3G / UMTS

3G is the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology, after 2G. 3G technologies enable network operators to offer consumers a wider range of more advanced services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectrum allocation. Services include wireless voice telephony and high speed packet-based wireless data, all in a mobile environment. The formal name for 3G is the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)

barablu personal number

barablu personal number is a free number that helps you stay connected with all your barablu friends. All barablu users will automatically have a barablu number. To view your barablu number log in to your account on the website using your username and password and go to Account Details.

Any of your friends, who also use barablu, can call you on this number for free from their mobile, PC, or from their broadband phones for free. This number cannot be called from a regular landline or mobile phone.

Broadband

Broadband comes from the words "broad bandwidth". Sometimes referred to as a wideband transmission, broadband refers to telecommunications that provide a variety of channels and data over a single communication medium (wire). Today there are a wide variety of broadband technologies available in most areas. Two of the more commonly used technologies are cable and DSL broadband. Broadband is data transmission of greater than 56 Kbps (kilo-bytes per second) that can carry multiple signals at once. The larger the bandwidth of a carrier, the greater the amount of information it can carry.

CDMA

Code division multiple Access (CDMA) describes a communication channel access principle that employs a special coding scheme (where each transmitter is assigned a code). In modern communications technology, there are only three aspects that can allow multiplexing to be implemented for more efficient use of the available channel bandwidth and these are known as time, frequency and space. CDMA divides the access in signal space. By contrast, time division multiple access (TDMA) divides access by time, while frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) divides it by frequency. CDMA is a form of "spread-spectrum" signaling, since the modulated coded signal has a much higher bandwidth than the data being communicated. An analogy to the problem of multiple access is a room (channel) in which people wish to communicate with each other. To avoid confusion, people could take turns speaking (time division), speak at different pitches (frequency division), or speak in different directions (spatial division). In CDMA, they would speak different languages and people speaking the same language can understand each other.

 

EDGE

Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), is a digital mobile phone technology that allows increased data transmission rates and improved data transmission reliability. Commonly known as 2.75G, EDGE has been introduced into mobile phone networks around the world since 2003.

Global Directory

barablu Global Directory is a database of all barablu users. This directory can be accessed through the dialler on your mobile or from your PC. During registration for the dialer you can select whether or not you want your profile to be listed in the global directory. By enabling this option, all other barablu users can see your details, such as your name, barablu username, country, city, gender, and language.

You can search for other users by name, language, barablu username, gender, age group, town, and country. The details of the search are displayed in the Global Directory. You can view other users' profiles by selecting them, and can add a user to your list of contacts by clicking the Add Contact button. This will send an e-mail to the other person asking for his/her permission to be added. If the other person accepts the invitation then he/she will get added automatically to your contact list on the dialer.

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a mobile data service that is available to GSM mobile phone users.

GPRS data transfer is typically charged per kilobyte of transferred data, while data communication via traditional circuit switching is billed per minute of connection time, independent of whether the user has actually transferred data or has been in an idle state. GPRS can be used for services such as accessing mobile internet sites, downloading applications and sending picture messages. GSM networks, combined with GPRS is commonly described as 2.5G .

GSM

Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) is currently the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. It is estimated by the GSM Association, that 82%, some 2 billion people of the global mobile market uses the standard. GSM differs from its predecessors in that both signaling, and speech channels, are digital call quality, and so is considered a second generation, or 2G technology.

Hot Spot

A hot spot is another name that is sometimes used to refer to a Mobile (Wi-Fi enabled) access point, or an area where there is an open wireless network. A hot spot can have free wireless Internet access, but the term can also apply to areas with paid access, such as coffee shops or airports.

HSPDA

High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is a 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communications protocol that allows 3G networks to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity than currently available.

barablu online number

barablu online number is a number that is linked to the dialer on your mobile, PC or to your broadband phone. This number is different than your barablu personal number; with your barablu personal number only your friends using barablu can call you, but with your barablu onlinenumber even your friends who are not barablu users can call you from a regular landline or mobile. Anyone, anywhere in the world can call you on your barablu online number from a regular phone or mobile at no cost to them. When you purchase your barablu online number you select a preferred calling area, and with this number anyone can call you from a regular phone or mobile and pay only the cost for a call to that chosen area - not necessarily your physical location - which could save them money.

 

Call forwarding

You have the option to forwad incoming calls to your landline or mobile outside the barablu network at a nominal cost by changing the call forwarding settings from the website. When you are not online, or if the call is not answered, calls will be forwarded to your choosen number and you can still answer the call.

SMS

The Short Message Service (SMS), often called text messaging, is a means of sending short messages to and from mobile and fixed-line phones. Messages can be up to 160 characters, including spaces and many handsets will allow multiple messages to be combined into a longer message.

VoIP

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology for transmitting ordinary telephone calls over the Internet. It can also be called IP telephony. VoIP is simply a way of utilizing the Internet (or even in some cases intranets) for telephone conversations.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is the popular term for a high-frequency wireless local area network (WLAN). It is a high-speed wireless network that provides access to the Internet, generally within a limited range of the transmission equipment. Wi-Fi technology is rapidly gaining acceptance in many companies as an alternative to a wired LAN, and can also be installed as part of a home network. This popular technology allows for wireless broadband access. It is a network protocol that enables online content to be viewed via wireless devices, such as cell phones, laptop computers, and PDAs. Public Wifi areas are often referred to as hotspots.