[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 169 (Thursday, August 29, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45427-45428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22062]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION


Federal Telecommunications Standards

AGENCY: Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation, GSA.

ACTION: Notice of adoption of Federal standard.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce the adoption of 
Federal Telecommunications Standards (FED-STD)). FED-STD 1037C 
Telecommunications: Glossary of Telecommunications Terms is approved 
and will be published.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shirley Radack, telephone (301) 975-2833, National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, Building 225, Room A-126, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    1. The General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible under 
the provisions of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act 
of 1949, as amended, for the Federal Standardization Program.
    2. On November 16, 1994, a notice was published in the Federal 
Register (59 FR 59255) that a proposed FED-STD 1037C entitled 
Telecommunications: Glossary of Telecommunications Terms was being 
proposed for Federal use and that comments were requested.
    3. GSA and the Department of Commerce (DOC) reviewed the written 
comments submitted by interested parties and other material available 
relevant to this standard. GSA and DOC also reviewed the justification 
package as approved by the Federal Telecommunications Standards 
Committee (FTSC) and the National Communications System (NCS). On the 
basis of this review, GSA determined to adopt the proposed standards as 
Federal Telecommunications Standards (FED-STD) 1037C, 
Telecommunications: Glossary of Telecommunications Terms.
    The justification package from FTCS and NCS, and GSA's analysis of 
comments received in response to the notice, are part of the public 
record and available for inspection.
    4. This Federal Telecommunications Standard is mandatory.
    5. Requests for copies of the Federal Telecommunications Standard 
1037C, Telecommunications: Glossary of Telecommunication Terms should 
be directed to the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, 
(703) 487-4650.

    Dated: August 7, 1996.
G. Martin Wagner,
Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation.

Federal Standard 1037C

Telecommunications: Glossary of Telecommunication Terms

    1. Scope: a. This glossary provides standard definitions for the 
fields subsumed by the umbrella discipline of telecommunications. 
Fields defined herein include: antenna types and measurements, codes/
coding schemes, computer and data communications (computer graphics 
vocabulary, file transfer techniques, hardware, software), fiber optics 
communication, facsimile types and techniques, frequency topics 
(frequency modulation, interference, spectrum sharing), Internet, ISDN, 
LANs (MANs, WANs), modems, modulation schemes, multiplexing techniques, 
networking (network management, architecture/topology), NII, NS/EP, 
power issues, PCS/UPT/cellular mobile, radio communications, routing 
schemes, satellite communications security issues, switching 
techniques, synchronization/timing techniques, telegraphy, telephony, 
TV (UHF, VHF, cable TV, HDTV), traffic issues, transmission/propagation 
concerns (signal loss/attenuation, transmission lines), video 
technology, and wave propagation/measurement terminology.
    b. The terms and accompanying definitions contained in this 
standard are drawn from authoritative non-Government sources such as 
the International Telecommunication Union, the International 
Organization for Standardization, the Telecommunications Industry 
Association, and the American National Standards Institute, as well as 
from numerous authoritative U.S. Government publications, the FTSC 
Subcommittee to Revise FED-STD 1037B has rewritten many definitions as 
deemed necessary either to reflect technology advances or to make those 
definitions that were phrased in specialized terminology more 
understandable to a broader audience.
    1.1  Applicability: This standard incorporates and supersedes FED-
STD-1037B, June 1991. Accordingly, all Federal departments and agencies 
shall use it as the authoritative source of definitions for terms used 
in the preparation of all telecommunications documentation. The use of 
this standard by all Federal departments and agencies is mandatory.
    1.2  Purpose: The purpose of this standard is to improve the 
Federal acquisition process by providing Federal departments and 
agencies a comprehensive, authoritative source of definitions of terms 
used in telecommunications and directly related disciplines by 
national, international, and U.S. Government telecommunications 
specialists.
    2. Requirements and Applicable Documents: a. The terms and 
definitions that constitute this standard, and that are to be applied 
to the uses cited in paragraph 3 below, are contained on page A-1 
through Z-1 of this document. There are no other documents applicable 
to implementation of this standard. A list of acronyms and 
abbreviations is presented as Appendix A. The list of abbreviations and 
acronyms uses bold font to identify those term names that are defined 
in this glossary. An abbreviated index of

[[Page 45428]]

