100BaseT - The Ethernet networking standard that supports a data transmission rate of 100 Mbps and is backward compatible to 10BaseT.

10BaseT - The Ethernet networking standard that supports a data transmission rate of 10 Mbps.

2B1Q (Two Binary, One Quaternary) - A line coding technique used in traditional telecommunications offerings including ISDN.

Access Network - That portion of a public switched network that connects access nodes to individual subscribers. The Access Network today is predominantly passive twisted pair copper wiring.

Access Nodes - Points on the edge of the Access Network that concentrate individual access lines into a smaller number of feeder lines. Access Nodes may also perform various forms of protocol conversion. Typical Access Nodes are Digital Loop Carrier systems concentrating individual voice lines to T1 lines, cellular antenna sites, PBXs, and Optical Network Units (ONU's).

Access Point - The network hub device for a wireless network.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) - Modems attached to twisted pair copper wiring that transmit from 1.5 Mbps to 9 Mbps downstream (to the sub- scriber) and from 16 kbps to 800 kbps upstream, depending on line distance.

ADSL Lite - Nickname for G.lite. DSL based on the new G.lite standard that supports 1.5 Mbps downstream and 348 upstream.

ANSI (American National Standards Institute) - The organization that defines standards for the United States.

APON (ATM Passive Optical Network) - A passive optical network running ATM.

ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) - An ultra high speed cell based data transmission protocol which may be run over ADSL.

ATM 25 - ATM Forum defined 25.6Mbit/s cell based user interface based on IBM token ring network.

ATU-C and ATU-R (ADSL Transmission Unit, Central or Remote) - The device at the end of an ADSL line that stands between the line and the first item of equipment in the subscriber premises or telephone switch. It may be integrated within an access node.

AWG (American Wire Gauge) - A measure of the thickness of copper, aluminum and other wiring in the U.S. and other countries.

Backbone - A major transmission path used for high-volume network-to-network connections.

Bandwidth - The amount of data that can flow through a given communications channel.

BDSL (Same as VSDL B-ISDN Broadband Integrated Digital Network) - A digital net- work with ATM switching operating at data rates in excess of 1.544 or 2.048 Mbps. ATM enables transport and switching of voice, data, image, and video over the same infrastructure.

BERT (Bit Error Rate Test) - A test that reflects the ratio of error bits to the total number transmitted.

Binary - A number system based on 2. The binary to decimal conversions make up the IP addresses used on any TCP/IP network.

B-ISDN (Broadband Integrated Digital Network) - A digital network with ATM switching operating at data rates in excess of 1.544 or 2.048 Mbps.

Bit - The single unit of data used in digital data communications.

Bps (Bits per second) - The unit of measurement for data transmission speed over a data communications link.

BRI (Basic Rate Interface) - This is an ISDN interface typically used by smaller sites and customers.

Bridge - A device that connects two networks as a seamless single network using the same networking protocol. DSL modems are typically bridges.

Bridge Tap - An extension to a local loop generally used to attach a remote user to a central office switch without having to run a new pair of wires all the way back.

Broadband - A term used to describe a high-capacity network that can carry several services on the same line, such as data, voice, and video.

Byte - A unit of data consisting of 8 bits.

Cable Binder - A bundle of local loop wires that runs along telephone poles or underground from the CO.

CAP (Carrierless Amplitude) - A version of QAM in which incoming data modulates a single carrier that is then transmitted down a telephone line.

CAT5 - Category 5 unshielded twisted-pair wiring commonly used for 10BaseT and 100BaseT Ethernet networks.

CATV (Community Access Television) - Also known as Cable TV.

CBR - Constant Bit Rate.

CCITT - Consultative Committee for International Telegraph and Telephone.

Channel - A path for digital transmission signals.

CIDR (Classless Internet Domain Routing) - CIDR allows IP addresses to be broken down into smaller subnets than the class C network, with 256 IP addresses.

Circuit - A path through a network from source to destination and back.

CLEC - Competitive Local Exchange Carrier. A competitor to ILECs offering telecommunications service.

Client - A program of a device that requests services from a server.

Client/Server - A style of computer networking that allows work to be distributed across powerful computers acting as servers and client computers.

