3G – 3G is abbreviated from 3rd generation and is wireless used predominately for mobile phones and mobile devices such as an iPad and other tablets.
4G – 4G is the newer version of 3G wireless technologies which was first available by Telstra in late September 11.
ADSL – A broadband connection type that stands for asymmetric digital subscriber line; it’s used to connect to the internet.
ADSL2 – A broadband connection type that is a faster broadband connection than ADSL.
ATM – Asynchronous Transfer Mode; Used to unify computer networks and telecommunication, it is a switching technique.
Bandwidth – Measured in bits per second, is the rate of transferring data.
Bit – A reduction in binary unit, a bit is a unit of information that is conveyed in either a 1 or a 0.
Broadband – Broadband is an internet connection that can send and receive data in large amounts.
Bundle – When you combine two or more services such as home phone with broadband Internet which could lead to an overall discount from the service provider.
Byte – Mostly consisting of 8 bits, a byte is a unit of digital information.
Cable Broadband – Broadband that uses co-ax material and is usually connected through cable TV lines.
Chat Room – Is a website or service where people can talk to one another in real time.
Co-ax – An inner conductor that is covered by a flexible insulating layer and then enclosed by a conducting shield is what makes up co-ax or co-ax material.
Contract – Is an agreement between the service provider and the purchaser. The length of a contract can vary.
Data – Data in terms of the topic of broadband relates to the sending and receiving of information over your broadband service. This can be done through documents, websites and pages, spread sheets, images and videos.
Dial up Internet – It’s a dialled internet connection that uses the home phone line.
Download – Downloading is receiving data from remote to your PC.
DNS – Stands for “Domain Name System” which interprets a computer’s domain name into an IP address by using a database system.
DSL – Digital Subscriber Line; Over wires of a telephone network, DSL provides digital data transmission. DSL is a group of technologies that is ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL and more.
DSLAM – Stands for Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer. Situated in telecommunications service provider’s exchanges, it’s a network device that connects numerous DSL lines to fast digital communications feeds using multiplexing connections.
Ethernet – To control the passing of information and data, it’s a system to connect multiple computer systems to form a local area network.
Exchange – A telecommunications exchange is the place where used to house equipment such as telephone switches. These are systems of electronic elements that connect telephone calls and broadband connections.
Firewall – A protective technical wall between computers and hosts, it’s designed to stop any unwanted communications.
FTP – Known as File Transfer Protocol, it’s used to transfer files from one host to another via the internet, the FTP is a standard network protocol.
Internet Protocol (IP) – is the way in which data is sent from one computer to another using the internet.
Instant messaging (IM) – is text based chatting between two or more people in real time via the internet.
IP address – Every computer that connects to the internet is given an IP address (internet protocol). Used to identify a user by country or general location and is always in a numerical form.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) – A telecommunications company that gives access to the internet.
Kbps (Kilobyte per second) – the data amount being a kilobyte transferred by second.
- 8,000 bits per second, or
- 1,000 bytes per second, or
- 8 kilobits per second.
Landline – A landline is a telephone line which travels through either optic fibre or a wire.
Latency – Simply put, latency is wasted time. It’s the time delay from one action in a system to response of the system.
Local Area Network (LAN) – A network to interconnect your PC in a small area such as your home, office or school.
Megabyte (MB) – A unit byte multiplied is a megabyte. Its generally used to stand for either 10002 bytes or 10242 bytes.
Mbps (Mega bytes per second) – The mega data amount being transferred by second. The speed of your connection is normally calculated by Mbps.
Mobile Broadband – is access to the internet through a wireless device such as a mobile phone, ipads and other tablets
Modem – Through your internet service provider; it links your internet to your home phone.
Network Protocol – For computers to communicate with one another, a network protocol defines the standards and rules.
Optic Fibre – Not much wider than a human hair, Optic fibre is made from a clear and flexible glass. Optic fibre’s purpose is to transport light from one end to another.
Prepaid internet – Prepaid simply means you pre pay for the calls that you make so that you have more control over your spending.
Post paid internet – Post paid is the opposite to prepay. You will be charged generally monthly for the calls you have made the previous month in one bill.
Satellite broadband -Where the internet connection is provided by satellite as an alternative to cable or dial up.
Upload – It’s the opposite to download by sending data from your computer to a remote system. A remote system generally consists of a server.
VoIP – (Voice over Internet Protocol) VoIP allows the ability to make phone calls over the internet.
WAN (Wide Area Network) – Connecting multiple small networks, WAN extends to large geographical areas.