Glossary

In the IPv4 protocol, an /8 address block defines 16,777,214 IP addresses of a network. In general, an address block defines a certain number of network addresses. The network is defined by a prefix of a certain bit length and the individual network participants are determined by the remaining bits of the address. The length of the prefix in bits, and therefore the size of the network, is usually specified using the “/” notation. With a 32-bit IPv4 address, the network address of an “8/” address block consists of 8 bits. This leaves 24 bits for addressing the network subscriber and an /8 address block consists of 2^2, or 16,777,214, IP addresses.

Authentication Authorization Accounting
A concept for verifying identity (authentication), authorization of use (authorization) and documentation of use for billing or proof of use (accounting).

Authentification Authorization Accounting
Concept for checking identity (authentication), authorization and documentation of use for billing or proof of use (accounting).

Generic term for age-appropriate assistance systems for a healthy and independent life. This includes concepts, products and services that combine and improve new technologies and the social environment with the aim of increasing the quality of life for people, particularly in old age.

Interactive learning systems that contain personalized learning content and forms of presentation tailored to the individual learner.

IT Summit Working Group 2 “Digital infrastructures as enablers for innovative applications”.

“Artificial Intelligence” – English abbreviation for artificial intelligence (AI)

Advanced Interactive eXecutive
Unix operating system from IBM.

Working group

Environmentally supported learning

Application Programming Interface
Programming interface via which functional sequences are abstracted in such a way that ICT systems can communicate with each other and accesses and sequences can take place without having to change the code for application programs directly.

Access Point Name
Defines the access point for mobile Internet surfing. Each mobile network operator has its own APN profile. The APN data must be entered in the connection software to match the mobile network.

Act against Restraints of Competition
see: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gwb/index.html

Arduino is a physical computing platform consisting of software and hardware. Both components are open source. The hardware consists of a simple I/O board with a microcontroller and analog and digital inputs and outputs. The development environment is based on Processing, which is designed to make programming and microcontrollers more accessible to less technically experienced users. The programming itself is done in C or C++, whereby technical details such as header files include are largely hidden from the user and extensive libraries and examples simplify programming.

Average Revenue Per User
International key performance indicator for average revenue per user, particularly relevant in telecommunications.

Authenticity is understood to mean both proof of identity and the authenticity of the actual data. With the former, you want to ensure that the communication partner is who you think they are.

In motorized private transport, automated distance and speed control systems control the speed and distance of vehicles in dense traffic and thus ensure efficient utilization of route capacity and optimized energy consumption with reduced stress for the individual driver.

Connecting core area of a telecommunications network. In telecommunications, generally a network segment, usually with greater bandwidth and reliability, which generally connects or meshes subordinate (less powerful) local or regional networks as a basic network. In hierarchically structured network configurations, the backbone is the highest hierarchical level.

Refers to the connection of an upstream, usually hierarchically subordinate network node to a central network node.

Building Automation Control Network
Protocol for building automation and building control data networks, developed for communication between controllers, sensors and actuators.
see: www.big-eu.org

Frequency range in which electrical signals are transmitted. The greater the bandwidth, the more information can be transmitted in a unit of time. The bandwidth is therefore decisive for the duration of downloads and the loading speed of websites. When transmitting digital signals, the term bandwidth is often used synonymously, although the transmission rate or data rate is usually meant. However, there is a connection between the bandwidth and the transmission rate, as the achievable transmission speed in data transmission depends on the bandwidth and the coding.
see: www.itwissen.info

Federal Broadband Office

German Association of Energy and Water Industries

Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie BDI e.V.
see: www.bdi.eu

Ordinance on the detection method for limiting electromagnetic fields
see: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bemfv/

English for the business process of invoicing/billing, from the receipt of usage data to the creation of the invoice.

Broadband Competence Center Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

English for blueprint. This is a concept for the dissemination of knowledge about technologies and processes for the realization of specific use cases based on previously gathered experience.

Federal Ministry of Education and Research
see: www.bmbf.de

Federal Ministry of Finance

Federal Ministry of the Interior
see: www.bmi.bund.de

Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development
see: www.bmvbs.de

Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
see: www.bmwi.de

Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway
see: www.bundesnetzagentur.de

Authorities and organizations with security tasks (in Germany)

Bundesverband Breitbandkommunikation e.V.
see: www.brekoverband.de

The term broadband is not clearly defined internationally. In its broadband strategy, the German government talks about a nationwide basic service with bandwidths of at least 1 Mbit/s. By 2018, services of at least 50 MBit/s should be available nationwide. At EU level, the Digital Agenda for Europe aims to achieve nationwide broadband coverage of at least 30 Mbit/s and 100 Mbit/s for at least 50% of European households by 2020.

Publicly accessible, generalized and anonymized data on broadband coverage and its availability in the Federal Republic of Germany. The broadband atlas is published by the BMWi.
see: www.zukunft-breitband.de

The Broadband Forum (until 2008 DSL Forum) is a global consortium of around 200 companies from various sectors of the telecommunications and IT industry. It was founded in 1994 and serves as a platform for developing standards for the broadband market.

In order to accelerate the nationwide provision of high-performance broadband connections in Germany and the development of next-generation networks, the German government adopted the so-called broadband strategy in 2009. This is based on four pillars: the use of synergies in infrastructure expansion, a supportive frequency policy, growth- and innovation-oriented regulation and financial federal measures.
see: www.zukunft-breitband.de

Refers to consumer electronics devices used in the home, such as stereo systems, videos and televisions.
see: White goods

Bit stream access
Bit stream access as opposed to physical access

Federal Office for Information Security

Blue Screen of Death
A blue screen, a blue screen with superimposed text on Windows operating systems, which appears as a result of a serious error, triggered, for example, by program errors, faulty drivers or defective hardware.
see: www.itwissen.info

Bundesverband Glasfaseranschluss e.V.
see: www.buglas.de

Term for two programming languages. C++ is the further development of the C programming language.

Also university information systems or campus management systems. IT systems to support business processes such as student, course and examination administration, etc.
see: www.campus-innovation.de

Controller Area Network
Originally an internationally standardized (field) bus system developed by Bosch (ISO 11898), which enables communication between distributed components in vehicles, for example between ABS sensors, control unit and brake system.
see: www.can-cia.org

Generic term for various communication technologies in automotive engineering.

Car sharing is the organized shared use of one or more cars. Unlike conventional car rental companies, car sharing also allows vehicles to be rented for short periods of time.

Part of the LTE technology that allows the simultaneous use of several completely non-contiguous frequency ranges. This means that large bandwidths can be made available to users even if the mobile network operator itself only has fragmented frequency ranges.

Category
Describes the category of a cable made of twisted copper conductors for data transmission. Today, CAT 5 cables for frequencies up to 100 MHz are predominantly used. Together with the RJ-45 plugs, they make up the standard Ethernet cables.

Cable TV
Cable TV

Code Division Multiple Access
A multiplexing process that enables different user data streams to be transmitted on a frequency range using specific coding. Areas of application include 3G mobile networks and GPS.

Consumer Electronics
Consumer electronics for private use, e.g. televisions, CD/MP3 players, set-top boxes and media receivers.

Communautés Européennes (European Communities)
Administrative mark indicating the free marketability of appropriately marked industrial products in the European Single Market.

Connecting Europe Facility
Initiative of the EU Commission to provide additional funding for broadband infrastructure and corresponding services from 2014 to 2020.
see: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/connecting-europe-facility

European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations
Umbrella organization for cooperation between regulatory authorities from 48 European countries. It was initially founded in 1959 by 19 authorities. The organization works in particular in three autonomous committees: Electric Communications Committee (ECC), European Committee for Postal Regulation (CERP) and Committee for ITU Policy (Com-ITU). The work is supported by an office of the European Communications Office (ECO) in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Computer Emergency Response Team
A Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), also known as a Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), is a group of IT security experts who act as coordinators in the resolution of specific IT security incidents (e.g. This group acts as a coordinator when specific IT security incidents (e.g. the discovery of new security vulnerabilities in certain applications or operating systems, the spread of new viruses, PCs sending spam or targeted attacks) are resolved or deals with computer security in general (sometimes also industry-specific), issues warnings about security vulnerabilities and offers solutions (so-called advisories). In addition, some CERTs provide specific help in eliminating security risks for certain target groups (e.g. citizen CERTs). The flow of information usually takes place via mailing lists. Security-critical topics are discussed there and current warnings are issued.

Combined heat and power generation
Combined heat and power generation (CHP) is the “simultaneous conversion of input energy into electrical energy and useful heat in a stationary technical system”. In most cases, this is done using combustion engines

City hubs are logistics hubs that are independent of freight forwarders and logistics service providers and are used to supply retailers and industrial companies in urban areas. The operation of city hubs can be implemented using networked ICT, which closes gaps in the mobility network or logistics network and allows dynamic delivery and collection routes.

Clearing house of one or more exchanges. This central clearing office assumes the role of intermediary in the settlement of positions and acts as the actual market partner for each buyer and seller after the transaction has been completed.