CO (Central Office) - A circuit switch that terminates all the local access lines in a particular geographic serving area; a physical building where the local switching equipment is found.

CODEC (Abbreviation for coder/decoder) - Specifically it converts a voice grade analog signal to u-law or a-law encoded samples at an 8KHz sampling rate. Consists of a single 16 Kbps data channel plus 2 bearer channels for voice and/or data.

Core Network - Combination of switching offices and transmission plant connecting switching offices together. In the U.S. local exchange Core Networks are linked by several competing Interexchange networks; in the rest of the world (now) the Core Network extends to national boundaries.

CPE (Customer Premise Equipment) - A wide range of customer-premises terminating equipment which is connected to the local telecommunications network. This includes telephones, modems, terminals, routers, setup boxes, etc.

Crosstalk - The interference induced on a signal on one line that is caused by the transfer of energy from a co-located line.

CSA (Carrier Serving Area) - Area served by a LEC, RBOC or Telco, often using Digital Loop Carrier (DLC) technology.

CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection) - A network transmission scheme in which multiple network devices can transmit across the cable simultaneously.

CSU - Channel Service Unit.

Data CLEC - A Competitive Local Exchange Carrier that focuses on IP data communications links and doesn't provide traditional voice telecommunications.

DCE - Data Communication (or Circuit-Terminating) Equipment.

Default Gateway - The address that the IP uses if the destination address is not on the local subnet.

Demarcation Point - The point at the customer premises where the line from the telephone company meets the premises wiring.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - A protocol that allows IP addressing information to be dynamically assigned by a server to clients on an as-needed basis.

Dial-Up Networking - Used in Windows '95, '98, NT, and 2000 for making PPP dial-up modem connections to the internet.

DLC (Digital Loop Carrier) - A telecommunications structure deployed wherever an ILEC needs more capacity.

DMT (Discrete Multi-Tone) - An ADSL modulation technique standardized by the ANSI.

DNS (Domain Name System) - The name resolution service for IP addresses that provides the friendlier text-based addresses for internet resources.

DNS Service (Domain Name System Service) - The configuration of user-friendly text domain names to IP addresses by an ISP using DNS.

Domain Name - The user-friendly text name used instead of a numeric IP address for an internet address.

Domain Name Server - A program that converts an FQDN into its numeric IP address, and vice versa.

Downstream - The direction of data flow on a data communications link that occurs from the network down to the user.

DS0 (Digital Signal 0) - 64 Kbps digital representation of voice.

DS1 (Digital Signal 1) - Twenty four voice channels packed into a 193 bit frame and transmitted at 1.544 Mbps. The un- framed version, or payload, is 192 bits at a rate of 1.536 Mbps.

DS2 (Digital Signal 2) - Four T1 frames packed into a higher level frame transmitted at 6.312 Mbps.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) - The generic term that refers to the underlying technology inherent in all flavors of DSL, such as ADSL, SDSL, and HDSL.

DSL Bridge - A device that combines one or more networks into a single seamless network.

DSL Modem - A common term used for a DSL bridge.

DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) - A device which takes a number of ADSL subscriber lines and concentrates these to a single ATM line.

DSU (Data Service Unit) - A digital interface device that connects end user data communications equipment to the digital access lines which provides framing of sub-64Kbps customer access channels onto higher rate data circuits. A DSU may be combined with a CSU into a single device called a CSU/DSU. See Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit.

DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) - Typically the device that transmits data such as a personal computer or data terminal.

Dynamic IP Addressing - An IP address is assigned to the client for the current session or some other specified amount of time.

E1 - European basic multiplex rate which packs thirty voice channels into a 256 bit frame and transmitted at 2.048 Mbps.

Echo Suppressor - An active device used by the phone company to suppress positive feedback (singing) on the phone network.

EIA (Electronic Industries Association) - An organization that provides standards for the data communications industry.

EMI - Electromagnetic Induction

Ethernet - A LAN technology that uses CSMA/CD delivery and can run over different media (cabling).

Ethernet Address - The unique hardware address that identifies any Ethernet device.

ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute.

FCC (Federal Communications Commission) - The U.S. government agency for regulating the telecommunications industry.

