Definition: SBC

(1) See single board computer and server-based computing.

(2) (Session Border Controller) Hardware and software that manages real-time voice and video calling. See session border controller.

(3) (SubBand Codec) The mandatory codec in Bluetooth's A2DP profile, which supports transmitting MP3 stereo music from Bluetooth devices to amplifiers and speakers. The SBC codec uses the psychoacoustic model to transcode an MP3 file to SBC by removing more music data. See Bluetooth audio and psychoacoustic model.

(4) (SubBand Coding) The common psychoacoustic method used to compress digital music. See subband coding.

(5) (SBC Communications Inc., San Antonio, TX) A national telecommunications company that grew from a multitude of local and regional companies, including Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, into a single, unified brand by 2002. SBC was a major provider of high-speed DSL Internet access, claiming 57 million nationwide access lines in 2003. The company also owned 60 percent of Cingular Wireless, the second largest wireless company in the U.S. In 2005, SBC merged with AT&T, the former parent of the original companies that made up SBC. See AT&T.