Approach to providing abstracted IT infrastructures such as computing and network capacities, data storage or even ready-made software dynamically adapted to requirements via a network. From the user’s point of view, the abstracted IT infrastructure provided appears remote and opaque, as if shrouded in a “cloud”.

Operators and providers of cloud services.

Natural or legal persons who use cloud solutions.

Constrained Application Protocol
Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a web transfer protocol developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It is based on Representational State Transfer (REST), the architectural model for web services in which resources are controlled by servers through an application process and identified via Universal Resource Identifiers (URI).

European Commission

In general, compliance with codes of conduct, legal standards or voluntary codes, e.g. in the context of information security and data protection.

Technical capability and administrative authorization or possibility to communicate, in particular data communication, e.g. a UMTS radio module in a UMTS network with a suitable mobile phone contract (i.e. with a SIM card activated for data traffic, possibly also roaming).

Always up-to-date overview of planned civil engineering projects with the aim of enabling cost-effective co-laying of other infrastructures and avoiding repetitive construction sites.

Software for the collaborative creation, editing and organization of content, mostly in websites, but also in other media forms, increasingly also taking Web 2.0 formats into account.

architecture (ARMv7-M) for microprocessors from ARM Limited.

Customer Premises Equipment
Devices that connect the end customer to the network of the carrier or Internet service provider. These are usually telephones, routers, switches or set-top boxes.

Cooperative Terrestial Networks Mobile
Working Group in the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)

Commonly Used Network Structure
Collaborative use of frequencies both by terrestrial broadcasting and by alternative users such as LTE.

Single public authority telephone number 115 (in Germany). Cross-administration service infrastructure of the public administration for the telephone channel. The single public authority number (“citizens’ hotline”) offers direct access to information about public administration services.

Joint project of the D21 initiative, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and BITKOM, which has regularly brought together the most important players in the telecommunications industry as a discussion platform since 2002.
see: www.initiatived21.de

The fundamental right to informational self-determination and the associated fundamental right to data protection ensure that individuals have the right to disclose and use their personal data. Data protection provisions based on this determine how personal data is handled when it is collected, processed and used.
see: www.datenschutz.de

All technical and organizational measures to protect data from falsification, destruction and unauthorized disclosure.

Device Configuration Overlay
Device status object

Demarcation device
Transfer device at a grid boundary

Distributed Denial of Service
In contrast to the DoS attack, the attack is not carried out by a single computer, but by a network system consisting of many distributed computers. This means that significantly more bandwidth is available for the attack.

Digital European Cordless Telecommunication
European standard for wireless communication, essentially for cordless telephones.
see: www.etsi.org/website/technologies/dect.aspx

Market role whose business model is the targeted influencing of consumer load by controlling the demand for electricity among consumers. The main instruments are the time shifting of electricity consumption and the switching off of non-critical consumers.
see: Load management

The term identity management generally describes any use of digital identities, their attributes and their authorizations and includes the creation, use, maintenance and deletion of these digital identities. The aim is to implement trustworthy, identity-related and rule-compliant processes that can be used in a standardized manner regardless of organizations and platforms.

End devices from the suppliers of sensors and chipsets

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
Protocol for managing IP addresses in a network. Using DHCP, addresses are dynamically assigned to the network participants by a central instance; each network participant can therefore configure itself fully automatically after connecting to the network.

Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine
Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is an open standard for the storage and exchange of information in medical image data management. This information can be digital images, additional information such as segmentations, surface definitions or image registrations. DICOM standardizes both the format for storing the data and the communication protocol for exchanging it.

• PUBLIC TRANSPORT
• PPP
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT

System used for the secure storage and processing of master data and/or notifications. Data entered once can therefore be reused and there is no need to enter information repeatedly.

Refers to the frequencies freed up after the switch from analog to digital terrestrial television (DVB-T), which have since been available for mobile and Internet coverage.

Digital identities form the basis for digital declarations of intent in the form of digital signatures or digital seals. On this basis, transactions in electronic networks can also be mapped in a secure and legally binding manner.

Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce
see: www.dihk.de

grid, which serves as the basis for connecting the broad masses to the electricity grid. Distribution largely takes place at medium and low-voltage level.

Do-it-yourself platforms

A service in the network for name resolution. Similar to a telephone directory assistance service, the DNS translates Internet addresses such as www.hpi.uni-potsdam.de into the corresponding IP address.

Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification 2.0
Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is a specification developed by Cable Labs around 1997 for interfaces of cable modems and associated peripheral devices, which was ratified by the ITU in March 1998 (ITU-T Recommendation J.112). DOCSIS is a standard that defines the requirements for data transmission in a broadband cable network. The most important area of application for DOCSIS is the fast transmission of data via existing cable television networks.
The successor specification DOCSIS 2.0 was introduced in 2002 against the background of increased demand for symmetrical, real-time data services such as IP telephony.

Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification 3.0
DOCSIS 3.0. was ratified as ITU-T Recommendation J.222 and is a modern standard for transmissions via an interactive cable network.

Deutschland-Online-Infrastruktur
Project of the IT Planning Council for the cross-level and cross-departmental consolidation and information technology coupling of network infrastructures.

Denial of Service
Attack on a computer or server system in order to put it out of operation. In a DoS attack, a server is deliberately “bombarded” with so many requests that the system can no longer cope with normal tasks and, in the worst case, collapses.

Downstream refers to the direction of the signal flow from the sending station to the receiving station. Download refers to the transfer of data from a remote server to a local client. During a download, the entire file is saved on the local hard disk before it is accessed and played back.
see: www.itwissen.info

Deep Packet Inspection
DPI is a method used in network technology to monitor and filter data packets. The data part and the header part of the data packet are examined simultaneously for certain characteristics such as computer viruses, spam, protocol violations and other unwanted content. DPI is also a key technology for monitoring the Internet in totalitarian regimes.

Data Pointer Network
The guiding principle of a DPN is the creation of a comprehensive information technology network of public administration institutions based on the comprehensive referencing of decentralized, distributed databases. At best, identical data is only stored and maintained by one responsible body, but shared by all authorized actors in a service network. The infrastructural core of such a public administration data network is formed by a directory service, which stores technical information about the storage location, access and integration options as well as rules regarding access rights. All access to the data can be recorded in a kind of logbook in order to keep it verifiable. Conceptually, the DPN approach offers numerous connection points to the topic of open government/open data and the concept of the process data accelerator (P23R), in which personal or company-related data is primarily stored with citizens or companies and access or automated transmission takes place exclusively on the basis of corresponding standardized rules.

Dual Stack Lite
DS Lite enables an Internet service provider to assign IPv4 addresses. The CPE only receives an IPv6 address and assigns addresses in the IPv4 network itself, similar to a NAT device. However, the address translation is not carried out by the CPE; instead, the IPv4 packets are packaged in an IPv6 packet. The address translation of the private IPv4 addresses into global IPv6 addresses is then carried out by the carrier (carrier grade NAT).

Digital Subscriber Line
DSL is a connection technology for the digital broadband subscriber line.

Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers
DSLAMs combine the IP traffic of several hundred DSL house connection lines and are usually housed in street cabinets.

Refers to the joint operation of IPv4 and IPv6 in a network.

Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial

Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial 2
DVB-T2 is the successor standard to DVB-T. The abbreviation stands for Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial and refers to the terrestrial (earthbound) transmission of digital radio, television and data signals in the earth’s atmosphere. As the successor standard, DVB-T2 offers the possibility of transmitting HD content and more efficient data compression.

German Directory of Administrative Services
Cross-disciplinary and cross-level infrastructure component for eGovernment in Germany. The DVDV is based on a directory service in which public authorities and other operators can be listed with their services. Information seekers and users of the DVDV are applications (specialized procedures) and not natural persons. The DVDV (which was developed by the Federal Office for Information Technology (BIT) together with several partners from the local authorities and the federal states) thus has the function of a central registration office for online public administration services in Germany. At the same time, it enables legally binding electronic communication from and with authorities via the existing specialist procedures at the highest level of security.
see: www.dvdv.de

A network subscriber is not assigned a fixed IP address, but only a temporarily valid one.

Optimized traffic management based on the analysis of real-time data (floating car data, floating phone data, freight movement information, etc.).

In a broader sense, this refers to the simplification and implementation of processes for information, communication and transactions within and between state, municipal and other official institutions as well as between these institutions and citizens or companies through the use of digital information and communication technologies.

European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
see: www.eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/de/oj/2005/l_277/l_27720051021de00010040.pdf

European Broadcasting Union
Association of currently 74 broadcasting organizations based in Geneva from 56 countries in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. In addition to the 74 full members, the EBU has a further 43 associate members from a further 22 countries. It was founded in 1950 by an initial 23 members. The aim was to establish a network for the exchange of news films and to support technical developments in the radio and television sector.

Emergency call
Automatic emergency call system for motor vehicles, which must be installed in all new models of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles throughout the EU from October 2015.

Renewable Energy Sources Act
The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) came into force in 2000. The aim of the EEG was to enable young technologies such as wind and solar energy to enter the market through fixed remuneration as well as guaranteed purchase and priority feed-in of electricity. The law was amended in 2014 with the aim of reducing the rise in energy costs.