FDM - Frequency Division Multiplexing.

FDQN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) - The full name of a host, including all sub domain and domain names.

Feeder Network That part of a public switched network which connects access nodes to the core network.

FEXT (Far End Crosstalk) - The interference occurring between two signals at the end of the lines remote from the telephone switch.

Fiber Optics - A technology in which light is used to transport large amounts of data using thin filaments of glass.

Firewall - A security device (hardware or software) that controls access from the internet to a local network.

Firmware - Instructions stored in memory that controls a device, such as a DSL modem or router.

Fractional T-1 - Any data transmission rate between 56Kbps and 1.54 Mbps (which is the full T-1 rate).

Frame Relay - A dedicated, public networking service offered by telecommunication companies for LAN-to-LAN connections.

FTTC (Fiber to the Curb) - Network where an optical fiber runs from the telephone switch to a curbside distribution point close to the subscriber where it is converted to copper pair.

FTTCab (Fiber to the Cabinet) - Network architecture where an optical fiber connects the telephone switch to a street-side cabinet where the signal is converted to feed the subscriber over a twisted copper pair.

FTTH (Fiber to the Home) - Network where an optical fiber runs from the telephone switch to the subscriber's premises.

FTTK or FTTC (Fiber To the Kerb) - A Network where an optical fiber runs from telephone switch to a kerbside distribution point close to the subscriber where it is converted to a copper pair.

G.dmt - A standards-based form of ADSL that supports up to 8 Mbps downstream and 1.54 Mbps upstream.

G.lite - The new ITU standard that forms the basis of Universal ADSL, which supports 1.5 Mbps downstream and 384 upstream.

Gateway - A functional device that allows equipment with different protocols to communicate with each other.

Hardware Address - The physical address for the NIC, which is used by low-level hardware layers of the network, including DSL bridges.

HDSL (High-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line) - The DSL service widely used for T-1 lines. HDSL uses four wires (two pairs) instead of the standard two wires used for other DSL flavors. Supports symmetrical service at 1.54 Mbps but doesn't support POTS.

HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coax) - A system (usually CATV) where fiber is run to a distribution point close to the subscriber and then the signal is converted to run to the subscriber's premises over coaxial cable.

HomePNA (Home Phone line Networking Alliance) - The group that created the specifications for Phone line networking, which uses telephone wiring as network cabling.

HomeRF (Home Radio Frequency) - A wireless networking specification that uses the 2.4-GHz band.

Host - A computer or any device connected to a TCP/IP network.

Hub - A passive network device that repeats all data traffic to all ports. A hub is at the center of a LAN.

IDSL (ISDN Digital Subscriber Line) - The always-on cousin of dial-up ISDN. IDSL delivers a symmetric 144 Kbps of bandwidth, which is 16 Kbps more than the dial-up version of ISDN.

IEC - Inter-Exchange Carrier

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) - A worldwide engineering and standards-making body for the electronics industry.

IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) - The organization that provides the coordination of standards and specification development for TCP/IP networking.

ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) - A new term that emerged from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that describes the traditional local telephone companies.

IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol, Version 4) - IMAP4 provides sophisticated client/server capabilities beyond the features of POP3.

Internet Address - The unique 32-bit numeric address used by a host on a TCP/IP network.

Intranet - A local network that uses TCP/IP and Web technologies as its networking protocol.

IP - Internet Protocol. The connectionless network layer protocol that forms the networking functions of the TCP/IP suite.

IP address - Internet Protocol Address. A 32-bit dotted decimal notation used to represent IP addresses.

IPSec - A virtual private networking protocol that is part of the IPv6 but is widely used now in IPv4.

IPv4 - The current version of IP addressing based on 32-bit IP addresses.

IPv6 - The next generation of IP addressing based on 64-bit IP addresses and having a number of enhancements over IPv4.

ISDL - Uses ISDN transmission technology to deliver data at 128kbps into an IDSL "modem bank" connected to a router.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) - Gives a user up to 56Kbps of data bandwidth on a phone line that is also used for voice, or up to 128 Kbps if the line is only used for data.

ISO - International Organization for Standards.

