII code, a character other than an alphanumeric character, intended…
graphical user interface See gui.
graphics The art or science of conveying information through the use of display media, such as graphs, letters, lines, drawings, and pictures.
graphics pipe In computer science and technology, the special hardware within the computer optimized for the display of real-time 3D graphics.
Gray code A binary code in which consecutive decimal numbers are represented by binary expressions that differ in the state of one, and only one, one bit.
Gray Scale The use of many shades of gray to represent an image. Continuous-tone images, such as black-and-white photographs, use an almost unlimited number of…
great circle A circle defined by the intersection of the surface of the Earth and any plane that passes through the center of the Earth.
Greenwich Civil Time (GCT) Synonym Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Obsolete term. See Coordinated Universal Time.
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) Same as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); the international time standard kept at Greenwich, England.
Ground A device used to protect the user of any electrical system or appliance from shock.
ground absorption The dissipation of rf energy by the earth.
ground constants The electrical parameters of earth, such as conductivity, permittivity, and magnetic permeability.
ground current In the presence of an electrical fault, the current that flows in the protective ground wire of a power distribution system.
Ground Loop In geothermal heat pump systems, a series of fluid-filled plastic pipes buried in the shallow ground, or placed in a body of water, near a building.
ground plane An electrically conductive surface that serves as the near-field reflection point for an antenna. Note: A ground plane may consist of a natural (e.g.
ground potential The zero reference level used to apply and measure voltages in a system. Note: A potential difference may exist between this reference level and the…
ground start A method of signaling from a terminal or subscriber loop to a switch, in which method one side of a cable pair is temporarily grounded.
ground wave In radio transmission, a surface wave that propagates close to the surface of the Earth.
ground window The interface or transition point between the isolated and integrated ground planes.
ground-return circuit A circuit using a common return path that is at ground potential. Note: Earth may serve as a portion of the ground-return circuit. 2.
ground-start signaling A type of analog voicegrade access line signaling that requires the customer interface (CI) to provide a ground on the ring conductor at the network…