Electronic case file
EFA is a communication platform for doctors: its structure is designed to network doctors across sector and institution boundaries and to enable them to exchange medical information on jointly treated patients in compliance with data protection regulations. A case file stands for a patient’s medical case.

Digital representation of the content of traditional paper files, which also enables various links to relevant content.

Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is a unique resource for economic and business information, forecasts and analysis. Since 1946, it has provided sound, independent information on companies, government agencies, financial institutions and academic organizations around the world to help business leaders make informed decisions.

Refers to the support of learning processes through the use of information and communication technologies.

Electromobility refers to the use of electric vehicles to meet different individual mobility needs.

Contains all the information required for medical treatment, such as reports and results of therapeutic measures or radiological images and findings. The electronic patient file enables improved information transparency and therefore ultimately better quality and more economical medical care.

Self-contained small computers with microprocessors, sensors, actuators, input/output units, etc., which are used for a wide variety of control and regulation tasks, e.g. in washing machines, set-top boxes, fully automatic coffee machines, MP3 players. Increasingly, these embedded systems are networked, have Internet access and are part of M2M solutions.
see: www.embedded.fraunhofer.de

Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service
Service in the LTE mobile communications standard that can efficiently transmit mobile TV and other multimedia services to many mobile phone users. The data is transmitted to all users at the same time, which results in a significantly lower network load in contrast to conventional methods where the data stream is sent individually to each user.

Electromagnetic compatibility

The modeling of expected emissions on the basis of environmental data recorded in real time and the integration of this data into dynamic traffic control systems make a significant contribution to the realization of “green” mobility concepts.

Electronics Manufacturing Services
Services that cover the complete contract manufacturing of electronic assemblies, devices and systems – from development and PCB assembly to sophisticated testing concepts and worldwide delivery. EMS can be translated as manufacturing services for electronic components.

With an end-to-end connection, all application-specific functionalities are implemented in the endpoints; the network only handles data transport and no application-specific functions.

Model for the transmission and storage of energy-related data.

Energy Industry Act
Electricity and Gas Supply Act
see: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/enwg_2005/index.html

Interdisciplinary combination of energy and information technology.

Serve to measure, control and optimize their own energy consumption as well as their own energy feed-in. Energy management systems allow consumers to actively participate in the energy market and respond to signals from the wholesale electricity market or grid operation.

Refers to the fundamental restructuring of the energy supply in Germany. In the fall of 2010, the German government set the course for entering the age of renewable energies in its energy concept. In 2011, it also decided to significantly accelerate the phase-out of nuclear energy and thus also the restructuring of the energy supply outlined in the energy concept. By 2050, greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by at least 80% compared to 1990 levels. In addition, more than 80% of Germany’s electricity is to come from renewable energy sources by then.
see: www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Energie/Energiewende/die-energiewende.html

EnOcean GmbH is the developer of the patented “self-powered wireless technology”.

European Regional Development Fund
European Regional Development Fund, used by various federal states to co-finance, for example, GRW-I and thus broadband development.
see: europa.eu/legislation_summaries/employment_and_social_policy/job_creation_measures/l60015_en.htm

Enterprise resource planning
Term used in connection with business application software that identifies and plans company-wide resources. Integrated planning and control systems with which business processes can be mapped. ERP consists of modules for production planning and control systems, merchandise management systems, materials management, warehousing, scheduling, production, sales, order management, purchasing, ordering and accounting.

Protocol that is mainly used for data transmission in short-range networks.
see also: LAN

European Telecommunications Standards Institute
An institute recognized as a non-profit organization with the aim of creating uniformly recognized standards in the field of telecommunications throughout Europe.
see: www.etsi.org

Energy supply company

In electronic data processing, an exploit is a systematic way of taking advantage of vulnerabilities that were not taken into account during the development of a program. Security gaps and malfunctions in programs (or entire systems) are exploited with the help of command sequences, usually to gain access to resources or to compromise systems.

Federal Communications Commission
Independent authority of the United States which, among other things, regulates radio services and acts as a licensing authority for communications equipment.
see: www.fcc.gov

Frequency division duplex
Process in mobile radio that uses separate paired frequency ranges of a band for the transmit and receive directions.

Flash File System
File systems that are optimized for the special properties of data carriers based on flash memory.

Working Group

Fieldbus systems are automation technology systems that enable individual components such as sensors and actuators to communicate with each other and with higher-level control and regulation systems.

Federal IT cooperation
Cross-state initiative for the systematic analysis and further development of cross-administrative and cross-level IT cooperation.

Digital memory chips that guarantee non-volatile storage with low energy consumption.

Flexibility markets provide automated control processes in electricity grids for industrial and commercial customers as well as households, with which the consumption side can react to signals from the generation situation, grid utilization or price signals in general.

The Fortune Global 100 list comprises the world’s 100 largest companies by turnover.

Full Service Access Network Group
Standardization committee of leading network operators, equipment suppliers and independent test laboratories. Among other things, the specifications for GPON are made within the FSAN.

Fibre To The Building/Basement
Fiber to the building. Depending on how close the DSLAM is to the subscriber, this is referred to as FTTC or FTTN or FTTB, where the DSLAM is located in the basement of an apartment building.

Fibre to the curb
Fiber to the curb.

Fibre To The Home
Fiber to the home.

Fibre To The x
Fiber up to/in x. x can stand for Home, Node, Building etc.

Functional safety is the ability of an electrical, electronic or programmable electronic system to remain in a safe state or to assume a safe state in the event of random and/or systematic failures with a dangerous effect.

Home Grid Standard
G.hn (G.9960, G.9961, G.9962, G.9963), also referred to as the “HomeGrid standard”, is the now common name for the “next generation” of home network technology. The technical standard was developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is promoted by the HomeGrid Forum industry association and other organizations.
see: www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/tut/T-TUT-HOME-2010-PDF-E.pdf

Joint task “Improvement of the agricultural structure and coastal protection”
Joint funding program of the federal government and the ministries of agriculture, from which the broadband connection of municipalities in rural areas can also be funded since 2008.
see: www.bmelv.de/DE/Landwirtschaft/Foerderung-Agrarsozialpolitik/GAK/gak_node.html;jsessionid=23E25D3938BB8CC2DD351D9FA2A52D4F.2_cid249

Government Communications Headquarters
British government agency dealing with cryptography and telecommunications intelligence.

Spatial data infrastructure
The purpose of the spatial data infrastructure (SDI) is to enable interdisciplinary access to all available geodata, which is otherwise held separately by the individual institutions. It can be limited to different spatial areas (e.g. city, nature reserve, …) or hierarchical levels (municipality, federal state, country, continent, world).

Gross domestic product
Measure of the economic performance of an economy over a specific period. GDP measures the value of domestically produced goods and services (value added), insofar as these are not used as inputs for the production of other goods and services.
see: Federal Statistical Office: www.destatis.de

Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications
see: www.europa.eu/legislation_summaries/information_society/legislative_framework/si0015_de.htm

Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema
Global satellite navigation system operated and financed by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
see: www.glonass-ianc.rsa.ru/en/index.php

Gossudarstvenny Standart
GOST translates as “State Standard” and refers to Soviet or Russian standards.

Theory to explain economic growth.

Joint task “Improvement of the regional economic structure infrastructure“
Promotion of business-related municipal infrastructure by the federal government and state ministries of economic affairs, which can be used to promote broadband connections in economic areas and commercial premises.
see: www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Wirtschaft/Wirtschaftspolitik/Regionalpolitik/gemeinschaftsaufgabe.html

Global System for Mobile Communications
Standard for fully-digitized mobile networks (2G) with the highest penetration worldwide. It is mainly used for telephony, but also for SMS and packet-switched data services, the transmission rate of which has been increased by standards such as GPRS and EDGE.

High Definition Television
High-definition television.

Personal identification card that entitles insured persons to receive medical and dental treatment.
see: www.bmg.bund.de

Telecommunications and IT in healthcare

High-frequency networks

Hybrid fiber coax networks
Refers to a technology used to transmit analog and digital signals with a large bandwidth (e.g. television signals) via a cable. Optical fibers are used first (see: FTTC). At the end points of the optical fibers, the optical signals are converted into electrical signals, which are then routed to households via coaxial cables.

Home Gateway Initiative
HGI is an open industry forum that was founded on the initiative of leading European telecommunications companies and NTT from Japan and which was later joined by several telecommunications companies. The motivation is the joint creation of a requirements specification for home gateways.

IT systems that must be available almost without interruption (generally at least 99.99%).

High-performance and high-performance networks. Networks that are able to provide the speed required for convenient and quality-assured use of services with the highest bandwidth requirements, essentially regardless of the number of users and, in future, with symmetrical upload and download rates. Here too, there is no uniform definition, but bandwidths from 50 Mbit/s upwards are generally mentioned. The service-related functions are independent of the underlying transmission-related technologies. It also supports general mobility by allowing the uniform provision of services for the user everywhere.
see: Definition ITU-T, Y.2002 (10/2009): Next Generation Networks – Frameworks and functional architecture models, Recommendation 3.1.2, p.2

Health Level 7
Health Level 7 is a group of international standards for the exchange of data between healthcare organizations and their computer systems. HL7 is used to refer to the organization that develops and supports healthcare standards, as well as versions 2.x and version 3 of the standards and other standards developed by local HL7 organizations in over 35 countries. The number 7 in the name HL7 refers to layer 7 of the ISO/OSI reference model for communication (ISO7498-1) and thus expresses that communication at application level is described here.

