VSL Jargon Buster

ADSL+2 Broadband

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A standard internet connection delivered over a PSTN line. A broadband technology which allows for faster transfer of data across regular telephone lines than the old dial-up connections.

Bandwidth

The amount of data available at any given time via a method of delivery.

Scalable Bandwidth – With scalable bandwidth users can easily scale up internet service as business needs evolve.

Symmetrical Bandwidths – Equal upload and download times on an internet connection. Users will experience less drop outs if there are many users on the same line.

Broadband

A high-speed internet connection.

Contention

Your contention ratio tells you the potential maximum demand on your broadband connection from yourself and other customers. Once your broadband signal leaves your premises it joins a line connecting your neighbours and others to the web; so, the more people using it at once, the slower it can become. A contention ratio of 50:1 (typical for ADSL broadband) means there are up to 50 people on one connection. This is often why you experience slower speeds during peak usage times. Business broadband may be uncontended so companies get a faster and more reliable connection without peak time congestion.

CTI

‘Computer Telephony Integration’, any process which allows a computer to be connected to a telephone system, allowing the user to dial using their PC’s phonebook, answer calls by clicking icons on their screen and even gather & manage voicemail messages directly from their PC.

Download

The transfer of data to your computer or other device. Downloading does not just happen when you specifically request a file transfer, anytime you access a web site, stream a video or do anything else which takes information from the internet you are downloading.

Ethernet

A technology used in a LAN to connect computers, can also be used to provide a dedicated connection to the internet.

Ethernet Copper

Technology where a Fibre internet circuit terminates in a street cabinet and the remaining journey to the business premises is made via copper telephone cable. Openreach bond multiple pairs of copper wires together increasing bandwidth.

Ethernet Fibre

A method of transferring data which utilises pulses of light sent along plastic or glass cables. Fibre optic data communications are faster and less prone to interference and have revolutionised telecommunications. It will one day entirely replace all the older copper cable that has been used on UK telephone lines for years. However, the UK is slowly turning to fibre optic. BT Openreach network now offers a much faster speed thanks to fibre.

Ethernet over FTTC

‘Fibre optic cable to the cabinet’(FTTC) is a type of broadband service which uses fibre optic cables to street cabinets then regular telephone lines to reach premises.

LAN

‘Local Area Network’, Data network that connects computers, servers, printers together, generally within one physical location.

Leased Line

A dedicated, symmetrical (upload and download speeds the same), uncontended private connection between two locations used to carry voice, data and video. Often used by large companies for connections to data centres or to other office locations.

Openreach

The division of BT which installs and maintains telephone and broadband connections. In VSL’s clients’ cases VSL support team will contact, Openreach on your behalf.

PSTN Line

A standard landline phone connection, also commonly used for Broadband connectivity.

SLA

‘Service Level Agreement’, are part of contracts and set out VSL’s commitment to provide services to customers within a specified time frame.

SIP

‘Session Initiation Protocol’, a communications protocol used to set up and clear down calls with one or more users over the internet. Commonly used to initiate and terminate Voice over IP calls.

SIP Trunks

Essentially an internet phone line, each VoIP call requires one SIP trunk. A good quality broadband service can accommodate multiple SIP trunks. SIP trunks are much cheaper than traditional phone lines.

VoIP

‘Voice over Internet Protocol’, a technology that allows users to make voice calls using the internet, either over a fixed or mobile connection.

Voice and data combined

Data can be downloaded and phone calls can be made at the same time – all you need is a microfilter or modern telephone faceplate and you can run both telephone and broadband connection simultaneously.

WAN

‘Wide Area Network’, connects multiple LANs together, typically via VPNs over broadband and/or Leased Lines.