- Glossary
Provides a list of commonly used acronyms and definitions that have been gathered from - multiple sources including the FCC, ATIS
and other industry forums.
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| ACRONYMS | |
| ALI | Automatic Location Identification |
| ANI | Automatic Number Identification |
| ANSI | American National Standards Institute |
| ATIS | Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (www.atis.org) |
| CDRL | Contract Data Requirements List |
| CLLI™ | COMMON LANGUAGE® Location Identification |
| CO | Central Office |
| COCAG | Central Office Code Assignment Guidelines |
| DRP | Disaster Recovery Plan |
| E9-1-1 SSP | E9-1-1 System Service Providers |
| ERDB | Emergency Routing Data Base |
| ESIF | Emergency Services Interconnection Forum |
| ESN | Emergency Service Number |
| ESQK | Emergency Service Query Key |
| ESRK | Emergency Service Routing Key |
| ESZ | Emergency Service Zone |
| FCC | Federal Communications Commission |
| ILEC | Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier |
| IMG | Issue Management Group |
| INC | Industry Numbering Committee |
| LEC | Local Exchange Carrier |
| MPC | Mobile Position Center |
| NANC | North American Numbering Council |
| NANP | North American Numbering Plan |
| NANPA | North American Numbering Plan Administrator |
| NARUC | National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners |
| NENA | National Emergency Number Association |
| NOWG | Numbering Oversight Working Group, a subgroup of the NANC |
| NPA | Numbering Plan Area (Area Code) |
| NRO | Number Resource Optimization |
| NRRIC | Network Rating and Routing Information Committee |
| NXX | The format of an NPA code or a central office code (N=2-9, X=0-9) |
| OCN | Operating Company Number |
| PA | Pooling Administrator |
| p-ANI | Pseudo Automatic Number Identification |
| PDE | Position Determining Entity |
| PCS | Personal Communications Service |
| PSAP | Public Safety Answering Point |
| PSC | Public Service Commission |
| PUC | Public Utility Commission |
| RNA | Routing Number Administrator |
| RNAS | Routing Number Administrator System |
| SP | Service Provider |
| SR | Selective Routing |
| SRDB | Selective Routing Data Base |
| TBPAG | Thousands Block Pooling Administrator Guidelines |
| TN | Telephone Number |
| VoIP | Voice Over Internet Protocol |
| VPC | VoIPPositioning Center |
| DEFINITIONS | |
| 9-1-1 Governing Authority | An entity designated under state law or regulation to have decision-making and oversight responsibilities for a 9-1-1 Emergency Number System for one or more PSAPs. |
| Aging p-ANI | A
p-ANI not available for assignment to another Eligible
User for a specified period of time because it has been
recently disconnected and returned or reclaimed. A p-ANI is disconnected when it is no longer used for call routing and location display of callers to the serving PSAP. Such p-ANIs must be aged before being made available for assignment. P-ANIs shall be aged for no less than thirty (30) days by the RNA. |
| Applicant | An entity who submit a request to the RNA for the purpose of being assigned a non-dialable p-ANI for their use. |
| Audit | The accumulation and evaluation of evidence about documented information of an auditee to determine and report on the degree of compliance with INC industry guidelines. |
| Auditee | Any party that is the subject of an audit. |
| Auditor | The appropriate bureau(s) within the FCC or other appropriate governmental entity, or other designated agents that perform audits of p-ANI resources. |
| Authorized Representative of an Applicant | A person from an applicant's organization or its agent that has the legal authority to take action on behalf of the applicant. |
| Automatic Location Identification (ALI) | The automatic display at the PSAP of the caller’s telephone number, the address/location of the telephone and supplementary emergency services information of the location from which a call originates. |
| Automatic Location Identification (ALI) Database | The set of ALI records residing on a computer system. |
| Available p-ANI | P-ANIs that may be assigned to Eligible Users and are not classified as Assigned or Aging. |
| Central Office (CO) Code | The sub-NPA code in a TN, i.e., digits D-E-F of a 10-digit NANP Area address. Central office codes are in the form "NXX", where N is a number from 2 to 9 and X is a number from 0 to 9. Central office codes may also be referred to as "NXX codes" (47 C.F.R. § 52.7(c)). |
| CLLI™ | A CLLI Location Identification Code is an eleven-character alphanumeric descriptor used to identify switches, points of interconnection, and other categories of telephony network elements and their locations. Companies that are licensees of Telcordia™ COMMON LANGUAGE® Products can refer questions to their company's COMMON LANGUAGE Coordinator. If you do not know if you are a licensee, do not know your Coordinator, or are a licensee with questions regarding CLLIs, call the COMMON LANGUAGE Hotline, 877-699-5577. Alternatively, or if you are not a licensee, obtain further information at www.commonlanguage.com. (COMMON LANGUAGE is a registered trademark and CLLI is a trademark of Telcordia Technologies, Inc.) |
| CO Code Administrator | Entity(ies) responsible for the Administrator of the NXX codes within an NPA. In the United States and its territories, this is currently the NANPA. See also 47 CFR § 52.7 (d). |
| Dialable P-ANI Number | From a p-ANI perspective, a 10-digit number in the format of NPA-NXX-XXXX, where the digits in “E” and “F” positions of the 10-digit number (ABC-DEF-GHIJ) are not a “1” and the number is used for local or emergency communication purposes. |