Human-machine interface
The human-machine interface (MI) is the device that enables a person to interact with a technical device. It therefore stands functionally between machine and human. Today, the components are often mechanical and electronic, combined with a graphical user interface. For this reason, various branches of science are concerned with this topic, from computer science to ergonomics.

Software platforms that (in contrast to vertical software platforms) provide industry-independent services such as telephony or document management.

Hewlett Packard UniX
Unix operating system from Hewlett Packard.

High Speed Downlink Packet Access
Also UMTS broadband. Allows downlink data rates of 14.6 Mbit/s in the laboratory.

High Speed Packet Access
Extension of UMTS that enables higher data transfer rates. It is divided into HSDPA for increasing the data transmission rate of the downlink and HSUPA for the uplink.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Protocol for data transfer within the World Wide Web (WWW). HTTP is a simple protocol that defines a set of messages and responses (request/response) with which a web client and a web server communicate with each other during an HTML session. HTTP is described in RFC 2616 from 1999.
see: www.itwissen.info

Inter-Integrated Circuit
A specification originally developed by Philips for serial communication between individual hardware components in a module.
see: www.i2c-bus.org

Infrastructure-as-a-Service
IaaS means that a user obtains typical data center services – i.e. the IT infrastructure – from the cloud, but largely manages their own computing instances, i.e. virtual servers. However, they do not have to operate their own servers, storage, network components and other typical hardware and are billed based on performance. However, the user is responsible for the selection, installation, operation and functioning of their own software. The major advantage over an in-house data center is the high scalability of IaaS: the computing instances can be expanded or reduced in size depending on requirements.

InternetCorporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
Global organization that performs various tasks to coordinate the Internet, including the assignment of names for websites and Internet addresses.

International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection
International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection

Information, communication, telecommunications

Intrusion detection system
A system for detecting attacks on a computer system or computer network, based on typical patterns or the correlation of events.

International Electrotechnical Commission
International standardization body in the electrical industry

International standard, describes a transmission protocol in protection and control technology for switchgear in medium and high voltage technology.

Describes OPC UA as an international standard, i.e. an industrial M2M communication protocol.

Standard published by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), an important international standardization body in the electrical industry.

Inernet Engineering Task Force
The IETF is an international, open and voluntary organization that deals with the further development of the Internet. Technical documents are created. When adopted, these are generally regarded and accepted as “standards”.

If This Then That
is a service that allows users to link different web applications in a simple way, e.g. Facebook with Dropbox. It is particularly suitable for smart phones and tablets.

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise
IHE (short for Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) is an initiative of users and manufacturers with the aim of standardizing and harmonizing the exchange of data between IT systems in the healthcare sector. The focus here is on the implementation of medical processes between systems and the creation of interoperability. To this end, IHE formulates practical requirements in so-called use cases, identifies relevant standards and develops technical guidelines, so-called profiles, with which a manufacturer can implement and test its product. At the international “Connectathon”, manufacturers test their systems against each other and prepare them for practical use.

IP Multimedia Subsystem
The IMS defines a superordinate service architecture in which the paradigms and technologies of the Internet are combined with those of mobile and fixed-line telecommunication. The aim is to create a standard for the efficient provision of various multimedia services (e.g. voice-over-IP and video conferencing) on different devices for the next generation of integrated networks. This is accompanied by control and management functions for the transport of data and the ability to run services independently of the technologies and protocols of the underlying communication networks (e.g. mobile networks, fixed networks).

International Mobile Telecommunication
Minimum standards defined by the ITU for public mobile communications services.
see: www.imt-2000.org

Smart grids
Smart grids are solutions that enable network-based control or coordination of a wide range of technical devices. This is usually context-based and based on an automated exchange of data. The aim is to improve the management of complex systems, increase efficiency, link consumption and generation and thus conserve resources and enable other new networked applications. Smart grids start/end with sensors/actuators from which they take or feed data, are aggregated via communication channels of various, mostly broadband access technologies and end in platforms for storage or further processing via application-related services.

Income Tax Act
see: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/index.html

Term for the fourth industrial revolution through the networked use of ICT in industrial production and related areas.

Regional platforms serve as an information hub and source of tariff incentives on the market for energy supply, energy feed-in, energy transportation and aggregation services. In this way, they enable simplified market access.

In contrast to data protection, information security also includes ensuring the authenticity of information. It includes all technical and organizational measures to protect data and processes from falsification, destruction or unauthorized disclosure. It covers company data as well as data processing processes and procedures, i.e. also information as a result of the processed data.

The infrastructure atlas contains geodata on existing infrastructure in Germany that can generally be used when building broadband networks and to increase the transmission capacity of existing networks. This includes, for example, existing fiber optic cables, empty conduits, radio masts and radio relay routes. The data comes from infrastructure owners in various sectors. These include, in particular, companies in the energy and telecommunications industries. In addition, data on suitable public sector infrastructure is included in the Infrastructure Atlas database.

An IPv6 address consists of 128 bits. The first 64 bits usually define the network, the last 64 bits are referred to as the interface identifier.

Intermodal mobility planning and integrated mobility services incorporate all modes of transport into transportation and travel planning in order to use complex mobility chains. This requires the intelligent linking of information from different modes of transport (such as timetables and route information).

In an intermodal transport data network system, data and information is exchanged to network freight and transport traffic with private transport. Transactions are also possible via the network system, e.g. booking several means of transport with one ticket.

Refers to the massive networking of a wide variety of things and devices and their virtual accessibility via the Internet. The Internet of Things is closely related to M2M technologies, which are a key technology for its realization.
see: www.internet-der-dinge.de

Refers to the possibilities of coordinating IT systems, hardware and software via open standards and interfaces so that these systems can communicate smoothly with each other and data can be processed in compliance with data protection regulations.

Internet of Everything
The Internet of Everything (IoE) brings people, processes, data and things together to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than before – turning information into actions that open up new possibilities, richer experiences and previously unavailable economic opportunities for companies, individuals and countries.

Internet Protocol
Protocol that enables the transfer of data between two endpoints in a network. IP thus represents the foundation for the entire Internet.

The technically required address of a device in an IP network.

Usually refers to the combination of similarly sized IP-based computer networks of different providers for data exchange. The merger is usually cost-neutral.

Similar to IP peering, IP transit describes the connection of IP-based computer networks for data exchange, whereby a smaller network is connected to a larger network in order to be connected to the rest of the Internet via this network. Costs are often billed according to data volume.

Intrusion Prevention System
An extension of an IDS. An IPS not only detects and reports attacks, but also discards the IP packets associated with a detected attack and, if necessary, dynamically changes the filter setting on the security gateway for this purpose.

Internet Protocol Security (E2E security model)
Describes an end-to-end security protocol that works directly on the network layer of the TCP/IP protocol stack. This achieves a consistent security model from one endpoint of communication to the other endpoint of communication (E2E).

Internet Protocol Television
General term for IP-based transmission of television services. This service is often equated with Internet television. However, it is more about offering television services in a closed network with the possibility of interaction. As with the Internet, the medium is the broadband network. IPTV is therefore a service like the Internet but not the same.

Internet Protocol Version 4 is the fourth version of the Internet Protocol and was defined in 1981. With IPv4, the addresses consist of 32 bits.

Internet Protocol Version 6 is the sixth version of the Internet Protocol and was standardized in 1998. With IPv6, the addresses consist of 128 bits.

Rhineland-Palatinate Investment and Structural Bank

Industrial, Scientific and Medical
The term “ISM” stands for “Industrial Scientific and Medical” (high-frequency applications in industry, science and medicine). The associated ISM frequencies are assigned internationally for use by high-frequency devices. Examples are microwave ovens or short-wave radiation in medicine. In addition to these applications, the ISM frequencies can also be used for message transmission. ISM frequencies are radio applications at risk of interference. However, radio frequencies are a valuable commodity in the modern communications world and should be used efficiently. ISM frequencies are therefore intended for radio applications where temporary interference can be tolerated and where only short distances need to be covered. The ISM frequency bands are used by numerous radio applications. These include Alarm radio and baby monitoring systems, audio and radio microphone applications, trunked radio and radio relay systems, mine radio, hearing aids, model radio, traffic telematics, distance warning systems, train systems, etc.

International standard for an information security management system

Internet service provider
A company that offers access to the Internet as a service.

Intelligent Tutoring Systems
Intelligent tutoring systems offer a learner-centered educational scenario, taking into account common learning theories (e.g. behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism) and using artificial intelligence methods and processes. Includes instruction, feedback, practice and other cognitive processes (e.g. imagination) without the support of a human teacher.

