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ADSL |
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. The same as DSL
except that the upload speed and the download speed are not matched. Most
internet connections receive (download) a lot more information than they
send (upload). The ADSL line will yield a much higher download speed while
giving a slower upload speed which takes better advantage of the available
line speed for most users.
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Analog |
Phone lines are divided into analog and digital lines. Most residential
phone lines are analog lines where your voice is transmitted to the phone
company as an analog signal. When your voice reaches the phone company CO it
may well be converted into digital form for transmission across the PSN.
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B1 line |
This is a basic business telephone line provided by your local telephone
company.
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Digital |
Phone lines are divided into analog and digital lines. DSL, ADSL, ISDN, T1
and other digital services connect to the PSN with a digital
signal. If your voice is traveling via one of these methods then it is digitized
for transmission and returned to analog for the recipient at the other end.
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DSL |
Digital Subscriber Line. This is a high speed digital connection served by
your phone line for connection to internet and email applications.
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HOAA |
Home Office Association of America. This is an
association dedicated to helping small and home office businesses succeed.
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ILEC |
An ILEC is
an Incombent Local Exchange Carrier and refers to the companies that
were formed as the result of the breakup of AT&T in 1984. Most ILECs
operate across a number of LATAs (Local Access and Transport Area).
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ISDN |
Integrated Services Digital Network. This was a digital service provided by
the phone company which was short lived and was replaced by DSL and ADSL.
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IXC |
This term
refers to an interexchange carrier like AT&T, MCI or Sprint which carry
telephone calls between different LATAs (Local Access and Transport
Area).
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LATA |
A LATA is a
Local Access and Transport Area generally consisting of several Local
Exchanges.
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LEC |
An LEC
(Local Exchange Carrier) is a telephone company that operates within a
local area called a LATA (Local Access and Transport Area).
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Local Exchange |
This refers
to the telephone companies CO (Central Office) for any given telephone
line. All wired telephone lines terminate at a CO or Local Exchange.
Local Exchanges connect to other Local Exchanges or IXCs (IntereXchange
Carrier).
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Local Copper Company |
This term refers to your local wired telephone company. They have many miles
of copper wire run to connect your telephone into the network.
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NANP |
North American Numbering Plan. This is the accepted plan for all telephone
dialing in North America. It is administered by the independent agency North
American Numbering Plan Administration. Details can be found at:
www.nanpa.com
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OSP |
Operator
Service Provider. This is a service provided to handle long distance or
toll call traffic for certain (usually public) phones.
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POTS |
Plain Old Telephone Service. Any old style analog telephone will work on a
POTS line. A POTS line has no special (usually extra cost) features and does
not require any special telephone to work.
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PSP |
Payphone
Service Provider. This is a company that installs and maintains
payphones.
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PSTN |
Public Switched Telephone Network. This term refers to the global network of telephone
companies which, together, make it possible to connect your telephone to
virtually any corner of the globe.
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RBOC |
An RBOC
(Regional Bell Operating Company) refers to any one of the seven
independent Bell operating companies that were created as a result of
the breakup of AT&T in 1984.
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SOHO |
This is an abbreviation for Small Office Home Office and is used by many
businesses selling specifically into that market. One organization that has
links to many such companies is:
www.soho.org
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Telco |
This is a
contraction that refers to a (generally local) telephone company. |