ISP (Internet Service Provider) - An entity that provides commercial access to the Internet. These can range in size from someone operating dial-up access with a 56 kilobit line and several dozens of customers to providers with multiple pops in multiple cities and substantial backbones and thousands or even tens of thousands of customers.

ITU - International Telecommunications Union. The ITU is an international body of member countries that defines recommendations and standards relating to international telecommunications.

IXC (Inter-exchange Carrier) - Post-1984 name for long distance phone companies in the United States. AT&T is the largest, followed by MCI and Sprint, but several more small IXCs exist.

Kbps (Kilobits per second) - A measurement of digital bandwidth where one Kbps equals one thousand (actually 1024) bits per second.

L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) - An IETF protocol used for virtual private networking.

LADC - Local Area Data Circuit.

LADS - Local Area Data Service.

LAN (Local Area Network) - A data network that connects computers in an area usually within the confines of a building or floors within a building.

LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) - One of the new U.S. telephone access and service providers that have grown up with the recent U.S. deregulation of telecommunications.

Last Mile - The telephone line between a local telephone company switching facility and the customer premises.

LATA (Local Access and Transport Area) - This was created by the 1984 divestiture and defines the geographic area over which the LEC may provide toll calls.

Latency - A measure of the delay between the sending of a packet at the originating end of a connection and the reception of that packet at the destination end.

Layer - In the OSI network reference model, each layer performs a certain task to move the data from the sender to the receiver.

Loading Coil - A metallic, doughnut-shaped device used on local loops to extend their reach.

LOCAL LOOP - A pair of wires, moderately twisted for the entire length between the telephone company's end office and the user premises (the common telephone set) form a loop, so it is referred to as the local loop. This loop provides a user with access to the global telecommunications infrastructure that is installed all over the world. The local loop has been historically designed to provide voice grade audio service. The circuit is powered from the central office with 48V (open circuit voltage) limited in current to a value somewhat higher than 20mA. This current is used for signaling phone access, burning off moisture, breaking through metallic oxides caused by corrosion, and powering a carbon microphone. The original telephone equipment contained no active electronics. The actual wiring of the local loop may be considered to be a lossy transmission line. DSL uses whatever frequencies will propagate on this line for purposes of digital data transmission. T1 modulation (alternate mark inversion) has been doing this for years. DSL extends the capability by using modern technology to increase the data rates and distances spanned.

Loop Qualification - The process of determining if a line (or loop) will support a specific type of DSL transmission at a given rate.

MAC Address (Media Access Control address) - The 48-bit defined number built into any Ethernet device connected to a LAN.

Mbps (Mega bits per second) - A measurement of digital bandwidth where one Mbps equals just over one million bits per second.

MDF (Main Distribution Frame) - The point where all local loops are terminated at a CO.

Modulation - A prescribed method of encoding digital (or analog) signals on a different waveform (the carrier signal). Once encoded, the original signal may be recovered by an inverse process, demodulation. Modulation is performed to adapt the signal to a different frequency range (and medium) than that of the original signal

MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) - The group that has defined the standards for compressed video transmission.

MPOE (Minimum Point of Entry) - The place where phone lines first enter a customer's facility.

Multiplexer - Any one of a number of common devices used to combine multiple telecommunications circuits into channels.

MVL - Multiple Virtual Lines. A DSL technology developed by Paradyne. MVL transforms a single copper loop into multiple virtual lines to support multiple independent services over the same line simultaneously.

NAP (Network Access Provider) - Another name for the provider of net- worked telephone and associated services, usually in the U.S.

NAT (Network Address Translation) - The translation of an Internet Protocol address (IP address) used within one network to a different IP address known within another network. One network is designated the inside network and the other is the outside. Typically, a company maps its local inside network addresses to one or more global outside IP addresses and un-maps the global IP addresses on incoming packets back into local IP addresses. This helps ensure security since each outgoing or incoming request must go through a translation process that also offers the opportunity to qualify or authenticate the request or match it to a previous request. NAT also conserves on the number of global IP addresses that a company needs and it lets the company use a single IP address in its communication with the world.

NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) - Developed by Microsoft to provide a common set of rules for network adapters to interface with operating systems.

NEBS - Network Equipment Building Standards.