| E9-1-1 System Service Providers (E9-1-1 SSP) | An
E9-1-1 System Service Provider (E9-1-1SSP), typically
but not always an ILEC, provides systems and support
necessary to enable 9-1-1 calling for a single or group
of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). In relation
to the jurisdictional boundary of the PSAP and the
system provider’s scope of authority, this includes:
1) A method of interconnection for all telecommunications providers including but not limited to the wireline, wireless, and VoIP carriers; 2) A method for routing a 9-1-1 call to the correct PSAP with no degradation in service regardless of the technology to originate the call; 3) A method to provide accurate location information for an emergency caller to a PSAP and if required, other emergency response agencies; 4) Installation and training of PSAP call handling equipment and other related systems when required; and 5) Coordinating with PSAP authorities on issues involving contingency planning, disaster mitigation, and recovery. |
| Eligible User | An
"Eligible User" is an entity that: 1) Demonstrates that it is permitted under applicable law to access p-ANI resources in the area for which the p-ANI resources are sought; § A wireless service provider applicant shall provide the RNA a copy of its FCC license, showing that it is authorized to provide service in the area in which it is seeking resources. § An interconnected VoIP service provider applicant shall provide the RNA copies of pages 2 and 36 of its FCC Form 477, showing that it is authorized to provide service in the area in which it is seeking resources. § Any entity that requires p-ANIs to comply with any state or federal order and that has been certified as a CLEC by a state shall provide the RNA a copy of its state certification showing that it is authorized to provide service in the area in which it is seeking resources. 2) Has received approval from the 9-1-1 governing authority to route E9-1-1 traffic for termination to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) ; 3) Has been assigned a valid Operating Company Number (OCN) ; 4) Has been assigned a valid NENA Company Identifier (ID) 1 by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) ; and 5) Self-certifies that it will provide the technical and functional capability to route traffic or provide routing instructions to enable emergency call delivery to a PSAP. |
| Emergency Routing Data Base (ERDB) | The ERDB contains routing information associated with each Emergency Service Zone (ESZ) in a serving area. It supports the boundary definitions for ESZs and the mapping of civic address or geo-spatial coordinate location information to a particular ESZ. |
| Emergency Services Interconnection Forum (ATIS ESIF) | ESIF is a standing committee of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) and is the primary venue for the telecommunications industry, public safety and other stakeholders to generate and refine both technical and operational interconnection issues to ensure life-saving E9-1-1 services are available for everyone in all situations. ATIS ESIF enables many different telecommunications entities to fully cooperate and interconnect with each other to determine the best practices and solutions necessary to effectively and promptly deploy E9-1-1 services nationwide. ATIS ESIF's mission is to facilitate the identification and resolution of both technical and operational issues related to the interconnection of telephony and emergency services networks. |
| Emergency Service Number (ESN) | A 3-5 digit number that represents one or more ESZs. An ESN is defined as one of two types: Administrative ESN and Routing ESN (Refer to definitions elsewhere in this document.) |
|
Emergency Service Query Key (ESQK) and Emergency Service Routing Key (ESRK) |
Emergency Service Query Key (ESQK) and Emergency Service Routing Key (ESRK) are Emergency Service Keys – The Emergency Service Key identifies a call instance at an Eligible User, and is associated with a particular selective routing system and PSAP combination. The Emergency Service Key is delivered to the E9-1-1 selective routing system and as the calling number/ANI for the call to the PSAP. The Emergency Service Key is used by the selective routing system as the key to the Selective Routing data associated with the call. The Emergency Service Key is delivered by the selective routing system to the PSAP as the calling number/ANI for the call, and is subsequently used by the PSAP to request ALI information for the call. The ALI database includes the Emergency Service Key in location requests sent to the Eligible User. The Emergency Service Key is used by the Eligible User as a key to look up the location object and other call information associated with an emergency call instance. The Emergency Service Key is expected to be a ten-digit North American Numbering Plan Number. |
| Emergency Service Zone (ESZ) | A geographical area that represents a unique combination of emergency service agencies (e.g., Law Enforcement, Fire and Emergency Medical Service) that are within a specified 9-1-1 governing authority’s jurisdiction. An ESZ can be represented by an Emergency Service Number (ESN) to identify the ESZ. (Refer to ESN). |
| Exchange or Exchange Area | A geographical area established by a BOC for Administrator and pricing of telecommunications services in a specified area that usually embraces a city, town, or village and its environs. |
