AM / FM
Amplitude Modulation and Frequency Modulation. Two ways of putting sound onto a radio wave. AM stations sit near 1 MHz; FM stations sit from 88 to 108 MHz.
ARIN
American Registry for Internet Numbers. The nonprofit that hands out IP addresses in the United States, Canada, and parts of the Caribbean.
AWS
Advanced Wireless Services. Cell phone bands around 1.7 and 2.1 GHz, used mostly for 4G LTE.
Band (cell)
A named block of frequencies, such as B12 (4G) or n41 (5G). The number is a list number, not the frequency.
BEAD
Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment. A federal program that pays for high-speed internet in places that do not have it.
Bluetooth
A short-range radio (a few feet to a few dozen feet) for headphones, speakers, and watches. It uses the shared 2.4 GHz band.
Broadband
Fast internet that is always on, as opposed to old dial-up service.
C-band
The 3.7 to 3.98 GHz band, auctioned by the FCC for 5G.
Call sign
The official name of an FCC license, such as KWNA-FM, the 92.7 FM station in Winnemucca. Radio stations, cell companies, and internet providers all have them.
Carrier aggregation
When a phone uses several bands at once to go faster, like a car using several highway lanes.
CBRS
Citizens Broadband Radio Service. The shared 3.55 to 3.7 GHz band with three tiers of users.
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets. The part of a web page that sets colors, fonts, and layout.
DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. The rule your router uses to hand each device an IP address automatically.
DNS
Domain Name System. The internet's phone book: it turns a name like numu.tech into a numeric IP address.
DSL
Digital Subscriber Line. Internet service carried over old copper telephone wires.
EBS
Educational Broadband Service. The FCC's name for the 2.5 GHz band, first set aside for schools. Tribes received licenses in it in 2020.
FCC
Federal Communications Commission. The U.S. agency that licenses radio, TV, and cell frequencies and assigns call signs.
FR1 / FR2
Frequency Range 1 and 2. 5G's two groups of frequencies: FR1 from 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, and FR2 (millimeter wave) from 24.25 GHz up.
GPS
Global Positioning System. Satellites that let your phone find its location. Phones listen at 1575.42 MHz.
HTML
HyperText Markup Language. The text that tells a browser what is on a page: headings, paragraphs, pictures, and links.
HTTP / HTTPS
HyperText Transfer Protocol (Secure). The rules a browser and a web server use to ask for and send pages. The S means the conversation is locked.
Hz, kHz, MHz, GHz
Hertz, kilohertz, megahertz, gigahertz. How many wave peaks pass each second: one, a thousand, a million, or a billion.
IP, IPv4, IPv6
Internet Protocol, versions 4 and 6. The addressing system every device uses. IPv4 looks like 192.0.2.1; IPv6 looks like 2001:db8::1.
ISP
Internet Service Provider. The company or tribal utility that connects your home to the internet.
IXP
Internet Exchange Point. A building where many networks plug into each other to trade traffic.
JS
JavaScript. The programming language that makes web pages interactive.
LTE
Long Term Evolution. The 4G cell phone standard.
MAC address
Media Access Control address. A permanent ID number built into each network chip, like a serial number.
Mbps
Megabits per second. How fast data moves. 100 Mbps is 100 million bits every second.
Millimeter wave (mmWave)
Very high frequencies, 24 GHz and up, whose waves are only millimeters long. Very fast, very short reach.
MIMO
Multiple Input, Multiple Output. Using several antennas at once to send more data.
MVNO
Mobile Virtual Network Operator. A phone company that rents space on another company's towers instead of owning its own.
NAT
Network Address Translation. How your router lets many devices share one public IP address.
NR
New Radio. The official name for 5G radio, which is why 5G bands start with n.
NTIA
National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The federal agency that runs BEAD and TBCP and manages federal radio spectrum.
OSI model
Open Systems Interconnection model. A seven-layer way to describe how any network works, from wires up to apps.
PCS
Personal Communications Service. Cell phone bands around 1.9 GHz.
PDF
Portable Document Format. A file that looks the same on any computer or phone.
ReConnect
A U.S. Department of Agriculture program that funds rural broadband.
Spectrum
The full range of radio frequencies, shared by radio, TV, cell phones, Wi-Fi, and more.
TBCP
Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. NTIA grants for internet service on tribal lands.
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol. The rule that numbers packets and re-sends any that get lost.
TLD
Top-Level Domain. The last part of a web name, such as .com, .org, .gov, or .tech.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator. A full web address, such as https://www.numu.tech/resources.
USDA
United States Department of Agriculture. Besides farming, it funds rural broadband through ReConnect.
Wavelength
The distance from one wave peak to the next. Higher frequencies have shorter wavelengths.
Wi-Fi
A brand name, not an acronym. Short-range wireless internet in homes and buildings, using the shared 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands.
2G, 3G, 4G, 5G
The G stands for generation. Each new generation of cell technology is faster and handles more phones.
3GPP
3rd Generation Partnership Project. The worldwide group of phone companies and equipment makers that writes the 4G and 5G standards.