International Telecommunication Union
Sub-organization of the UN that deals with technical aspects of telecommunications.
The ITU is divided into
– ITU-D (Telecommunication Development Sector),
– ITU-R (Radiocommunication Sector),
– ITU-T (Telecommunication Standardization Sector).
see: www.itu.int

ITU-R manages the radio sequences worldwide in three large regions: Region 1 for Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and the CIS, Region 2 for the Americas and Region 3 for the Asia-Pacific region.
see: www.itu.int

ITU Radiocommunication Sector
The Radiocommunications Sector of the ITU.
see: www.itu.int

ITU Standardization
Global standardization body for telecommunications and part of the ITU. Formerly CCITT.
see: www.itu.int

Informationsverbund Berlin-Bonn
IVBB is the communication infrastructure for reliable and secure voice and data communication between the highest federal authorities and constitutional bodies in Berlin and Bonn.

Information Network of the Federal Administration/Federal Administration Network
Information Network of the Federal Administration/Federal Administration Network
The IVBV/BNV supplements the IVBB in order to connect the federal authorities in the area.

Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau Bankengruppe
see: www.kfw.de

Konnex
A field bus for building automation.

Layer 2 Bit Stream Access (OSI 7 layer model)

Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP
Describes the “standard construction kit” for providing dynamic websites and applications.

Local Area Network
Local communication network

With latency, the action is hidden and only becomes clear when the reaction occurs. Colloquially, reactions with low latency take place in real time.

Measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of personal learning-related data for the purpose of optimizing the learning process and the environment in which the process takes place. Increases the effectiveness of teaching by individualizing the learning process.

Catalog of public administration services
Standardized list of administrative services at all levels of administration currently under development.

A very common open source, license-free Unix derivative named after Linus Torvalds.

Learning Management Systems
Complex software system used to provide learning content and organize learning processes. LMSs enable communication between learners and teachers. Content management systems are integrated into modern learning management systems (learning content management systems, LCMS), which are also connected to campus management systems via interfaces.

Inclusion of the demand side (electricity consumption) in the flexible management of the electricity supply system. The aim of load management is to better coordinate generation and consumption, balance out generation and price fluctuations, provide balancing and control energy and relieve overloaded grid sections, particularly in the distribution grid.

Long Term Evolution
Successor standard to UMTS with a bandwidth of well over 100 Mbit/s per cell.

LTE Advanced is an extension of LTE technology and is intended to significantly optimize data rates in the mobile network through various optimizations. The technology was standardized in March 2011 in Release 10 of the 3GPP (3rd Generation Project Partnership). The improvements compared to previous releases (such as the current LTE) include, for example, a significant increase in spectral efficiency and more flexible use of the radio spectrum.

LTE is available in two technical variants:
– FDD – Frequency Division Duplex (frequency duplex),
– TDD – Time Devision Duplex (time duplex).
FDD uses two channels, TDD only one channel.
see: www.etsi.org/website/technologies/lte.aspx

Machine-to-machine
Refers to communication between machines, e.g. between control units with the business or control processes running there and sensors or actuators.

see: M2M ecosystem

The M2M ecosystem considers the participants and their interactions in the M2M value chain, e.g. producers of M2M modules, communication service providers such as mobile network operators, software manufacturers, integrators of M2M modules, operators of data centers and providers of M2M products and services.

Electronic services involving M2M components, e.g. services that enable a meter reading or temperature to be queried or shutters to be raised or lowered remotely, usually via the Internet.

Media Access Control address
A unique address of each network adapter at hardware level, which is used to identify each device in the computer network.

“Do-it-yourself shows”
Fairs originally initiated by Make magazine to present various projects in the fields of art, crafts, science and technology that promote do-it-yourself and the desire to be creative.

A programming language supported by Microsoft.

The term, which originally comes from music, refers to the creation of content on the Internet that integrates and builds on other content already available on the Internet. Various software technologies exist for this purpose.

Megabits per second
Transmission speed in millions of bits per second.

Megabit per second
see: Mbit/s

Meter data management
Refers to the central data management of smart metering. MDM is the instance required to process the recorded consumption data.

Refers to the MDM (Mobility Data Marketplace) project of the BAST (Federal Highway Research Institute).

Data hub/ marketplace/ hub for sensor data from distributed medical applications, the integration of which enables improved availability of information.

Manufacturing Execution System
Refers to a process-oriented operating level of a multi-layered production management system.

In the energy industry, refers to the point at which supply services are provided by the energy supplier to the consumer; represented by a meter or several combined metering points. The metering point is assigned a standardized metering point description and metering point number.

In computer science, refers to application-dependent technologies that offer services for mediating between applications so that the complexity of the underlying applications and infrastructure is concealed.

Multiple Input – Multiple Output
Antenna technology in which higher data throughputs can be realized by using several antennas on the transmitting side as well as on the receiving side.

Mobile virtual network operator
The focus here is on “virtual”. This means, for example, that the provider of mobile communication services has no physical network resources of its own, such as base stations and transport networks. The resources are often rented from other mobile network operators. In contrast to a reseller model, however, an MVNO has its own facilities for recording customer data, for billing based on call duration and number and for collecting charges.

Use of digital educational content via mobile devices (such as smartphones, tablets, etc.). One of the special features is the integration of sensor-based data, which mobile devices can aggregate, into an educational situation to support constructivist learning theory (here: situated learning)

Mobility integrators calculate optimal routes and times for their respective customers/target groups. In order to use complex mobility chains, they include all means of transport in the transportation and travel planning (intermodal mobility planning). This requires the intelligent linking of information from different modes of transport (such as timetables and route information).

Serve to exchange information and transactions on the basis of mobility data from the public sector and private sector operators of modes of transport. Mobility platforms have a strong leverage effect for improving optimized traveler information.

Massive Open Online Courses
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a special form of online course with a theoretically unlimited number of participants. MOOCs combine traditional forms of knowledge transfer such as videos, reading material and problems with forums in which teachers and learners can communicate with each other and form communities.

Message Queuing Telemetry Transprt

Micro/mini-trenching
A minimally invasive process for creating narrow trenches or slots (width 4 cm – 20 cm) by cutting or milling to lay microduct/micro or fiber optic cable routes. According to initial experience, micro and mini trenching can reduce the civil engineering costs for broadband development in the respective application areas by around a quarter to a third.

Mean Time Between Failures
Measure of the reliability of units (assemblies, devices or systems) that are repaired after a failure.

Data that provides information on the average time between two faults or failures (MTBF).

Internet-based environment for education and qualification in which digital teaching and learning content provided by a teacher can be used by the learner via any channel and end device (including desktop PC, laptop, smartphone, tablet PC, wearables, IPTV).

Offer citizens and companies the opportunity to get involved in planning and decision-making processes at various federal levels across different topics and administrations.

Multidimensional learning environment in which (online/offline) digital educational content is made available with the aim of qualification, teaching and learning. The educational content is perceived and controlled via heterogeneous sensory organs and perception channels, including tactile, vestibular, motor, auditory and visual.

Network Address Translation
The automatic translation of addresses into data packets when connecting different networks.

The automatic translation from one IPv4 address to another IPv4 address.

The automatic translation of an IPv6 address into another IPv4 address. NAT64 therefore allows communication between IPv6 and IPv4 networks.

National eGovernment Strategy
On September 24, 2010, the IT Planning Council adopted the NEGS, in which the federal, state and local governments jointly agreed for the first time on how the electronic processing of administrative matters via the Internet should be further developed. The NEGS defines six central goals to which the projects will be geared, including a decisive focus on the benefits for citizens, companies and the administration, increasing the efficiency of administrative action, transparency of data and processes, data protection and strengthening social participation via the state’s Internet offerings. At its 6th meeting on October 13, 2011, the IT Planning Council adopted an implementation concept whose key measures include the establishment and expansion of a service-oriented, federal e-government infrastructure.
see: www.it-planungsrat.de

National eGovernment Competence Centre
Interdisciplinary and intersectoral association of players from business, science and public administration, founded in 2013. The purpose of the competence center is to network science, business and administration in the application and design-oriented research and development of application solutions and to provide scientific support for innovation processes in the field of state modernization and administrative transformation.

“Virtualization of network functions”
NFV is a concept that is being promoted by an interest group based at ETSI. The idea is to specify network functions such as gateways, routers, application servers etc., which until now have been a vertically integrated product consisting of software and dedicated hardware, in such a way that they can run as a pure software solution on standard IT servers.

Networked learning refers to the process of developing or providing information and people via the Internet to support one’s own learning, education and qualification process.

Near Field Communication
Wireless transmission technology used for contactless data exchange between devices just a few centimeters apart.

Next Generation Access
Next generation access networks for high bit rates; fiber optic lines with at least 40 Mbit/s downstream and at least 15 Mbit/s upstream or cable network with up to 50 Mbit/s or more or connection of new office and residential buildings via fiber optic cable network up to 100 Mbit/s (according to EU guideline on broadband expansion 9/2010).

