070 Numbers
Personal or follow-me numbers beginning 070. They can route to another landline or mobile while helping the user avoid publishing a direct number.
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Business Telecoms & Communications Glossary
Plain-English definitions of Cloud PBX, VoIP, IVR, business number, messaging and UK telecoms terms.
AIT — Artificial Inflation of Traffic
Activity that generates or stimulates calls in a way that may breach UK interconnect rules. UK voice traffic is subject to the relevant industry conditions and investigation processes.
API — Application Programming Interface
A secure method that allows one application or service to exchange information with another, such as connecting an IVR journey to a CRM or payment check.
ACD — Automatic Call Distributor
Technology that queues incoming calls and distributes them to the most appropriate available agents using defined routing rules.
Auto attendant
An automated telephone receptionist that greets callers and offers menu choices to route them to the right person, team or information.
Business continuity
Planning and technology that keep business communications available during outages or disruption, often by rerouting calls to alternative locations or devices.
Call forwarding
Sending incoming calls automatically to another telephone number, extension, mobile or answering service.
Call queuing
Holding callers in an ordered queue when every agent is busy, usually with announcements, music and estimated-wait information.
Call recording
Capturing voice calls for authorised monitoring, training or compliance purposes, subject to applicable privacy and regulatory obligations.
Call routing
The rules that determine where a call is sent, often based on time, caller choice, location or team availability.
CDR — Call Detail Record
A record containing technical and billing information about a call, such as its source, destination, start time, duration and outcome.
CNAM — Caller Name
A caller-name value associated with a telephone number and displayed on compatible networks or devices. Availability and presentation vary by country, provider and receiving network.
CPaaS — Communications Platform as a Service
A cloud platform that lets organisations add voice, SMS, messaging and verification features to applications using APIs.
CLI — Caller Line Identification
The telephone number associated with the person or organisation making a call.
Cloud PBX
A business phone system hosted online rather than on equipment at the customer’s premises. Users connect through handsets, desktop apps or mobile softphones.
CRM — Customer Relationship Management
Software used to manage customer information and interactions. Integrating a phone system with a CRM can display caller records, log calls and automate follow-up work.
ComReg
The Commission for Communications Regulation, which regulates electronic communications and premium-rate services in the Republic of Ireland.
CRTC
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the independent public authority responsible for regulating broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.
DDI — Direct Dialling In
A number that lets an external caller reach an individual extension or team directly.
DID — Direct Inward Dialling
The term commonly used outside the UK for DDI: a public number that reaches a user, team or application without passing through a switchboard operator.
DTMF — Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency
The tones generated when telephone keypad buttons are pressed, commonly used to make selections or enter information in an IVR.
E.164
The international standard that defines the structure and maximum length of public telephone numbers, normally written with a country code such as +44 for the UK.
Failover routing
Rules that automatically redirect calls to another destination when the primary number, connection, location or team is unavailable.
Drop charge
A fixed service charge applied when a call connects, also described as per-call billing.
Follow-me number
A virtual number routed to one or more chosen destinations so the user can remain reachable without publishing a direct line.
Geographic number
A UK telephone number beginning 01 or 02 and associated with a geographic area code, even when delivered through a cloud phone service.
Hunt group
A group of extensions or agents rung simultaneously or in a defined sequence until someone answers.
Hybrid tariff
A charging structure combining a fixed connection charge with a per-minute charge after an initial period.
Jitter
Variation in the arrival time of voice data packets. Excessive jitter can make VoIP audio sound broken or uneven.
Latency
The delay between speech being sent and heard. High network latency can cause people on a call to talk over one another.
LCR — Least Cost Routing
Selecting an available carrier or route for a call according to cost, quality, destination and commercial rules.
ICSTIS
A former name for the UK premium-rate services regulator, later known as PhonepayPlus and then the Phone-paid Services Authority.
IVR — Interactive Voice Response
Software that handles calls using menus, speech recognition, routing rules and automated access to information.
Managed content
A service in which technology, content and operational support are supplied together, subject to the relevant regulatory and contractual requirements.
MNO — Mobile Network Operator
A company that owns or operates a mobile network and provides mobile services to customers.
MO — Mobile Originated
An SMS message sent from a customer’s mobile device to a service, including messages sent to short codes.
MT — Mobile Terminated
An SMS message delivered from a service to a customer’s mobile device. Some premium services apply a charge when an eligible MT message is received.
