Infobip glossary

Two-factor authentication, also known as 2FA, is an extra layer of security that requires users to use both their online password and their mobile phone to verify their identity.

2-way messaging is an interaction between two people. It allows businesses to engage with customers, saves time, builds trust, and more.

2G is an acronym for second generation mobile telecommunications technology that was first launched in Finland in 1991.

Three-factor authentication is the use of a person’s live biometric data in addition to their security credentials and an authentication code sent by SMS.

3G is an acronym for third generation mobile telecommunications technology that was first introduced in 1998.

4G is an acronym for fourth generation mobile telecommunications technology.

5G mobile connection is the latest generation of cellular network technology, offering a massive leap forward compared to 4G LTE.

A 10-digit long code (10DLC) number is a US-specific, carrier-sanctioned, 10-digit phone number used for business messaging.

16-bit Unicode or Unicode Transformation Format (UTF-16) is a method of encoding character data, capable of encoding 1,112,064 possible characters in Unicode.

An Access Point Name, often abbreviated as APN, is the name of a gateway between a data-transmitting mobile network and another computer network, frequently the public internet.

Access tokens are used in token-based authentication to allow one system access to another system's API by gathering and providing the required security data for clearance.

An AI chatbot or “conversational chatbot” is an intent-based computer program that uses artificial intelligence to bring a conversational approach to chatbot interactions.

An AI Copilot is a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI) designed to increase productivity and efficiency in various work settings.

AI hallucinations are when a large language model (LLM), such as Google Bard, ChatGPT, or Bing AI Chat, present false information as facts.

AIML, or Artificial Intelligence Markup Language, is an XML dialect developers use to create natural language software agents commonly used in chatbots.

Model collapse is a phenomenon in artificial intelligence (AI) where trained models, especially those relying on synthetic data or AI-generated data, degrade over time.

AI red teaming is a structured, proactive security approach in which experts simulate real-world attacks on AI systems to identify and address vulnerabilities before malicious actors exploit them.

An alphanumeric sender ID enables organizations to send one-way text messages to recipients using a custom, recognizable string made up of any combination of letters and numbers.

Apache a free and open source software that is estimated to serve 50% of all active websites.

Application-to-person messaging, or A2P messaging is the process of sending mobile messages from a business application to a mobile user, usually via an automated process, for marketing or service reasons.

An app notification is a message or alert sent by an application to the device user. They include push notifications and in-app notifications.

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is a theoretical type of AI that matches or surpasses human abilities across various cognitive tasks.

Average hold time (AHT), also known as on-hold time, is a typical contact center metric that measures the average time a customer spends on hold before speaking to an agent.

Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI), is an email parameter that allows email inboxes to show a brand’s logo next to their email messages.

Binary SMS messages are used to send data, usually rich content or small files, in addition to transferring telephone system settings, ringtones, and WAP-Push messages.

Biometric authentication performs identification and authentication based on recognizable and verifiable data that is unique and specific to that person.

Blocklist, also known as blacklist, is an admittance control system that prevents access to a categoric list (or other defined range) of users, programs, or networks.

BaaS is a concept in A2P messaging which allows mobile operators to run their entire A2P business without major investment or risk of ownership.

Caller ID is a telecommunication service that enables users to identify incoming calls before answering.

Carrier billing is a type of mobile payment where the purchase amount is charged to the mobile phone bill or deducted from the prepaid balance.

Causal AI is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) designed to identify and understand the cause and effect of relationships across data.

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that uses natural language processing (NLP) to create human-like conversations.

Click-to-open rate, or CTOR for short, is a metric for tracking an email campaign’s performance.

Click-to-WhatsApp is a feature introduced by WhatsApp which enables businesses to publish ads on Facebook and Instagram.

A cloud contact center is a technology platform that hosts all the tools and services required to run an enterprise-level contact center in the cloud.

CPaaS refers to a cloud-based platform that provides the ability for organizations to add communication services to their applications without the cost and maintenance overhead of developing their own solutions.

A concatenated short message service is used to overcome the limit on the number of characters that can be sent in a single SMS text message transmission (usually 160 chars).

Contact Center-as-a-Service (CCaaS) is a cloud-based customer engagement solution that enables omnichannel conversations through a contact center provider’s software.

