ACMA - Glossary S

Information on our website often includes abbreviations, acronyms, technical language and jargon. To assist you, a glossary of commonly used terms is given here, with explanations.

The glossary is provided in the following alphabetical breakdown:

Commonly used terms	Explanation
SAR	specific absorption rate Electromagnetic radiation exposure measurement for mobile phones—under ACMA’s regulatory arrangement, the SAR must not exceed two watts per kilogram averaged over 10 grams.
SBS	Special Broadcasting Service Free-to-air national radio and television broadcasting service providing multilingual and multicultural programs that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia’s multicultural society. The SBS Online service also provides additional multilingual content through the internet.
SIAP	Safer Internet Action Plan The European Union’s response to the presence of illegal and harmful content on the internet. The plan comprised strategies for hotlines, filtering, and education and awareness, including establishing and funding INHOPE.
SIO	services in operation Refers to the number of services provided by a telephone company at a particular time. The term is used in the context of both fixed line services and mobile services.
SIM card	subscriber identity module card ‘Smart’ card for use with a mobile phone that can be securely programmed with information identifying the service’s account holder.
smartnumbers^®	Specified freephone (1800) or local rate (13, or 1300) numbers allocated by auction that are considered valuable or desirable because they can be translated to a phoneword or have a memorable pattern.
SMP	standard marketing plan Approved plan for meeting the USO by the universal service provider.
SMS	short message service Mobile telecommunications data transmission service that allows users to send short text messages using the mobile handset keypad.
spam	Unsolicited messages often sent in bulk to a large number of email addresses.
SPAN	Service Providers Action Network Former industry group of service providers, now merged with ACIF to form Communications Alliance Ltd.
STS	standard telephone service Telecommunications service that connects customers to the PSTN.
TAPRIC	Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities Plan developed from a study commissioned by the Australian Government that gathered information about telecommunications services required by remote Indigenous communities.
TIO	Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Industry-funded independent dispute resolution service for consumers who are unable to resolve individual complaints with their carriers and carriage service providers.
TS	Technical Standard Standard made by ACMA for communications customer equipment or networks.
TSP	telephone service provider CSP offering telephony services.
TTY	teletypewriter Telephone typewriter (after a call is connected, the caller types the communication) that can be used by people unable to use a voice-based telephone service.
UHF	ultra high frequency Part of the radiofrequency spectrum between 300 and 3,000 MHz.
USO	universal service obligation The obligation under the Telecommunications Act 1997 to ensure that standard telephone services, payphones and prescribed carriage services are reasonably accessible to all Australians on an equitable basis, wherever they reside or carry on business.
UWB	ultra wideband Wireless technology for transmitting digital data at very high rates with very low power over a wide spectrum of frequency bands.
VHF	very high frequency Portion of the radiofrequency spectrum between 30 and 300 MHz.
VoIP	voice over internet protocol A protocol for transmitting voice over packet-switched data networks. Also called IP telephony. Enables voice communication to be transmitted via the internet, with or without a computer and modem.
VSP	Voice over internet protocol service provider CSP supplying peer-to-peer application that enables customer to make voice calls over IP networks.
webcam	A digital camera capable of downloading images to a computer for transmission over the internet or other network
weblog	A website that displays in chronological order the postings by one or more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings. Also known as a blog.
WIA	Wireless Institute of Australia Peak body representing the amateur radiocommunications community, which conducts examinations for amateur radio operators under delegation from ACMA.
WiFi	wireless fidelity Used generically to refer to wireless local area network (IEEE 802.11) technology providing short-range, high data rate connections between mobile data devices and access points connected to a wired network.
WiMAX	Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Industry group organised to advance the IEEE 802.16 standards for broadband wireless access networks for multimedia applications with a wireless connection.
WLAN	wireless local area network Network using short-range radiocommunications transmission links, for example, a private network of computer terminals, which may or may not be connected to the public network.
WLL	wireless local loop The use of radio transmission (rather than wire or coaxial cable) to provide connection between a handset (fixed or mobile) and a telecommunications base station or network.
WRC	World Radiocommunication Conference An ITU conference held every two or three years, to review and amend the international radio regulations.

Glossary S – Z