| Fixed Location Service | A device or service that can only operate from the registered address or location. |
| INC | Industry Numbering Committee (INC) provides an open forum to address and resolve industry-wide issues associated with the planning, Administrator, allocation, assignment and use of numbering resources and related dialing considerations for public telecommunications within the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) area. |
| In Use | A p-ANI that has been provisioned in the serving E9-1-1 network and is being used for emergency communications purposes with the appropriate PSAP. |
| Inventory | The
term “inventory” refers to all telephone numbers
distributed, assigned or allocated: 1) To a p-ANI Assignee; or 2) To the RNA for the purpose of establishing or maintaining a p-ANI number pool. |
| (Industry) Inventory Pool | Used in p-ANI Administrator to describe a reservoir of unallocated p-ANIs administered by the RNA for purposes of assignment to Eligible Users. |
| Mobile Position Center (MPC) | The MPC serves as the point of interface to the ANSI wireless network for the Emergency Services Network. The MPC serves as the entity which retrieves, forwards, stores and controls position data within the location network. It can select the PDE(s) to use in position determination and forwards the position to the requesting entity or stores it for subsequent retrieval. In the case of a PDE with autonomous determination capability, the MPC receives and stores the position estimation for subsequent retrieval. The MPC may restrict access to position information (e.g., require that the mobile subscriber be engaged in an emergency service call or only release position information to authorized nodes). |
| North American Numbering Council (NANC) | On October 5, 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established the North American Numbering Council (NANC), by filing its charter with Congress, to provide advice and recommendations to the FCC and other governments (including Canada and Caribbean countries) on numbering issues. |
| North American Numbering Plan (NANP) | A numbering architecture in which every station in the NANP area is identified by a unique ten-digit address consisting of a three-digit NPA code, a three digit central office code of the form NXX, and a four-digit line number of the form XXXX, where N represents the digits 2-9 and X represents the digits 0-9. It is the basic numbering scheme for the telecommunications networks located in American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Turks & Caicos Islands, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United States (including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) [47 CFR § 52.5 (c)]. |
| NANPA (North American Numbering Plan Administrator) | The NANPA is responsible for the neutral Administrator of NANP numbering resources, subject to directives from regulatory authorities in the NANP member countries (see also 47 CFR § 52.7 (e)). The NANPA is an impartial non-governmental entity that is not aligned with any particular telecommunications industry segment.[1] Under contract to the FCC, NANPA's responsibilities include assignment of NANP resources, and, in the U.S. and its territories, coordination of area code relief planning and collection of utilization and forecast data. See also 47 CFR § 52.13. |
| National Emergency Number Association (NENA) | NENA is a professional non-profit organization, established to promote implementation and awareness of 9-1-1 as the U.S. and Canadian universal emergency number. NENA provides a forum for dialogue between and among public safety and industry partners. NENA serves its members through policy advocacy, establishment of technical and operational standards, certification programs and a broad spectrum of educational offerings. |
| NENA Company ID | NENA
Company Identifier (ID) 1 is a 3-5 character identifier,
that distinguishes the entity providing voice service
(e.g., Wireline, Wireless, VoIP, PBX, etc.) to the end
user. The company identifier registry is maintained by
NENA in a nationally accessible data base. NENA Company-ID 2 - A 3-5 character identifier, that distinguishes the source of the ALI record information (e.g., service provider/reseller/private switch owner) Dependent on 9-1-1 service provider and/or PSAP capabilities either only company-ID 1 or both 1 and 2 display at the PSAP in the delivered ALI record A company-ID can be requested on-line at www.nena.org – follow company-ID section link and then choose ‘sign up for new company ID’ option. |
| Non-Dialable P-ANI Number | From
a p-ANI perspective, a 10-digit number used for
emergency communications in the form of NPA-N11-XXXX The 10-digit numbers within N11 central office codes are unavailable for assignment to an individual subscriber, but are used for local or emergency communication purposes. However, the central office code “911” is excluded from use as a p-ANI resource to ensure NPA-911-XXXX can continue to be used to represent a problem condition at the PSAP. |
| NPA |
Numbering Plan Area, also called area code An NPA is the 3-digit code that occupies the A, B, and C positions in the 10-digit NANP format that applies throughout the NANP Area. NPAs are of the form NXX, where N represents the digits 2-9 and X represents any digit 0-9. In the NANP, NPAs are classified as either geographic or non-geographic. Geographic NPAs are NPAs which correspond to discrete geographic areas within the NANP Area. Non-geographic NPAs are NPAs that do not correspond to discrete geographic areas, but which are instead assigned for services with attributes, functionalities, or requirements that transcend specific geographic boundaries. The common examples are NPAs in the N00 format, e.g., 800. |