Conversational commerce is the use of customer-initiated conversations with artificial intelligence (AI), such as chatbots, to complete transactions over a messaging app.

Conversational CX Maturity shows how well a company manages the customer experience and asks "How focused are we on our customers?".

Conversational design is the process of designing interactive conversations and experiences between people and digital platforms.

Conversational experience is a term used to describe the interactions between customers and businesses, typically taking place over digital channels.

Conversational marketing is an effective strategy that focuses on engaging customers through direct conversations.

Conversational support is a communication interface, such as chatbot technology, that allows customers to ask questions and get responses in natural language.

Conversational UI (also known as conversational user interface, or CUI) is an interactive design pattern which enables people to communicate with digital products through natural language, voice commands, and chatbot-style computer interactions.

CPaaS X is a communication solution developed by Infobip as an evolution of standard CPaaS offerings with greater flexibility and more advanced capabilities.

CSAT, or Customer Satisfaction Score, measures and quantifies how customers feel after a specific customer journey. This can be with a product or an experience.

Data coverage refers to the location in which you can receive and transmit data from your mobile device.

Delivery reporting is a feature of SMS MT that reports back on the delivery status of every SMS message that has been sent.

DomainKeys Identified Mail or DKIM is an email security standard that helps detect if the emails were tampered with in transit between sender and receiver.

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, or DMARC, is an email authentication tool that prevents data spoofing, tampering, phishing, and cyberattacks.

Domain authentication is a way to verify that the email sender is who they claim to be.

DTMF code, short for dual-tone multi-frequency code, is a response code generated when an end-user presses the numbers on a mobile or landline phone’s keypad.

E.164 is an international standard public telecommunication numbering plan that defines the worldwide public switch telephone network and some data networks.

Early media is a feature flag that enables the media to flow before the call is officially connected.

An Email API (Application Programmable Interface) is an interface that allows developers to connect to an email service provider and use its functionality.

Email automation is the use of predetermined sets of rules that trigger specific emails to be sent to recipients, depending on the actions they take.

Email bounce is when an email is not delivered because it has been rejected outright by the receiving email server.

Facial recognition is the power of AI which allows technology providers to authenticate end-users by matching their human face to customer records.

Failover is the ability to switch to another communication channel in cases where the primary communication channel fails to deliver a message.

A fallback option can be defined as a backup option reverted to when a primary option fails to make contact.

First-call resolution (FCR) is an important contact center metric, which essentially means addressing a customer’s needs the very first time they call. Thereby, avoiding the need for the customer to follow up with a second call.

Fixed sender ID is a predetermined numeric sender identification that cannot be modified according to user needs and follows the standard MSISDN format.

A flash SMS is a message that appears immediately on the recipient’s mobile screen, without them having to open their message inbox, and then disappears for good once they dismiss it.

Geo-redundancy means placing physical servers in geographically diverse data centers to safeguard against catastrophic events and natural disasters and load balance traffic for optimal performance.

A global title (GT) is an address used in the SCCP protocol for routing signaling messages on various telecommunications networks.

GSM is a mobile telephony standard introduced in the early 1990s by the European Telecommunications Standard Institute.

HAProxy or high availability proxy is a free and open source software which is most commonly used to improve the performance of a server environment by spreading requests to multiple servers and thus enhancing the speed and reliability of the server environment.

The HLR is a database of all active customers of a mobile network, including their number, service entitlement, and number porting history.

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the foundation of the World Wide Web and is used to load web pages using hypertext links.

Human in the loop (HITL) emphasizes active human involvement in developing, training, and operating AI systems.

A human takeover (also agent takeover) is a fallback feature for AI and keyword chatbots.

The ICCID number stands for integrated circuit card ID. It is an 18-22-digit number typically printed on the back of a SIM card. No two SIM cards have the same ICCID number.

The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number is a unique identification that all mobile phones and smartphones have.

An IMSI is a unique and automatically generated code stored in the SIM that identifies every mobile phone subscriber on any network globally.

In-app notifications are messages inside a mobile app or web application that appear while users use the app.

An inbound message is routed from an end user’s mobile device and delivered to a mobile phone or an application.