selected principal families of related term names is presented in 
Appendix B.
    b. Within this document, symbols for units of measurement (and the 
font type for these symbols) are in accord with ANSI/IEEE Std. 260.1-
1993, American National Standard Letter Symbols for Units of 
Measurement (S1 Units, Customary Inch-Pound Units, and Certain Other 
Units).
    3. Use: a. All Federal departments and agencies shall use the terms 
and definitions contained herein. Only after determining that a term or 
definition is not included in this document may other sources be used.
    b. Nearly all terms are listed alphabetically: a few exceptions to 
this rule include (1) the family of network topologies, which are 
grouped under the definition of ``network topology,'' and (2) the 
family of dispersion terms, which are grouped under the definition of 
``dispersion.'' In all cases, ample cross references guide the reader 
to the location of the definition. Term names containing numerals are 
alphabetized as though the numbers were spelled out; thus, ``144-line 
weighting'' will appear in the ``O'' portion of the alphabet between 
the terms ``on-board communication station'' and ``one-way 
communication,'' since it is pronounced as if it were spelled ``one-
forty-four line. . . .'' For user convenience, exceptions to the rule 
are taken for entries comprising numerically consecutive terms, e.g., 
``digital signal 0,'' . . . ``digital signal 4,'' which are grouped 
numerically following the ``digital signal'' entry.
    c. An abbreviation for the term name often appears in parentheses 
following the term name. When both the abbreviation and the spelled-out 
version of a term name are commonly used to name an entity defined in 
this glossary, the definition resides with the more commonly used 
version of the term name. If the more commonly used designation is the 
fully spelled-out term name, then the definition resides under that 
name. If, however, the more common term name is the abbreviation, then 
the definition rests with the abbreviated spelling of that term name. 
For example, the definition of ``decibel'' resides under ``dB.''
    d. When more than one definition is supplied for a given term name, 
the definitions are numbered, and the general definition is given 
first. Succeeding definitions are often specific to a specialized 
discipline, and are usually so identified.
    e. Notes on definitions are not a mandatory part of this document; 
these notes are expository or tutorial in nature. When a note follows a 
source citation (such as ``[JP1]''), that note is not part of the 
source document cited. Notes and cross references apply only to the 
immediately preceding definition, unless stated otherwise.
    f. Three types of cross references are used: ``Contrast with,'' 
``Synonyn'' and ``See''
    (1) ``Contrast with'' is used for terms that are nearly antonyms, 
or when understanding one concept is aided by examining the definition 
of its counterpart.
    (2) When term names are synonymous, the definition is placed under 
only one of the term names, i.e., the preferred term name, which is 
generally the most common name. Synonyms are listed for cross-reference 
purposes only. The other term name entries contain only a ``Synonym'' 
listing; i.e., the definition for synonymous term names is not 
repeated. Terms labeled ``Colloquial synonym'' are in occasional 
informal use, but may be semantically inexact or may border on slang.
    (3) ``See'' is used where an undefined term name is entered as a 
cross reference only to direct the reader to a related term name (or 
term names) that is (are) defined in the glossary.
    g. Term names that are semantically incorrect, that have been 
replaced by recent advances in technology, or that have definitions 
that are no longer applicable, are designated as ``deprecated''. In 
such case the reader is referred to current term names, where 
applicable.
    h. The telecommunications terms included in this glossary either 
are not sufficiently defined in a standard desk dictionary or are 
restated for clarity and convenience. Likewise, combinations of such 
words are included in this glossary only where the usual desk-
dictionary definitions, when used in combination, are either 
insufficient or vague.
    i. Definitions that carry the source citation ``[47CFR]'' (which 
refers to Title 47 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations), or ``[NTIA]'' 
(which refers to the NTIA Manual), or the source citation ``[RR]'' 
(which refers to the ITU Radio Regulations) may have a format or syntax 
that differs from the definitions in the remainder of FED-STD 1037C 
because the FTSC Subcommittee to Revise FED-STD 1037B was not 
authorized to make any changes whatever to the definitions in these 
three documents. One minor formatting change was made to definitions 
from NSTISSI No. 4009, National Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) 
Glossary, cited [NIS]: Often the introductory; indefinite article or 
definite article was added at the beginning of the cited definition, 
and that article was added in square brackets ``[  ]'' to indicate that 
its addition was the only change made in the quoted definition.
    j. Figures have been added to many definitions throughout the 
glossary to illustrate complex concepts or systems that are defined 
herein. With the exception of the figure called ``electromagnetic 
spectrum,'' these figures are not a mandatory part of this document.
    k. This standard contains two appendixes, neither of which is 
mandatory.

    Appendix A consists of a list of abbreviations used in this 
glossary. In that list, the bold font graces the term names that are 
defined in this glossary. Appendix B consists of an abbreviated 
index of families of defined terms whose technologies are related. 
This index is provided as a tool to identify all related terms 
within a specific discipline so that the reader's understanding of a 
definition may be amplified by reading related definitions within a 
specific discipline. The index also provides the reader with 
information on the breadth and scope of disciplines addressed in the 
glossary.

    4. Effective Date: The use of this approved standard by U.S. 
Government departments and agencies is mandatory, effective 180 days 
following the date of this standard.
    5. Changes: When a Federal department or agency considers that this 
standard does not provide for its essential needs, a request for 
exception should be submitted to the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology (NIST) in accordance with Federal Information Processing 
Standards Procedures.
    Federal departments and agencies are encouraged to submit updates 
to this standard; those updates will be considered for the next 
revision of this standard. Submit suggested changes to the National 
Communications System, whose address is given below. Office of the 
Manager, National Communications System, Office of Technology and 
Standards, 701 South Court House Road, Arlington, VA 22204-2198.

[FR Doc. 96-22062 Filed 8-28-96; 8:45 am]
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