The Cable Center

This glossary of cable and telecommunications terms is intended to enhance your understanding of this dynamic industry. We are able to present this information with the generous help of CableLabs - consult their website for the most up-to-date information about cable technology.

0 - 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Waveform
A graphical representation of the rise and fall of the electrical potential (voltage) on a pair of wires or some other signal over time. A classic example of a waveform is the spiky line displayed on a cardiograph machine used to analyze the electrical activity created as the heart beats. In telephony, analog waveforms are translated into a series of binary values, called samples. These samples are taken 8,000 times a second, sent on to their destination, where they are translated back into a series of 8,000 changes in voltage that almost resembles the original analog signal.

Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)
Technology that enables the capacity of fiber-optic lines to be increased exponentially through the use of different frequencies (or colors). As more colors are utilized, more unique communication paths are created.

Web Page
An HTML document accessible on the World Wide Web using a Web browser.

Wide Area Network (WAN)
A computer network which usually spans larger geographic area, such as cities, counties, states, nations and planets. WAN’s usually employ telephone-type topologies, like T1, T2, T5, ATM, etc. The Internet is a WAN which is held together by LANs, which network computers.

Wide Area Telecommunications Service (WATS)
WATS permits customers to make (OUTWATS) or receive (INWATS) long distance voice or data calls and to have them billed on a bulk rather than individual call basis. The service is provided within selected service areas, or bands, by means of special private-access lines connected to the public telephone network via WATS-equipped central offices. A single access line permits inward or outward service, but not both.

Wideband
Typically, the term wideband represents a medium intermediate between narrowband and broadband. Wideband is capable of transmitting at more than 64 Kbps and less than 1.5 Mbps.

Windshield Wiper Effect
Onset of overload in multichannel cable television systems caused by cross-modulation, where the horizontal sync pulses of one or more TV channels are superimposed on the desired channel carrier. Both black and white windshield wiping are observed and are caused by different mechanisms.

Wired City
The concept of television and other communications data, educational material, instructional television and information retrieval service that wired services can provide. Broadcast services must, of necessity, be limited by scarce spectrum space; wired services have theoretically unlimited channel capacity.

Wireless Cable
Uses microwaves frequencies to transmit programming to a small antenna at a subscriber’s home.

Wireless Local Loop
In conventional wired systems, the local loop refers to the connection that runs from the subscriber’s telephone set, PBX or telephone system to the telephone company’s central office (CO). As the name implies, a WLL connects potential users to the CO by substituting a wireless base station for the local-loop connection. WLL service is the most advantageous alternative for parts of the world that can leapfrog expensive and time-consuming wire installations in establishing modern telecommunications systems.

World Wide Web (WWW)
The name given to all HTML documents which exist on all of the interconnected HTTP servers around the world. Originally developed in 1989 for the European Laboratory for Particle Physics to enable its users to share documents in a more graphical fashion.