An Independent software vendor (ISV) is a software producer not owned or controlled by a hardware manufacturer.

Intelligent routing (IR), or skills-based routing, is a technology contact centers use to route customer queries that come in through voice, email, or chat channels to the agent best fit to resolve them.

In the world of chatbots, “intent” refers to the customer or user’s intention – i.e. their goal or requirement for engaging with a chatbot.

Interactive AI is an artificial intelligence system that can engage in two-way communication with users, allowing real-time interaction and personalized responses. It’s designed to understand and respond to user input, creating a dynamic and engaging experience.  

Interactive voice response (IVR) is an automated system that uses recorded messages to guide callers through interactive menus.

iOS is an operating system created by Apple Inc that powers many of the company’s mobile devices, including the iPhone and iPod Touch.

ISO 9001 is a family of standards that deals with quality management set by the International Organization for Standardization.

ISO 27001 is a family of standards that deals with information security management set by the International Organization for Standardization.

Keyword chatbots – also known as “rule-based chatbots” or “flow-based chatbots” – analyze users’ text input based on keywords and give the appropriate response.

Large Action Models (LAMs) are AI models designed to take action by translating human intentions within a given environment or system.

Large language models (LLMs) are artificial intelligence (AI) systems trained on massive amounts of text data to understand, generate, translate, and predict human language.

LLM orchestration is a method for managing and coordinating large language models (LLMs) to ensure seamless integration with enterprise systems.

Local time stamp is a feature of SMS-MT that displays the timestamp of the home network local time.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is the direct data transfer and information between devices without explicit human intervention.

Machine learning is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) that gives computers the ability to learn and improve their performance without being explicitly programmed for every single task.

Magic links are types of logins where you login into an account by clicking the link emailed to you.

Media message template is a message format that you can repeatedly use to send messages to users once they have given the app permission to send them messages.

Multimedia message service, or MMS for short, is a channel that was built with the introduction of SMS messaging to offer the additional ability to send multimedia messages rather than just text.

Mobile data penetration represents the number of smartphones in a country.

Mobile identity is a verification solution with several real-time identification and authorization services.

A mobile network operator (MNO) is a telecoms entity that provides wireless voice and data services to mobile phone subscribers.

Mobile number portability (MNP) enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when switching from one mobile network operator to another.

MO (mobile originated) specifies that a message originates from a mobile device and is delivered to another device or an application.

Mobile phone penetration is a way of measuring mobile phone usage in a particular country. It is usually expressed as the ratio of SIM cards to the total population.

A mobile message routed from a client or an application and delivered to the end user’s mobile phone is a called a SMS MT (mobile terminated).

MSIN stands for mobile subscription identification number. It is a unique numeric code used to identify a mobile subscriber by a mobile network operator.

An MSISDN is the phone number associated with a single SIM card, in other words, the number you call or send an SMS message to.

Multifactor authentication (MFA) is a security method that requires users to provide 2 or more verification factors to access an account.

Multimedia message service, or MMS for short, is a channel that was built with the introduction of SMS messaging to offer the additional ability to send multimedia messages rather than just text.

Multimodal AI is an artificial intelligence system that processes and integrates information from multiple modalities. Similar to human senses – see, hear, feel, smell, and taste.

MVNO stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator. It is a company that provides mobile phone services but does not own the wireless infrastructure that it uses.

Named entity recognition (NER) is used in AI chatbots to identify and classify a user’s words into predefined categories.

Natural language processing (NLP) is a subfield of artificial intelligence concerned with helping AI chatbots and machines understand and process human language.

Natural language understanding (NLU) is a part of AI focused on teaching computers how to understand and interpret human language.

Numeric sender ID is the default sender type of an SMS message in the standard MSISDN form. It identifies who is sending the message to the recipient.

A one-time PIN code is a code that is automatically generated and sent, usually to a mobile device, to allow a single login session or transaction.

OpenAI is an artificial intelligence (AI) research and deployment company founded in December 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco.

The opt-in function relates to getting permission from the customer to send promotional materials and messages to their email, mobile number, or chat application.

The opt-out function is where customers request to stop getting promotional materials and messages to their email, mobile number, or chat application.