One of the tasks assigned to the Federal Network Agency in the German government’s broadband strategy was to define the basic principles of growth- and innovation-oriented regulation by developing key points. For this reason, the NGA Forum was set up at the Federal Network Agency in May 2010. The forum is intended to address the above-mentioned issues at an early stage in order to promote broadband expansion in Germany and solve practical implementation problems. The NGA Forum is moderated and managed by the Federal Network Agency.
see: www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Sachgebiete/Telekommunikation/RegulierungTelekommunikation/NGAForum/NGAForum_node.html

Next Generation Network
Network technology that provides access-independent services via mobile and wired access.
see: www.etsi.org/website/technologies/nextgenerationnetworks.aspx

Grid operators are obliged to make their transmission and distribution grids (electricity/gas) available to third parties. In doing so, they must pass on their own costs plus a profit mark-up. Third-party energy suppliers must therefore not be placed in a worse position than the company’s own sales (in the case of integrated energy suppliers). In the context of smart grids, this means that every user must be connected on equal terms.

NoSQL refers to a database technology that does not follow the architecture of relational databases, i.e. does not require fixed table schemas. The motivation for this is better horizontal scalability of the database. They are therefore often used in the web environment, where extremely large amounts of data are often generated and need to be processed.

New ID card
Sovereign document for the unique identification of persons, introduced in 2009. Provides an optimal way to use an electronic identity.

English for number portability, also known as number porting. In telecommunications, this refers to the option of keeping the phone number when changing providers and having it transferred to the new provider’s systems.

Operation, administration, management

On Board Unit
Device that is installed in trucks for data collection and communication with the toll system.
see: www.toll-collect.de

Open Document Format
Open file formats for storing office documents, partly described by international standards and implemented in various application programs.

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access
Particularly effective modulation method used in WiMAX and LTE.

Principle in which data streams are routed via fixed network infrastructures instead of mobile communications equipment. The aim is to avoid bottlenecks in mobile data transmission by using higher bandwidths for fixed network connections.

oneM2M is an industry forum based at ETSI that aims to publish a series of specifications to facilitate the interoperability and interaction of objects connected via the Internet.

Platforms or systems that support teachers and students in tutoring or mentoring via the Internet, regardless of time and place.

Open Office XML
Open standard for XML-based file formats for storing office documents, which is intended to enable the exchange of data and files between different office application packages.

OPC Unified Architecture
Communication platform of the OPC Foundation. The hardware- and operating system-independent infrastructure enables the exchange of data and information with integrated IT security between applications.

The standardization body behind OPC UA.
see: www.opcfoundation.org

Access model that enables non-discriminatory broadband access including applications for third-party providers. This is intended to strengthen competition between network and service operators on the infrastructure network.

Open service interface.

Public availability of standardized data.

Includes free educational content and research resources, free software or free licenses on the Internet. Open Educational Resources are based on new processes and methods of content creation and dissemination, including the use of Web 2.0 services.

Stands for a variety of strategic objectives and measures on the part of politics and/or public administration to develop new forms of transparency, participation and cooperative interaction between different social actors through the targeted use of modern information and communication technologies.

Online Self Assessments
Internet-based study orientation tests that offer prospective students the opportunity to find out for themselves whether their own interests, inclinations, abilities, skills, expectations and ideas match the requirements and actual conditions of a degree course. OSAs are generally divided into interest tests and expectation checks.

The OSGi Alliance provides specifications for the interoperability of devices, sensors and actuators and enables the remote management of end devices and their applications. The specifications include a modular dynamic execution environment that can integrate the various communication protocols and applications themselves via APIs. There are also specifications for Cloud PaaS and a development environment for the development of modular apps based on OSGi. The specifications have already been implemented in many product developments in various industries, including enterprise, smart home, telematics and AAL. The OSGi Alliance also cooperates with other industry players and is both the starting point for HGI SWEX and is included in the European Commission’s SMART 2013/0077 study. An expandable IoT demo shows the end2end connection that is necessary in M2M.

Outsourcing of company tasks and structures to third-party companies. In the context of cloud computing, the term generally refers to the outsourcing of IT processes and infrastructures (e.g. data centers, use of business software).

Process data accelerator
A project of the Federal Government from the government program “Networked and transparent administration” The aim is to develop methods and open standards for a networked and comprehensive inter-process architecture for simplified data exchange between business and administration. Uniform process management, based on the corresponding standardization of administrative processes, is intended to gradually create an infrastructure that allows administration and companies to process transactions electronically without media discontinuity and thus meet the requirements for data security and economy.
see: www.p23r.de

Usage-based tariffs enable policyholders to pay motor insurance premiums based on their actual driving behavior. Behavior-related data (e.g. driving frequency, times, braking and acceleration behavior) is continuously collected using embedded sensor technology and transmitted at regular intervals via wireless radio technologies (e.g. UMTS) to the insurer, who can use this data to participate in new (mobile) ecosystems and value chains and offer new profitable services.

Methods and measures to reduce (frequency, level) of peak loads.
see: acatech study Future-Energy-Grid

An application in which network participants of the same rank communicate directly with each other, e.g. as with Skype.

Project group

see: PaaS

Powerline communication
The term Powerline describes the transmission of data signals via an existing energy distribution network, e.g. in a building (local data network) but in principle also outside (e.g. SmartGrid/SmartMeter networking). In the most common variant, this technology is used to install a data network infrastructure in a building that uses existing cable routes in order to avoid additional cabling.

Committee that develops standards in the field of industrial automation.
see: www.plcopen.org

This refers to a rare phrase in mainly English-language essays and specialist articles, such as “M2M is the plumbing of the Internet of Things” or “M2M is often referred to as ‘plumbing’, while the IoT is seen as a universal enabler”.

Program Making and Special Event
PMSE means “Program Making and Special Event” and refers to a part of the applications that are internationally referred to as “Services Ancillary for Programme-Making” and “Services Ancillary for Broadcasting” (SAP/SAB), which also include “Electronic News Gathering” and “Outside Broadcasting” (ENG/OB). Typical PMSE components are wireless video cameras, microphones, in-ear monitor systems, conference systems, talkback / intercom systems, data connections (e.g. as remote control), etc. PMSE therefore includes all wireless components and systems that are used in professional productions such as stage productions, public events, television productions, installations in conference rooms, musical halls, theaters and operas, sports centers or other professional installations.

Polymer optical fibers
In optical fiber technology, we often talk about glass fiber cables. POF is also an optical fiber, but it is not based on glass, but on plastic. POF cables offer high transmission rates and the same interference immunity in transmission as glass fibers. However, they (still) lag behind glass in terms of range.

Refers to the independence of computer programs (or IT services) from their specific implementation on a specific IT platform (or a specific provider cloud) and thus gives an indication of how easily a computer program or IT service can be migrated to a new environment.

Public Protection and Disaster Relief
International term for civil protection and disaster relief. See also: BOS radio

Public-private partnership
Special form of cooperation between companies and public authorities.

Public-private partnership
Public-private partnership, cooperative collaboration between public authorities and private economic entities.

Mechanism to prevent the permanent recognizability of end devices in a network. A new interface identifier is generated from a given interface identifier using a random generator, but this is only used for a limited time. A new interface identifier is then generated again using the same procedure.

Users have access to their applications and data in a cloud that is operated by an organization specifically for them. Access is usually via an intranet and is only available to a defined group of users. If the private cloud does not run on the organization’s servers but is provided by a third-party company in its data center, it is called a “hosted private cloud”.

The trend in society as a whole for individuals to increasingly act not only as buyers (consumers), but also as providers (producers) of products or services. In the context of the energy industry, this trend is based on the increasing spread of decentralized systems for generating renewable energy among private customers.

Re-use of Public Sector Information
PSI is a directive adopted at EU level on the re-use of data collected by public authorities in other administrative processes.

Public Switched Telephone Network
Telephone network. Public communication system for voice communication between remote subscribers.

A public cloud that is accessible to everyone. Many different organizations and private individuals can use the services it provides via the Internet and pay for them as required. The services are often e-mail, office applications or online storage such as photo portals.

System that issues, distributes and checks digital certificates for computer-based communication for security reasons.

Public local passenger transport
OPNV refers to public transport in the broad sense and in the narrow sense to the spatial area for the transportation of people for work, education, shopping and other everyday transport using road, rail and ship vehicles (ferries) on scheduled services.

Public passenger transport
Public transport, as distinct from local public transport, also refers to long-distance carriers such as Deutsche Bahn without any regional restrictions.

Public administration

Publish/subscribe is a message transmission concept in which the sender of a message (the publisher) does not send it directly to a specific recipient (the subscriber), but instead to a message broker. The messages are divided into classes and forwarded by the broker to all subscribers who have subscribed to a specific class.

Photovoltaic system

A real-time operating system used in the field of embedded systems (such as many M2M systems).

Quality of Service
In telecommunications in general, the defined, controllable behavior of a communication system or service with regard to qualitatively measurable parameters.

A 20-bit field in the IPv6 packet, the so-called flow label, allows the packets to be marked in order to indicate a certain treatment of the packets by routers. These can be certain quality of service (QoS) features, such as “real-time”. The aim is to treat data packets for services that have a certain quality of service (e.g. video telephony) separately.