NEXT (Near-end Crosstalk) - Interference between pairs of lines at the telephone switch end.

N-ISDN (Narrowband ISDN) - Same as ISDN.

NIC (Network interface card) - The hardware that forms the interface between the computer (or other network device) and not only the data communications network for the LAN but also the IP connection through a DSL Ethernet bridge or router.

NID (Network interface device) - A device that terminates a copper pair from the serving central office at the user's destination.

NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol) - The protocol that governs the transmission of network news, a threaded messaging system for posting messages to form newsgroup discussions.

NSP (Network service provider) - Any company that provides network services to subscribers.

NTE (Network Termination Equipment) - The equipment at the ends of the line.

OC3 (Optical Carrier 3) - An optical fiber line carrying 155 Mbps; A U.S. designation generally recognized throughout the telecommunications community worldwide.

ONU (Optical Network Unit) - A form of access node that converts optical signals transmitted via fiber to electrical signals that can be transmitted via coaxial cable or twisted pair copper wiring to individual subscribers.

OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) - An internationally accepted model of data communication protocols developed by OSI and ITU.

Packet - A fixed-or-variable sized unit of information that can be sent across a packet-switching network.

Packet CLEC - A Competitive Local Exchange Carrier that focuses on providing data communication services instead of voice services.

Packet Filter - The capability to search a packet to determine its destination and then route or block it accordingly.

Packet Switching - A data transmission method in which data is transferred by packets, or blocks of data.

Packet-Switched Network - A network that does not establish a dedicated path through the network for the duration of a session but instead transmits data in units called packets in a connectionless manner.

PBX - Public Branch Exchange.

PC Card - The credit-card-size adapter cards used in notebooks. A DSL modem for a notebook can be a PC Card.

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) - A specification introduced by Intel that defines a local bus system that allows up to ten PCI-compliant expansion cards in a PC.

PCM - Pulse Code Modulation.

Phone line Network - A networking technology based on the HomePNA specification that uses telephone wiring as network cabling.

PnP (Plug-and-Play) - A system for simplifying installation of hardware devices on a Microsoft Windows computer.

PON (Passive Optical Network) - The usual acronym for a fiber based transmission network containing no active electronics.

POP (Point of Presence) - A node of an ISP containing a DSU-CSU, terminal server and router and sometimes one or more hosts, but no network information center or network operations center.

POP3 (Post Office Protocol, Version 3) - The latest version of the Post Office Protocol, POP3 provides basic client/server features for handling email.

POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) - The only name recognized around the world for basic analog telephone service. POTS takes the lowest 4kHz of bandwidth on twisted pair wiring. Any service sharing a line with POTS must either use frequencies above POTS or convert POTS to digital and interleave with other data signals.

PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) - A communications protocol that allows a computer using TCP/IP to connect directly to the internet through a dial-up connection.

PPPoA (Point-to-Point Protocol over Asynchronous Transfer Mode) - ATM is a high-speed switching technique used to transmit high volumes of voice, data, and video traffic.

PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol Ethernet) - A standard that enables dial-up networking capabilities over Ethernet.

PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) - The VPN client software solution included with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000.

PRI (Primary Rate Interface) - This is an ISDN interface typically used by larger users.

Protocol - A set of rules that defines how different systems interoperate.

PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) - The network that provides global telephone service.

PTT (Postal, Telegraph and Telephone) - The generic European name usually used to refer to state-owned telephone companies.

PUC (Public Utilities Commission) - A United States government agency, usually at the state level, that regulates telecommunication companies and other utilities.

PVC (Permanent Virtual Circuit) - Connection-oriented circuit that may be set up by software between any two nodes of a switched network.

QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

QoS (Quality of Service) - A definition of a given level of service for voice or data communication services by a provider.

RADSL (Rate Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line) - A version of ADSL where modems test the line at start up and adapt their operating speed to the fastest the line can handle.

RBOC (Regional Bell Operating Company) - One of the seven U.S. Telephone companies that resulted from the break up of AT&T.

RJ-11 - A standard modular connector that can support two pairs of wires (four wires). RJ-11 connectors are used for most PSTN CPE (telephones, faxes, and modems).