OTA messaging provides remote control of mobile phones for service and subscription activation, personalization, and programming of a new service for mobile operators and telco third parties.

An outbound message is routed from a client or an application and delivered to the end user’s mobile phone.

Over the top apps (OTTs) deliver content – like video, audio, and messaging – directly to users over the Internet.

Password hashing is a process that transforms your password into a jumbled, unrecognizable string of characters (the "hash").

Passwordless authentication is a way to identify your identity without using a password. Instead, it uses more secure alternatives like possession factors or biometrics.

Payments for WhatsApp allows businesses using WhatsApp Business Platform to offer a seamless end-to-end purchase journey right within WhatsApp.

PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and is a security standard for companies and organizations that handle credit card information.

Pentesting, or penetration testing, is a simulated cyberattack performed on a computer system, network, or web application to identify vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit.

P2A SMS messaging is the process of sending messages from a mobile user to an application.

Person-to-person (P2P) messaging refers to sending mobile messages from one user to another, where an SMS message travels between two mobile subscribers.

Personal data verification is a user data verification service within a Mobile Identity solution.

A pig butchering scam is a type of fraud where scammers build a relationship with their victims, often romantic, to gain their trust and then convince them to invest in a fake cryptocurrency scheme.  

A platform company is a type of business that provides a technical foundation and/or set of applications and tools which can then be used by other companies, either in the day-to-day running of their business, or to create their own products and solutions on top of the platform company's core offering.

Premium SMS number is a 3-7 digit number used for messaging that charges a premium price to the mobile subscriber for messages sent or received.

PSTN is the aggregate of the world’s circuit-switched telephone networks (both landline and mobile numbers).

Push notifications are short, pop-up messages that mobile apps send to users’ devices even when the app is not open. They are used for reminders, updates, promotions, and more.

Quantum artificial intelligence (QAI) is an emerging field that combines the principles of quantum mechanics with artificial intelligence.

Quishing, or QR phishing, is a cyberattack in which attackers use malicious QR codes to trick people into revealing sensitive personal information.

RCS is an IP-based messaging service provided to mobile phone users through mobile operator networks.

A regular expression, shortened as Regex, and referred to as a rational expression, is a sequence of characters that specifies a search pattern.

In the context of SMS, retry refers to the process of the SMSC trying again to deliver an SMS message that failed to be delivered – during a period the message is valid, usually 48 hours.

Return on ad spend (ROAS) is a marketing metric that measures the revenue earned for every dollar spent on advertising.

Risk-based authentication (RBA) dynamically assesses the risk level of each login attempt or transaction based on the risk and context.

Roaming is the ability of a mobile phone user to use their mobile phone for making or receiving voice calls, sending, or receiving messages and data while outside the coverage of their mobile service provider.

Robocalls are phone calls that use a computerized auto-dialer to deliver pre-recorded messages. They can be used for telemarketing, campaigns, or scams.

RTP stands for Real-time Transport Protocol. The protocol is used for delivering audio and video over IP networks.

Schrems II is a landmark case before the European Court of Justice that invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework and imposed additional obligations for transfers of personal data from the EU to any country that does not benefit from an EU adequacy decision. There is a special list of adequate countries.

The sender of unsolicited emails (or suspicious sender or black hat sender) is a sender that sends emails to recipients who haven’t permitted them to do so.

Sender policy framework (SPF) is an email authentication method that identifies mail servers allowed to send emails for a given domain.

A Service-level agreement (SLA) is an agreement between two or more parties, where one is the customer, and the others are service providers and are part of a service contract where a service is formally defined.

Shadow AI refers to the unauthorized use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in applications within an organization.

A short code is a five- to six-digit mobile number used by businesses to send and receive both SMS and MMS messages – either as part of marketing activity or usual business operations.

Short Message Service Center (SMSC) stores, forwards, converts, and delivers SMS messages and maintains unique timestamps in text messages.

SIM box detection is a way to detect fraudulent application-to-person (A2P) messaging sent using a SIM Box via person-to-person (P2P) routes.

A SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card is a chip card that stores the IMSI and serves to identify the mobile subscriber and provide mobile service.

Simjacker is a type of SMS fraud that exploits a vulnerability present in certain older SIM cards still used in some regions that enables them to be taken over and controlled by third parties.