A Rasperry Pi is a single-board computer about the size of a credit card, which is intended as a so-called DIY (do-it-yourself) computer platform for beginners and hobbyists from the maker scene. The hardware supports Linux operating systems and can be programmed very easily in Python. Since well over 3 million Rasperry Pi have now been sold, there is a very large supporter scene that has developed countless examples of solutions and published them on the Internet.

English for valuation. In telecommunications, the determination of the price for a service used as part of the billing process.

English for real-time behavior. Describes the need for a system to calculate a guaranteed result within a predefined time interval. Often used synonymously with high requirements for an extremely short, delay-free response or control time.

Refers to the ability to check and adjust service level agreements (SLAs) in real time.

Real-time information from all means of transport, such as public transport, private transport, etc., is brought together and all alternatives with travel times and costs are made available to the traveler or to the coordinator of freight transport, transport times and alternative corridors. This is one of the basic building blocks for a large number of applications that contribute to the optimal and economical use of transport infrastructure, improved traffic flow, more efficient control of logistical processes and optimized travel organization.

A regional marketplace serves as a platform for all stakeholders and energy systems to enable an economically efficient allocation of generation, consumption, storage and energy transportation at a local level.

Wireless monitoring of objects or persons from a distance using modern transmission technology.

Also alternative energy. Refers to forms of energy that can be used by humans, which are based on sources that are inexhaustible according to human judgment and are obtained by diverting usable forces from natural processes that are already taking place.
see: www.erneuerbare-energien.de/erneuerbare_energien/aktuell/4590.php

Represental State Transfer
REST is a data-independent architecture style for web applications. REST is based on the four HTTP methods GET, POST, UPDATE and DELETE. In addition to HTTP, REST can also be used with CoAP (Constraint Application Protocol) so that embedded systems with limited resources can also be integrated directly into REST-based applications. REST is used in the Internet of Things to implement platform-independent programming interfaces (APIs = Application Programming Interfaces).

Radio Frequency Identification
Wireless process that works without contact and transmits the goods data over a certain distance using radio, inductive or resonance coupling. An RFID system consists of the data carrier (the so-called RFID tag), an antenna and the RFID reader.

Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre
Ripe NCC is one of five Regional Internet Registries (RIR) and, as an organization, is responsible for the allocation of IP addresses for Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

English for “pass-through”. Refers to the ability to be connected to a foreign mobile network and use mobile services, especially abroad.

Return of investment
Business ratio that indicates the relationship between profit and invested capital.

Supplier/Partner Requisition Interface
The standardized order interface for NGA networks, developed by the S/PRI working group. Interface for all customer switching processes.

Software as a service
Users obtain specific software from the cloud, such as a CRM system or office applications. The most widely used form of cloud. Formerly referred to as software on demand.

Supervisiory Control and Data Acquisition
The monitoring and control of technical processes using a computer system. A SCADA solution is usually a platform that is connected to decentralized sensors, actuators and controllers via various communication links.

Software Development Kit
A collection of software tools and programs that software developers can use to create and test new applications.

It means that the systems should be ready for operation at all times and that the data is processed correctly.

Confidentiality can be said to exist if it is not possible to obtain unauthorized information. This means that the information is only accessible to authorized persons.

The integrity protection objective covers both the correctness of the data (data integrity) and the correct functioning of the system (system integrity).

In software development, this means that security and privacy protection are taken into account as central system properties from the very beginning of the design process.

Refers to the ability to exchange data between organizations as part of integrated, seamless business processes based on a procedure that helps to avoid misinterpretations and misunderstandings in the use of terms, data structures, writing conventions, etc. Only semantic interoperability guarantees efficient data exchange within the organization and efficient data integration with external cooperation participants.
see: www.isst.fraunhofer.de/Images/White-Paper_Einf%C3%BChrung_Bd1_tcm81-49792.pdf

Serial interfaces used for data exchange between computers and peripheral devices or peripheral modules. The common feature of these interfaces is bit-serial transmission. However, completely different synchronization methods are used between transmitter and receiver as well as access methods to the transmission medium. Furthermore, the focus of application varies: CAN, for example, was developed for automotive applications, Ethernet for LAN applications.

see: SaaS

Subscriber identity module cards
Chip cards that serve to identify the user to the mobile network operator. They are issued by mobile network operators, for example.

The public authority number 115 gives citizens, but also businesses and administrations, a direct line to the authorities in Germany – regardless of which level is being addressed.

Service Level Agreement
Contractual agreement on the quality of service at the interface between client and service provider.

Everyday objects that have been upgraded with information technology and receive added value through sensor-supported information processing and communication. A smart device is usually directly connected to other devices or integrated into a network. Very often, wireless methods such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, GSM, UMTS, LTE etc. are used for the communication connections of a smart device.

Electricity grids in which the consumption of all users is intelligently estimated and the generation and supply of electricity is dynamically adjusted on this basis.

Enables automated transport processes that incorporate sensor data and central IT functions, among other things. The aim of smart logistics is not only to reduce distances and costs, but also to create digitalized transport networks that optimally link existing capacities and at the same time reduce the burden on infrastructure and the environment to a socially acceptable level.

According to the Federal Network Agency, the area outside the grid in which energy quantities or services derived from them are traded between different market partners on the basis of the available grid capacity. In addition to producers, consumers and prosumers, many different service providers could be active in these markets in the future, e.g. energy efficiency service providers, aggregators, etc.
see: www.bundesnetzagentur.de

Sensor that typically measures the power consumption of an appliance at short intervals and transmits this information to a central instance for processing. Based on this information, an energy supplier, for example, can monitor the consumption of individual appliances and also calculate the costs.

Determination and timely communication of energy consumption information between the meter and energy distribution network.

Includes intelligent urban parking guidance systems that guide drivers to a free parking space via dynamic and static display boards or networked navigation devices. On freeways, smart parking is used to avoid overcrowding at service areas by pre-booking truck parking spaces via networked systems and thus to better allocate scarce parking spaces. Smart Parking leads to more efficient use of the existing traffic infrastructure.

Special process designation of the IFTTT (IF This Than That) service platform. Trigger conditions and actions can be linked to a specific “channel” via this platform. The individual channels are specific products or platforms from other manufacturers that are connected to the internet.

Small and medium-sized enterprises

Service-oriented Architecture
SOA is a paradigm/thought pattern for the structuring and use of distributed functionality for which different owners are responsible.

Refers to learning situations in which the learner is supported by the use of suitable mobile devices and/or social media.

see: SaaS

Unix operating system from Sun (Oracle).

Static Random Access Memory
A type of electronic memory.

Service Set Identifier
Freely selectable name of a service set, i.e. a device in the WLAN. A wireless access point can usually have several SSIDs at the same time, making it possible to offer several Virtual Local Area Networks. A common use case is the provision of a guest WLAN alongside at least one other WLAN.

Radiation Protection Commission
Advisory body of the currently responsible Federal Ministry for the Environment in matters of protection against ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, which was founded in 1974 and generally consists of 14 experts.

Secure Socket Layer
Older and outdated network protocol for secure data transmission. Since SSL version 3.0, the protocol has been called TLS.

Term from the Health Modernization Act (GMG) regarding dental therapy for dentures for people with statutory health insurance, which describes medically sufficient, appropriate and economically justifiable dentures. The fixed allowances of the statutory health insurance companies are calculated on the basis of the standard treatments.

The provision of standardized process interfaces for approval processes or for other public administration services improves the interoperability of IT systems in the area of public administration and at the same time creates important prerequisites for the bundling or flexible combination of different administrative services on the basis of corresponding assistance systems. In addition, open service interfaces enable economic and civil society players to integrate public services into networked information and transaction offerings that are specific to target groups or geared towards life and business situations.

A network subscriber is assigned a fixed address and retains this over several connections to a network.

Storage systems for online data processing as well as for filing, archiving and data backup.

Based on data from traffic management systems. Depending on the degree of utilization of the traffic infrastructure, various route planning alternatives are automatically compared and the most favorable variant is dynamically selected for routing.

Management (usually by a service provider or mobile network operator) of users, their contracts and the provision of contractually agreed services.

Transmission Control Protocol
Part of the Internet protocols, basis for HTTP.

Generic term for the various specialist approaches used to provide medical services over a distance (e.g. telepathology, teleradiology).

Relatively rarely used term for manufacturers of telecommunications devices. The “telco device” can be a smartphone as well as a cable modem, etc.

Medical act in which, if the patient is involved, the doctor speaks to the patient at a distance or several doctors communicate at a distance without the involvement of a patient.

System and/or service that connects physicians and caregivers with patients to assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with chronic conditions and to support patients in the self-management of their condition.

Refers to all diagnostics and therapy that bridges a spatial or temporal (“asynchronous”) distance between doctor (telephysician), pharmacist and patient or between two consulting doctors using information and communication technologies. Telemedicine is used as an umbrella term for telehealth, telecare and teledisciplines.

Exchange of a patient’s physiological data collected in their everyday environment between medical experts.