| OCN (Operating Company Number) | An Operating Company Number (OCN) is a four place alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies providers of local telecommunications service. OCN assignments are required of all SPs in their submission of utilization and forecast data (FCC 00-104, ¶ 41 and Public Notice DA 00-1549). Relative to CO Code assignments, NECA assigned Company Codes may be used as OCNs. Companies with no prior CO Code or Company Code assignments contact NECA (www.neca.org; 800-228-8597) to be assigned a Company Code(s). Since multiple OCNs and/or Company Codes may be associated with a given company, companies with prior assignments should direct questions regarding appropriate OCN usage to the Telcordia® Routing Administrator (TRA) (www.trainfo.com; 866-672-6997). |
| Pooling Administrator (PA) | The term Pooling Administrator refers to the entity or entities responsible for administering a thousands-block number pool (47 CFR § 52.7 (g)). The Pooling Administrator is responsible for the neutral Administrator of thousands-blocks from Central Office (CO) Codes in areas where thousands-block number pooling has been ordered or implemented. The PA is an impartial non-governmental entity that is not aligned with any particular telecommunications industry segment and is under contract to the FCC. |
| Position Determining Entity (PDE) | The PDE determines the precise position or geographic location of a wireless terminal when the mobile subscriber starts a call or while the mobile subscriber is engaged in a call. Each PDE supports one or more position determining technologies. Multiple PDEs may service the coverage area of an MPC and multiple PDEs may serve the same coverage area of an MPC utilizing different positioning determining technologies. (PDE is synonymous with Location Determination Technology (LDT)). |
| Pseudo-Automatic Number Identification (p-ANI) | Used generically in this document to include any of the other more specifically descriptive acronyms associated with numbers used for routing emergency calls today, such as but not limited to: ESRD, ESRK, ESQK, PSAP routing numbers, etc. |
| Pseudo-Automatic Number Identification (p-ANI) In Use Deadline | A p-ANI assignee shall place a p-ANI or p-ANI range In Use within six months of the original Assignment Date returned on the Part 3 RNA Response/Confirmation Form (Attachment 2). In addition, the p-ANI assignee shall report the p-ANI or p-ANI range In Use status in the next p-ANI Annual Report (Appendix 2) annual submission. |
| Pseudo-Automatic Number Identification (p-ANI) Assignee | The Eligible User to which a p-ANI has been assigned for use. |
| Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) | A facility equipped and staffed to receive 9-1-1 calls. |
| Routing Number Administrator (RNA) | The neutral, third-party entity, contracted by the Federal Communications Commission, responsible for the assignment of non-dialable p-ANI numbers to Eligible Users. |
| Service Provider (SP) | The term “service provider” refers to a telecommunications carrier or other entity that receives numbering resources from the NANPA, a Pooling Administrator or a telecommunications carrier for the purpose of providing or establishing telecommunications service (47 CFR § 52.5 (i)). |
| Selective Router CLLI | An 11-character code assigned to a central office to designate the physical location and area served. Characters 1-4 designate the rate center location, characters 5-6 designate the state code, characters 7-8 identify the central office, and characters 9-11 specify the equipment type. In particular, characters 9-11 will be in a unique format designated for the use of a selective router as determined by Telcordia® Common Language® Location Information Service. |
| Selective Routing (SR) | The
routing of a 9-1-1 call to the proper PSAP based upon
the location of the caller Selective routing is controlled by the ESN/ESZ which is derived from the customer location. |
| Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Positioning Center (VPC) | The element that provides routing information to support the routing of VoIP emergency calls, and cooperates in delivering location information to the PSAP over the existing ALI DB infrastructure. The VPC supports access to the routing data in the ERDB. |
| Wireless E911 ESRD/ESRK Number | A 10-digit number used for the purpose of routing an E911 call to the appropriate Public Service Answering Point (PSAP) when that call is originating from wireless equipment. The Emergency Services Routing Digit (ESRD) identifies the cell site and sector of the call origination in a wireless call scenario. The Emergency Services Routing Key (ESRK) uniquely identifies the call in a given cell site/sector and correlates data that is provided to a PSAP by different paths, such as the voice path and the Automatic Location Identification (ALI) data path. Both the ESRD and ESRK define a route to the proper PSAP. The ESRK alone, or the ESRD and/or Mobile Identification Number (MIN), is signaled to the PSAP where it can be used to retrieve from the ALI database, the mobile caller’s call-back number, position and the emergency service agencies (e.g., police, fire, medical, etc.) associated with the caller’s location. If a NANP TN is used as an ESRD or ESRK, this number cannot be assigned to a customer. See “Administrative Numbers” definition. |