SMIL stands for synchronized multimedia integration language and is a worldwide web extensible markup language, written in XML, to describe multimedia presentations.

SMPP (Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol) is a telecommunications industry protocol for exchanging SMS messages over the Internet.

The aggregator acts as an intermediary between companies (i.e. content and brand owners) that want to interact with end users (through their mobile phones; i.e. via SMS as a service) and mobile operators.

SMS delivery is the distribution of mobile messages, including SMS and Premium SMS, directly to the end-user's mobile devices.

An SMS gateway is a point of entry or exit for SMS messages. It is a network node equipped for interfacing with another network that uses the same or different protocols.

An A2P SMS gray route is a route that is designed to transmit SMS traffic but is less expensive (or free) because it does not fairly compensate the telecoms that facilitate it.

SMS hubbing is a structure for international SMS traffic. It reshaped global mobile interoperability by implementing hubs to intermediate SMS traffic and offer broader SMS coverage.

An SMS keyword is a word or a phrase that customers can text to your number to join a subscriber list or request access to information.

SMS pumping also known as artificially inflated traffic (AIT), is a type of fraud where attackers generate large amounts of fake SMS traffic through a business' app or website to receive one-time PINs (OTPs) or app download links via SMS.

SMS spoofing is a technique in which the sender changes the address where an SMS message is sent from. Instead of seeing the real sender's number, the person getting the message sees whatever alphanumeric text is defined.

SMS termination is the delivery of an SMS message either from one mobile user to another (P2P) or from an application to a mobile user (A2P). It signifies that the message was delivered to a mobile phone user.

SMS transliteration is a process of message text conversion from one script to another. It does not translate the message but converts it into another alphabet.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a cloud-based service that enables businesses and enterprises to access applications through a web interface or Internet browser.

Spam traps, or honeypots, are email addresses used to identify and monitor spam emails.

Signaling System #7 (SS7) is a set of telephony signaling protocols which are used to set up most of the world’s public switched telephone calls.

Text-to-speech is Infobip’s automated service that converts written text into an audio file. It’s being used as a feature of the Voice messages service.

TON and NPI settings are SMS-MT features that allow senders to manage originator and destination settings.

The Universal Coded Character Set (UCS) or Unicode is an industry standard allowing computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in any of the world’s writing systems.

Unified communications (UC) is a term that combines multiple communication tools, such as voice, video, voicemail, messaging, and content sharing, into a single interface.

User data header (UDH) is a binary structure that may be present at the start of a short message in an SMS. It does not contain text but defines how to process the message.

USSD is a session-based text communication without a store-and-forward mechanism (unlike SMS) that is practical for interactive communication, such as banking or education.

USSD Centre is a collection of hardware and software required to interconnect two or more disparate networks, including performing protocol conversion.

Vertex AI is a Google Cloud service consolidating various AI and machine learning (ML) tools and services into a single ML platform.

A VLN is a 12 digit mobile number provided to businesses by mobile messaging providers, that can be used to receive both SMS messages and voice calls.

Vishing, short for voice phishing, is a fraudulent activity where scammers use phone calls to deceive individuals into revealing sensitive personal information.

VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a technology that allows phone service over the internet by transmitting voice over Internet Protocol networks.

VPN or Virtual Private Network is a private network that enables users to send and receive data securely across a public network while having the benefits of a private network.

VPN tunnelling is a concept that refers to sending and receiving data over a VPN securely.

WAP push is a mechanism for directing an SMS recipient to a website or landing page without them having to enter a URL in the phone’s browser.

Webhooks are automated messages sent from web pages or apps to notify when something happens.

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is an open source HTML5 specification that can be used to add real-time communications directly between browsers, apps, and devices.

WhatsApp Business API enables medium and large businesses to reach out to 2 billion customers through a single interface.

A message template is a message format that helps businesses easily communicate with their customers over WhatsApp.

Workforce optimization (WFO) is a business strategy that combines contact center technologies for customer experience into one platform to increase agent performance and improve workforce management.

WSDL, or Web Services Description Language, is an XML-based interface description language that describes functionality offered by web services.

Zero-trust security assumes no user, device, or network traffic should be trusted by default, even within the organization's network.