The purpose of this document is to provide, in one place, a glossary of terms drawn from the technical documents of the TM Forum. It is intended that the TM Forum’s technical documents will each define new terms that are used within it, and that those terms and definitions will be reproduced additionally in a future issue of this TM Forum Glossary.

Thus this document will grow to be a consolidated, master reference for approved terms, and contribute to the consistent use of terms and accuracy of definitions throughout the TM Forum's documentation.

The Glossary will include just those terms which have special meaning in the way they are used in TM Forum documents, as distinct from the meaning which they, or their component words, have in ordinary English usage. If a term is not defined in this Glossary, or in any other TM Forum technical document, the meaning of the term is taken from the world of communications and information processing systems.