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Communication and telecommunication terms tend to be a little more complex than other IT terms, if that is possible. This page seeks to demystify them.
Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks are widely used by telecommunications service providers and large companies to consolidate data traffic from multiple sources and different types of media (e.g. voice, video, and data).
Digital subscriber line (DSL). DSL is a technology for bringing high-bandwidth broadband Internet access to homes and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines.
Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) is a mechanism at a phone company's central location that links many customers. The more DSLAMs a phone company has, the more customers it can support with connections to a single high-speed line.
Fibre to the node (FTTN), also called fibre to the neighbourhood, is a telecommunication architecture based on fibre-optic coaxial cable or twisted pair wiring. The area served by the node is usually less than 5,000 feet in radius and can contain several hundred customers. Fibre to the node allows delivery of broadband services such as high speed Internet. Unlike the competing fibre to the premises (FTTP) technology, fibre to the node can use the existing coaxial or twisted pair infrastructure to provide "last mile"service to the home or premises. For this reason, fibre to the node costs less to deploy. However, it also has lower bandwidth potential than fibre to the premises.
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) is a form of fibre-optic communication delivery in which optical fibre is run directly onto the clients' premises. This contrasts with other fibre-optic communication delivery strategies such as fibre to the node (FTTN) which depends upon more traditional methods such as copper wires or coaxial cable for "last mile" delivery.
Frame relay. This is a dedicated, public data networking service offered by communications service providers for LAN-to-LAN connections. Its strength is that it can efficiently handle 'bursty' communications by quickly adjusting bandwidth to meet demands.
High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is a mobile telephony communications protocol which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UTMS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). ISDN is a communications protocol offered by telephone companies that permits telephone networks to carry data, voice, and other source traffic.
IP (Internet Protocol) is the communication method or protocol used to send data from one computer to another over the Internet. Each computer on the Internet has an IP address (analogous to a phone number) that allows routers to find and forward data to the appropriate computers on the Internet.
IPsec (IP security) is a suite of protocols for securing Internet Protocol communications by authenticating and/or encrypting each IP packet in a data stream. IPsec also includes protocols for establishing cryptographic keys.
Local area networks (LANs) are computer networks than span a relatively small area. They usually connect workstations and personal computers so they can access common data files and share expensive devices such as printers, communication lines and software programs. It is possible to link one LAN to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. A system of LANs connected in this way is called a wide area network (WAN).
LAN switches are hardware devices that provide more efficient communications between devices attached to a local area network, such as computers and peripherals (e.g. printers).
Local multipoint distribution service (LMDS). A high-speed fixed wireless service used to provide local telephone service without the need to lay fibre cable to individual customer sites. Some service providers employ LMDS as a way to provision local telephone service, high-speed Internet access, and video services without using the local telephone company's network.
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS). This is an initiative to simplify and improve IP packet exchange. MPLS gives network operators a great deal of flexibility to divert and route traffic around link failures, congestion and bottlenecks. In particular, MPLS will allow telecommunication suppliers to provide their clients with different kinds of data streams based on priority and service plan. For instance, those who subscribe to a premium service plan, or those who receive a lot of streaming media or high-bandwidth content, will see minimal latency and packet loss.
Multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS). MMDS is a fixed wireless technology for high-speed data, video, and voice. It is a way of distributing cable TV signals through microwave from a single transmission point to multiple receiving points without laying fibre or cable to each customer.
Network access control (NAC), also known as network admission control, is a method of bolstering the security of a proprietary network by restricting the availability of network resources (e.g. files and programs) to devices that comply with a defined security policy
P2P (Peer to peer) is a method for one computer to locate another computer on a network and then communicate directly with it once the connection has been made.
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) refers to the international telephone system based on copper wires carrying analog voice data. This is in contrast to newer telephone networks based on digital technologies, such as ISDN and FDDI. Telephone service carried by the PSTN is often called plain old telephone service (POTS).
SMS (Short Message Service) is a type of text message sent and received from a mobile digital phone.
Sniffer is a software application that monitors Internet network traffic by reviewing packets of information as they pass through the network.
Unified communicationshas been a technology initiative which has been discussed for sometime but it seems that recently it has matured enough to become a mainstream consideration for IT executives. The technology itself seeks to integrate the various forms of business communications such as voice, video, text, email and voicemail through a central communications dashboard. The goal is to ensure that whatever communication option is utilised you are able to reach a key executive wherever they are located at any point in time.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP). VoiP is a method of transmitting voice traffic over the Internet using Internet Protocol (IP). Many VoiP companies offer international long distance rates that are significantly lower than those offered by the major long distance carriers, making VoiP an attractive alternative for consumers who frequently place international calls. VoiP service is not limited to the international market; it can also be used to place domestic calls.
Virtual private network (VPN). A VPN exists between two computers by encrypting all information passing back and forth between them. The private network is virtual because, unlike actual private networks, there is no dedicated piece of wire running between the two computers. VPNs are commonly used by organisations to give remote employees secure access to internal networks.
WAP or Wireless Application Protocol. This is an open global standard developed to convert data that is normally viewed on a large screen into a form that is readable from smaller screens, such as on pagers and cellular or mobile handsets. In other words, WAP allows wireless devices to have access to Internet and intranet-based information and services.
WiMAX or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a standards-based communications technology. The greater range and higher bandwidth of WiMAX gives telecommunication service providers (telcos) the ability to offer broadband Internet access directly to homes without having to worry about the problems that can arise when laying down a physical connection over the so-called “last mile”, which connects the home or business with the service providers’ main networks.
Wireless LANs or WiFi are a data communications system that provides wireless peer-to-peer (e.g. PC-to-PC, PC-to-hub, or printer-to-hub) and point-to-point (e.g. local area network(LAN)-to-LAN) connectivity within a building or campus environment.
Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks are widely used by telecommunications service providers and large companies to consolidate data traffic from multiple sources and different types of media (e.g. voice, video, and data).
Digital subscriber line (DSL). DSL is a technology for bringing high-bandwidth broadband Internet access to homes and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines.
Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) is a mechanism at a phone company's central location that links many customers. The more DSLAMs a phone company has, the more customers it can support with connections to a single high-speed line.
Fibre to the node (FTTN), also called fibre to the neighbourhood, is a telecommunication architecture based on fibre-optic coaxial cable or twisted pair wiring. The area served by the node is usually less than 5,000 feet in radius and can contain several hundred customers. Fibre to the node allows delivery of broadband services such as high speed Internet. Unlike the competing fibre to the premises (FTTP) technology, fibre to the node can use the existing coaxial or twisted pair infrastructure to provide "last mile"service to the home or premises. For this reason, fibre to the node costs less to deploy. However, it also has lower bandwidth potential than fibre to the premises.
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) is a form of fibre-optic communication delivery in which optical fibre is run directly onto the clients' premises. This contrasts with other fibre-optic communication delivery strategies such as fibre to the node (FTTN) which depends upon more traditional methods such as copper wires or coaxial cable for "last mile" delivery.
Frame relay. This is a dedicated, public data networking service offered by communications service providers for LAN-to-LAN connections. Its strength is that it can efficiently handle 'bursty' communications by quickly adjusting bandwidth to meet demands.
High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is a mobile telephony communications protocol which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UTMS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). ISDN is a communications protocol offered by telephone companies that permits telephone networks to carry data, voice, and other source traffic.
IP (Internet Protocol) is the communication method or protocol used to send data from one computer to another over the Internet. Each computer on the Internet has an IP address (analogous to a phone number) that allows routers to find and forward data to the appropriate computers on the Internet.
IPsec (IP security) is a suite of protocols for securing Internet Protocol communications by authenticating and/or encrypting each IP packet in a data stream. IPsec also includes protocols for establishing cryptographic keys.
Local area networks (LANs) are computer networks than span a relatively small area. They usually connect workstations and personal computers so they can access common data files and share expensive devices such as printers, communication lines and software programs. It is possible to link one LAN to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. A system of LANs connected in this way is called a wide area network (WAN).
LAN switches are hardware devices that provide more efficient communications between devices attached to a local area network, such as computers and peripherals (e.g. printers).
Local multipoint distribution service (LMDS). A high-speed fixed wireless service used to provide local telephone service without the need to lay fibre cable to individual customer sites. Some service providers employ LMDS as a way to provision local telephone service, high-speed Internet access, and video services without using the local telephone company's network.
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS). This is an initiative to simplify and improve IP packet exchange. MPLS gives network operators a great deal of flexibility to divert and route traffic around link failures, congestion and bottlenecks. In particular, MPLS will allow telecommunication suppliers to provide their clients with different kinds of data streams based on priority and service plan. For instance, those who subscribe to a premium service plan, or those who receive a lot of streaming media or high-bandwidth content, will see minimal latency and packet loss.
Multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS). MMDS is a fixed wireless technology for high-speed data, video, and voice. It is a way of distributing cable TV signals through microwave from a single transmission point to multiple receiving points without laying fibre or cable to each customer.
Network access control (NAC), also known as network admission control, is a method of bolstering the security of a proprietary network by restricting the availability of network resources (e.g. files and programs) to devices that comply with a defined security policy
P2P (Peer to peer) is a method for one computer to locate another computer on a network and then communicate directly with it once the connection has been made.
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) refers to the international telephone system based on copper wires carrying analog voice data. This is in contrast to newer telephone networks based on digital technologies, such as ISDN and FDDI. Telephone service carried by the PSTN is often called plain old telephone service (POTS).
SMS (Short Message Service) is a type of text message sent and received from a mobile digital phone.
Sniffer is a software application that monitors Internet network traffic by reviewing packets of information as they pass through the network.
Unified communicationshas been a technology initiative which has been discussed for sometime but it seems that recently it has matured enough to become a mainstream consideration for IT executives. The technology itself seeks to integrate the various forms of business communications such as voice, video, text, email and voicemail through a central communications dashboard. The goal is to ensure that whatever communication option is utilised you are able to reach a key executive wherever they are located at any point in time.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP). VoiP is a method of transmitting voice traffic over the Internet using Internet Protocol (IP). Many VoiP companies offer international long distance rates that are significantly lower than those offered by the major long distance carriers, making VoiP an attractive alternative for consumers who frequently place international calls. VoiP service is not limited to the international market; it can also be used to place domestic calls.
Virtual private network (VPN). A VPN exists between two computers by encrypting all information passing back and forth between them. The private network is virtual because, unlike actual private networks, there is no dedicated piece of wire running between the two computers. VPNs are commonly used by organisations to give remote employees secure access to internal networks.
WAP or Wireless Application Protocol. This is an open global standard developed to convert data that is normally viewed on a large screen into a form that is readable from smaller screens, such as on pagers and cellular or mobile handsets. In other words, WAP allows wireless devices to have access to Internet and intranet-based information and services.
WiMAX or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a standards-based communications technology. The greater range and higher bandwidth of WiMAX gives telecommunication service providers (telcos) the ability to offer broadband Internet access directly to homes without having to worry about the problems that can arise when laying down a physical connection over the so-called “last mile”, which connects the home or business with the service providers’ main networks.
Wireless LANs or WiFi are a data communications system that provides wireless peer-to-peer (e.g. PC-to-PC, PC-to-hub, or printer-to-hub) and point-to-point (e.g. local area network(LAN)-to-LAN) connectivity within a building or campus environment.
