Standby time

nounStandard termTelecom & IT

The estimated duration a battery-powered device can remain powered on and connected to a network without active use.

A metric indicating how long a mobile device can hold its charge while connected to a cellular network but not actively transmitting or receiving user data. It assumes the screen is off and background processes are minimized. The measurement helps gauge baseline power consumption for the radio transceiver and the operating system.

Heard on the job

The spec sheet claims 400 hours of standby time, but you'll get half that if it has to hunt for a signal.