Telecommunications Act

Traffic Light Protocol
Internationally recognized set of rules for the exchange of information worthy of protection. The TLP was developed in the UK by the National Infrastructure Security Coordination Center. All data and documents are divided into one of four classes, which regulate the conditions for their disclosure.

Transport Layer Security
Encryption protocol for the transport layer. TLS-based encryption is mainly used today with HTTPS. TLS supports various encryption methods. In addition to the encryption method used, the level of security that can be achieved also depends on the respective TLS version.

Provides information on where goods are located at any given time. It also makes it possible to record what has happened to raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products as they move through the production chain, thereby enabling the production and shipping process to be traced.

Platform for traffic data or digital marketplace for traffic data, e.g. on the MDM (Mobility Data Marketplace) of the BAST (Federal Highway Research Institute)

Intermodal system for networking freight and transport traffic with private transport (motorized private transport – MIV or public transport – ÖPV). A traffic data network system is used for optimized route guidance for the individual transport process as well as for all road users.

Traffic guidance systems are used for the local collection, transmission, processing and use of traffic-related data with the aim of efficiently organizing, informing and directing traffic using information and communication technologies.

Traffic telematics refers to the use of telematics in the transport sector, i.e. it is used to make traffic processes more efficient, increase road safety, reduce traffic-related environmental pollution, increase comfort and optimize operational processes.

Sub-working group

Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter
UART enable the realization of serial interfaces, e.g. in embedded systems (e.g. M2M systems) for communication with other peripherals such as sensors/actuators or radio modules.

Universal Description, Discovery and Integration
Directory service with a web interface. It contains companies, their data and their services. A distinction can be made between three types of information in UDDI: The “white pages”, a kind of telephone directory, the “yellow pages”, i.e. the electronic equivalent of the yellow pages, and the interface descriptions in the so-called “green pages”.

Ulta High Frequency
Frequency band from 0.3 GHz to 3 GHz, which is used for terrestrial television, mobile radio and WLAN, among other things.

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Third-generation mobile communications standard that enables significantly higher data transfer rates than the GSM standard at up to 7.2 Mbps.

United Nations

Unbundling of functions in the energy value chain with the aim of making the grid operator independent of other energy supply activities and increasing competition. The aim is to allow third parties non-discriminatory access to the grid and to prevent grid operators from exploiting their monopoly situation, e.g. to cross-subsidize distribution.

In the case of universal service, the entire population of a country is legally guaranteed a certain service (e.g. telephony) as a basic service by the TKG.

Data transmission from the customer to the network.

Universal Serial Bus
A serial bus system, mainly for connecting peripheral devices such as hard disks, mice, keyboards and webcams to PCs.
see: www.usb.org

English for use case. IT industry term for the documentation of requirements for a software system.

Verband der Anbieter von Telekommunikations- und Mehrwertdiensten e.V.
see: www.vatm.de

VDE Verband der Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik e.V.
see: www.vde.com

Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Line
Is a new DSL technology that enables significantly higher bandwidths (more than 20 Mbit/s downstream, more than 5 Mbit/s upstream – theoretically up to 100 Mbit/s in both directions with VDSL 2) compared to previous DSL technologies.

Generic term for various communication technologies that enable vehicles to be networked with the infrastructure in order to increase road safety. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication is a special case. This refers to the direct exchange of information and data between vehicles with the aim of reporting critical and dangerous situations to the driver at an early stage.

Online system to support synchronous or asynchronous educational offerings (e-learning, webinars) using video, audio, whiteboard, application sharing and chat or forum.

see: Virtual power plants

Intelligent combination of many locally separated, renewable energy-generating micro power plants to form a system that has similar energy capacities to a conventional large power plant.

Provision of resources without a fixed allocation of resources to individual computer systems or servers.

Virtual Local Area Network
A Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) is a logical subnetwork within a switch or an entire physical network. It can extend across one or more switches. A VLAN separates physical networks into subnetworks by ensuring that VLAN-capable switches do not forward the frames (data packets) of a VLAN to another VLAN, even though the subnetworks may be connected to shared switches.

Virtual Learning Environments
Virtual Learning Environments are Internet-based e-learning systems for modeling formal learning and educational processes by providing personal virtual access to lessons, learning content, examinations, in-depth assignments, grades, assessments and other free educational resources.

Distribution system operator
A distribution system operator (DSO) is a company that operates electricity and gas grids for distribution to end consumers (private households and small consumers) in accordance with the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG).

Voice over IP
Refers to telephoning via IP-based computer networks.

Virtual Private Network
Network that consists of at least two sub-networks (or participants) that are connected to each other via public lines (e.g. the Internet) and in which the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of the data is guaranteed during data communication.

Real-time operating system for embedded systems (such as M2M systems) from Wind River Systems.

WITA Based Carrier Interface
The WBCI (WITA Based Carrier Interface) ensures the standardized and smooth processing of a preliminary agreement when changing providers and is therefore an electronic alternative to today’s manual and error-prone fax procedure.

Economy, innovation, resources.
News from the Thuringia Ministry of Economic Affairs

Refers to large electrical household appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators and ovens.
see also: Brown goods

World Health Organization
Coordinating authority of the United Nations for international public health.

see: WLAN

Public Internet access points at which a wireless connection to the Internet can be established using WLAN technology.

see: WiFi hotspots

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
Radio systems according to the IEEE 802.16 standard.

Is an operating system for small, often embedded systems (such as M2M systems or CE products) from Microsoft.

Wholesale IT Architecture
IT architecture to support wholesale in the carrier-to-carrier business

Wireless Local Area Network
Also WiFi. Refers to a wireless local radio network that can be used to connect computers, smart phones, printers and other devices to a network. Today, most WLANs worldwide comply with the IEEE-802.11 standard.

World Radiocommunication Conference
The conference, which has been held every two to four years since 1995, decides on radio issues and is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a sub-organization of the United Nations (UN).

Web Services Description Language
Description language for web services and other network services for message exchange based on XML. WSDL is a platform-, protocol- and programming language-independent description language. WSDL specifies the syntactic elements of a web service, i.e. the way in which, for example, a client can access the corresponding web service.

pilot project. It was presented by the Free State of Bavaria as part of the IT Summit 2010 and dealt with the practical implementation and testing of the innovative concept of the process data accelerator (see P23R) for the area of transport-related reporting obligations in cross-border heavy goods traffic. Building on the preliminary scientific work, a comprehensive “transport data model” was developed as part of x-trans.eu in order to automatically select the application data required for a transport application in Germany or Austria on the basis of country-specific rules and to transmit it electronically to the relevant authority. The P23R principle means that application data only has to be entered once and can be used for several transport applications in different countries. From 2013, the cross-border IT solution is to be transferred to regular operation and further expanded and developed in a European context.

Digital certificate for a public key infrastructure (PKI) in accordance with the ITU-T standard X.509, currently version 3 (X.509v3). Such a certificate serves as proof of identity within a PKI.

Electronic process network in the registration system
Project of the OCSI control center, which was initiated on behalf of the federal and state governments in July 2001. The aim was to establish an electronic process network between the German registration offices. In an open process, and with the participation of all interested parties, the messages to be implemented as a matter of urgency were standardized. XMeld is based entirely on XML and uses a transport protocol specially developed for public administration (Online Services Computer Interface, OSCI for short) to guarantee data protection. The intensive and constructive cooperation with the “Registration Project Group”, which coordinated the legal framework for the implementation of the MRRG on behalf of the Conference of Interior Ministers, led to binding resolutions by the Conference of Interior Ministers. On this basis, a secure cross-administration process infrastructure was put into operation for the first time in Germany on January 1, 2007.

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
XMPP is an instant messaging protocol based on TCP. In addition to messaging, the protocol offers extensive additional functions. XMPP supports conferences with multiple users. The use of XMPP requires at least one server, which acts as an intermediary for the individual XMPP nodes. Several servers can in turn exchange messages across domains.

XML in public administration
Specialist standards in eGovernment for electronic data exchange in public administration based on XML. The XÖV standards enable end-to-end electronic business processes. An XÖV framework was developed as the basis for the development of XÖV standards. It comprises central rules that support the goals of “improving interoperability” and “reducing the costs of XÖV standardization and project risks” in the context of XÖV standardization projects and thus serves as the basis for XÖV coordination. The guidelines and project processes described in the XÖV framework should be used in the technical standardization project work in public administration – especially for cross-level standards – and thus make a significant contribution to the improved implementation of standardization projects.

Wireless communication technology for short-range applications. A typical field of application is the wireless networking of electronic devices in the home.

Zentralverband der Deutschen Elektro- und Informationstechnischen Handwerke
see: www.zveh.de

Center for European Economic Research

ZigBee was developed as an extended radio technology for WLAN (IEEE 802.11) and Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1) to connect sensors and household appliances over short distances of between 10 and 100 meters. This standard specifically supports short-range wireless networks with low data rates. Frequency range is 2.4 GHz, as well as WLAN and Bluetooth

Additional Technical Contract Conditions and Guidelines for the Construction of Asphalt Pavements. Drawn up by the Research Association for Roads and Transportation (FGSV), working group “Asphalt construction methods”.