RJ-45 - A standard modular connector that can support up to four pairs of wires (eight wires). RJ-45 connectors are used with category 5 cabling used with 10BaseT or 100BaseT cabling.

Router - A device that routes data between networks through IP addressing information contained in the header of the IP packet.

SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line) - HDSL plus POTS over a single telephone line. This name has not been adopted by a standards group, but is being discussed by ETSI. It is important to distinguish, however, as SDSL operates over POTS and would be suitable for symmetric services to premises of individual customers.

Server - A host that makes an application or a service available to other hosts, typically clients.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) - SMTP is the protocol for internet email that transfers email messages among computers.

SNR - Signal-to-Noise Ratio.

Splitter - A device used to separate POTS service from the ADSL data service at a customer's premises.

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) - SSL version 2 provides security by allowing applications to encrypt data that goes from a client, such as web browser, to a matching server.

Static IP Addressing - An assigned IP address used to connect to a TCP/IP network. The IP address stays with the specific host or network device.

STP (Shielded twisted pair) - A shielded form of the twisted-pair wiring used for 10BaseT and 100BaseT LANs.

STS-1 - SONET basic transmission rate of 51.84 Mbps.

Subnet - A portion of a network. Each subnet within a network shares a common network address and is uniquely identified by a sub network number.

Subnet Mask - A 32-bit number used to separate the network and host sections of an IP address.

SVC (Switched Virtual Circuit) - A term found in frame relay and ATM networking in which a virtual connection, with variable end-points, is established through an ATM network at the time the call is begun.

T1 - A North American standard for communicating at 1.54 Mbps. A T-1 line has the capacity for 24 voice and data channels at 64 Kbps each.

T3 - A North American standard for communicating at speeds of 44 Mbps. A T-3 line has 672 channels for voice and data at 64 Kbps each.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) - One of two principal components of the TCP/IP protocol suite. TCP puts data into packets and provides packet delivery across the network, ensuring that packets are not lost in transmission and arrive in order.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - TCP/IP is the suite of protocols that define the basis of the internet.

TCP/IP stack - The software that allows a computer to communicate through TCP/IP. Stack refers to the fact that five layers of protocols operate on a TCP/IP network.

TDM - Time Division Multiplexing.

Telco (Telephone Company) - Generic name for telephone companies throughout the world which encompasses RBOCs, LECs, and PTTs.

Telnet - A terminal-emulation protocol that allows you to access computers and network devices through TCP/IP.

TPON (Telephony over Passive Optical Network) - Telephony using a PON as all or part of the transmission system between telephone switch and subscriber.

Twisted Pair - A cable comprised of pairs of wires twisted around each other to help cancel out interference.

UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transceiver) - The older serial port architecture for data communications that is limited to 115-Kbps capacity.

UBR - Unspecified Bit Rate.

UDSL - Unidirectional HDSL as proposed by one company in Europe without much sign of interest from anyone else.

USB (Universal Serial Bus) - A new data communications port installed on most newer PCs to replace the UART serial port.

UTP (Unshielded twisted pair) - Cabling used for 10BaseT and 100BaseT LANs. UTP consists of pairs of copper wires twisted around each other and covered by plastic insulation.

VaDSL - Very high speed ADSL. Same as VDSL.

VBR - Variable Bit Rate.

VDSL (Very high bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line) - Modem for twisted pair access operating at data rates from 12.9 to 52.8 Mbps with corresponding maximum reach ranging from 4500 to 1000 feet of 24-gauge twisted pair.

VoDSL (Voice over DSL) - A hybrid voice communication system that enables digital voice communications over a DSL network and then passes the voice to PSTN.

VoIP (Voice over IP) - Forms the basis of PC-to-PC voice communications over the internet.

VPN (Virtual Private Network) - A way that private data can safely pass over a public network, such as the internet. The data traveling between the two hosts is encrypted for privacy, and other security features are included to provide a secure direct connection over the internet.

WAN (Wide Area Network) - A data network typically extending a LAN outside a building over a data communications link to another network in another location.

Web Hosting - A service performed by an ISP or a web hosting service that operates all the web server infrastructure for you.

xDSL - A generic term used to refer to the entire family of DSL technologies.