Non-geographic number
A UK telephone number not linked to a specific location, including 03, 080 and certain service-number ranges.
Number porting
Moving an existing telephone number from one communications provider to another while keeping the same number.
Number hosting
Holding and activating telephone numbers on a communications platform so calls can be routed, managed or supplied onward without each number requiring a physical line.
NOC — Network Operations Centre
A team or facility that monitors communications infrastructure, investigates incidents and coordinates restoration or maintenance work.
Omnichannel communications
A joined-up customer experience across channels such as telephone, SMS, email, web chat and messaging applications.
Ofcom
The UK communications regulator covering telecommunications, broadcasting, spectrum and postal services.
ONO — Originating Network Operator
The network operator from which a telephone call originates.
PBX — Private Branch Exchange
The business phone system that manages internal extensions and external calls. A Cloud PBX provides this online rather than through on-site equipment.
Personal number
A number, commonly on the 070 range, designed to reach an individual through one access number and used under applicable Ofcom rules.
PhonepayPlus
A former name for the UK premium-rate services regulator, previously ICSTIS and later the Phone-paid Services Authority.
Prior-permission service
A regulated premium-rate service category that must receive approval from the relevant authority before launch.
PRN — Premium Rate Number
A telephone number used to provide a charged service, with part of the charge potentially supporting the service provider.
PRS — Premium Rate Services
Content, information, entertainment or other services charged through a telephone call or message.
PSMS — Premium Rate SMS
Text messaging services where an eligible message or subscription carries an additional charge.
PSTN — Public Switched Telephone Network
The traditional telephone network used for fixed-line voice services. UK businesses are moving from legacy analogue services to internet-based alternatives.
Packet loss
Voice data that fails to reach its destination. Persistent packet loss can cause gaps, distortion or dropped VoIP calls.
QoS — Quality of Service
Network settings that prioritise voice traffic to help reduce delay, jitter and packet loss during VoIP calls.
Reverse billing
A premium messaging model where the customer is charged when an eligible message is delivered to their device.
SBC — Session Border Controller
A network security and traffic-control system at the boundary of a VoIP network that protects and manages voice sessions.
SIP — Session Initiation Protocol
A signalling standard commonly used to establish, manage and end internet-based voice and video sessions.
SIP trunk
An internet-based connection that carries business voice traffic between a phone system and a telecoms provider.
SMS — Short Message Service
The mobile network technology used to send and receive text messages.
SMS short code
A four-, five- or six-digit number used for high-volume, interactive or premium mobile messaging services.
Softphone
Software that turns a computer, tablet or mobile into a business telephone extension.
Speech recognition
Technology that interprets spoken words so a caller can navigate an IVR or provide information without using a keypad.
Speech to text
Technology that converts spoken audio into written text for transcription, search, summaries or automated workflows.
SRTP — Secure Real-time Transport Protocol
A security protocol used to encrypt the audio carried during compatible VoIP calls.
TLS — Transport Layer Security
Encryption commonly used to protect SIP signalling and other information exchanged between compatible communications systems.
The PSA — Phone-paid Services Authority
The former UK regulatory body for phone-paid services. Regulatory responsibilities and industry arrangements should be checked against current Ofcom guidance.
TNO — Terminating Network Operator
The network operator responsible for delivering a call to its final destination.
TO — Transit Operator
A network operator that carries traffic between the originating and terminating networks.
UCaaS — Unified Communications as a Service
A cloud service combining business calling with tools such as messaging, meetings, presence and collaboration in one managed platform.
Unified communications
The integration of business phone calls, video meetings, messaging, presence and collaboration tools into a connected user experience.
TTS — Text to Speech
Technology that converts written content into synthetic spoken audio, allowing applications to generate prompts or read changing information to callers.
Voice bot
An automated voice application that uses speech recognition, business rules and sometimes conversational AI to understand requests and provide answers or complete tasks.
Virtual number
A telephone number not tied to one physical line. Calls can be routed to landlines, mobiles, teams, menus or cloud applications.
VoIP — Voice over Internet Protocol
Technology that carries voice calls through an internet connection rather than a traditional telephone line.
Voicemail to email
A feature that sends a voicemail recording, notification or transcription to a nominated email address.
WebRTC — Web Real-Time Communication
Browser and application technology enabling real-time voice, video and data communication without a traditional phone client.