ARPU

Average Revenue Per Unit/User - A measure of how much money a customer generates per month.  This is not the amount of money they replenish on their account, but rather the actual funds consumed by buying services from the phone.

Kiosk

A common term referring to any self-service machine.  Click here to learn more.

Churn

A measure of the percent of customers leaving (i.e. deactivating).  High churn can severely impact a wireless company's ability to grown if the number of customers leaving each month is higher than the number of new customers joining on.

CDMA

Code Division Multiple Access - A digital cellular technology patented by Qualcomm.  Click here to learn more.

EDGE

Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution - 2.5G high speed digital data technology.  Compatible with GSM technology.  Also called Enhanced GPRS.  Click here to learn more.

EVDO

Evolution Data Optimized - This is the 3G technology on CDMA networks.  The initial implementation was Rev0; the latest version is RevA, which has faster download speeds, and much faster upload speeds.

FICO

Fair Isaac Credit Organization - A measure of credit risk.  Named after its creators.  Click here to learn more.

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service - The first high speed digital data service.  Compatible with GSM technology.  Click here to learn more.

GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications - One of the major standards for cellular networks.  Available in over 100 countries, and deemed the standard in Europe.  Uses SIM cards.  Click here to learn more.

HSDPA

High Speed Downlink Packet Access - 3G digital data cellular service using GSM technology.

HSPA

High Speed Packet Access - Part of the 3G data services family.  Evolved from WCDMA,

iDEN

Integrated Digital Enhanced Network - Cellular technology from Motorola.  Supports voice, data, SMS, and two-way radio.

LTV

LifeTime Value

LTE

Long Term Evolution - 4G cellular technology standard competing with WiMAX.

MOU

Minutes Of Use - This is the number of minutes used by a customer each month.  Low usage can indicate a non-committed customer who is more likely to churn.  However, high usage can mean high network costs, especially for unlimited plans where customers don't pay for each minute they use.

MVNO

Mobile Virtual Network Operator.  Click here to learn more.

Non-POSA

Non-Point Of Sale Activation - A process whereby products with value (ex. replenishment cards) maintain their value and have a high risk of theft.  Click here to learn more.

OIBIDA

Operating Income Before Depreciation & Amortization - A measure of a company's profitability.  Companies can have high revenues but have high expenses resulting in low profitability

PDA

Personal Digital Assistant

POS

Point Of Sale - Used to refer to in-store (where purchases are made).  Click here to learn more.

POSA

Point Of Sale Activation - A process allowing products with value (ex. replenishment cards) to be displayed without the risk of theft.  Only when the product is activated at the sales register does the product take on value.  Click here to learn more.

RTR

Real Time Replenishment - Refers to a PIN-less replenishment where money is added to your account in real time at point of sale.  Often referred to as topup.  Click here to learn more.

SMS

Short Message Service - Often referred to as text messaging.  Typically a maximum of 160 characters.

SIM

Subscriber Identity Module - Smart card used in GSM and iDEN phones that stores customer account information as well as contacts.  Allows you to easily swap your account information into another phone.

Topup

Term commonly used to mean PIN-less Real Time Replenishment (RTR).  Also sometimes used to refer generally to adding money to an account.

Replenishment

The action of adding money to a prepaid account using any method (ex. cash, credit card, debit card, electronic check).

Mag Stripe

The black magnetic stripe on the back of a card (ex. credit card, replenishment card, etc.).  This is the part of a card that is swiped at the register that contains encoded information that tells the register where to send the transaction request.

Prepaid Account Balance

The money on a prepaid phone that can be used to purchase wireless services.

Net Adds

The total number of new customers added after subtracting the total number of lost customers (i.e. customers that churned).

Gross Adds

The total number of new customers added to the carrier's network each month.

UMTS

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - 3G wireless service for GSM technology.  Uses WCDMA and HSPA.

UPC

Universal Product Code

WCDMA

Wideband CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) - 3G high speed digital data technology.  Compatible with TDMA and GSM technologies.

WAP

Wireless Application Protocol - An open international standard used on cellular phones to enable Internet (HTTP) access.

Mobile-to-Mobile

Wireless carriers offer free/included calls when customers call other customers within the same wireless provider's network.  Ex. Free Verizon to Verizon calls.

Wi-Fi

Wireless Fidelity - High frequency local area network.  Consumer friendly name for IEEE 802.11 standards.

WiMAX

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access - A wireless telecommunications technology for providing high speed data over long distances.