ATM: technology used to send data, video and voice at ultra high speeds. ATM allows for easy integration with other technologies and provides carriers with the ability to offer QOS (Quality Of Service).

BRI ISDN: a high-speed, high-capacity digital communications line comprised of 3 channels. The two primary channels communicate at 64 kilobits per second (kbps), while the third channel (used primarily to send information behind-the-scenes between ISDN equipment and the ISDN central office) communicates at 16kbps. The two primary channels make it possible for you to connect more than one device to the ISDN line (for example, a PC, phone and fax) so that you can perform two asks simultaneously over the same line.

BUNDLED SERVICES: A service package from a single provider that offers local, long distance, and internet access on one bill. Combinations of these services are flexible and access methods include regular phone lines (POTS), DSL, or T1 lines. Bundled services are typically discounted vs. regular service.

BUSINESS PHONE LINE is the set of two copper wires used to connect a telephone customer with a switching office. Business Lines typically have limited features. Centrex: Centrex service uses central office based switching equipment that provides features to a customer similar to a PBX. While a PBX is customer owned equipment, Centrex hardware is owned and operated by the phone company where the equipment is located. Centrex requires a one to one ratio of lines per user, where a PBX can have a greater ratio of users per line.

DEDICATED T1: A dedicated digital communication link that offers 1.544 Mbps. It is used for carrying local and long distance traffic over 24 (64K) channels.
Dedicated DS3: Heavy-duty line for extremely high bandwidth connections, capable of carrying dedicated digital communications at 44.7 Mbps. It is used for carrying local and long distance traffic over 672 (64K) channels.

DEDICATED LONG DISTANCE: Long Distance service over a dedicated T1 where the traffic is switched by your long distance provider selected.

DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE (DSL): There are several types of DSL, including ADSL, which provides different upload and download speeds and is most popular with consumers, and SDSL, which provides the same speed in both directions and is most popular with businesses. However, this new technology is not yet available in many parts of the country. Furthermore, the speed available depends on thedistance from your location to the telephone company's local office and other factors.

DS3: A leased line, sometimes referred to as a T3 or DS3, is a private, dedicated line that goes directly from your office to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), providing transmission at 44Mbps. A T3 / DS3 connection is equivalent to 28 T1 / DS1 connections. Fiber optic cabling or digital microwave is required for T-3 transmissions. T3 / DS3 is an standard used in the North American and Japanese marketplace.

FRACTIONAL T1: A private, dedicated leased line that goes directly from your office to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), providing a guaranteed transmission speed. Leased lines provide guaranteed bandwidth, since they are not shared with other users. Fractional T1 lines are cheaper than at full T1 (1.544Mbps). The most common fractional T1 speeds are 256 Kbps and 384 Kbps.

FRAME RELAY: The frame relay service is a high speed packetized data service that consists of physical and logical components. The physical components include Frame Relay Assemblers Disassemblers (FRADs), access circuits, and frame relay ports. The logical components consist of permanent virtual circuits (PVCs). Frame Relay Assemblers Disassemblers (FRADs) are devices, such as routers, that assemble data into frame relay packets and that transmit the packets through the local access circuits to which they are connected. The local access circuits, whose bandwidths can range from 56 Kbps to 1544 Kbps, are digital circuits that connect the FRADs to the frame relay network provider's site. A frame relay port, whose bandwidth equals that of the local access circuit, physically connects the local access circuit to the frame relay network.

INEGRATED T1: The combination of voice, data, Internet over a dedicated T1 connection, with the ability to channelize them into 24 (64K) channels.

PRI ISDN T1: PRI ISDN is the industrial strength flavor of ISDN, and is intended for users with much greater capacity requirements. PRI has 23 B channels plus one 64 Kbps D channel. Each channel has a 64Kbps capacity, enabling a total transmission speed of up to 1.536Mbps. With PRI ISDN, you can pre-define the number of channels used for specific types of calls or data delivery. What this means is that you can use the various channels for accomplishing different things on different channels simultaneously. In other words, PRI ISDN offers much greater flexibility than that provided by BRI ISDN. Additionally, the D channel is used as the switching channel that communicates with the Central Office for Call Management. It is used to carry local and long distance traffic.

SWITCHED TO THE LONG DISTANCE: Long Distance service over phone lines where the traffic is switched by your local phone company to the long distance provider selected. Typically this is long distance service provided on regular phone lines (POTS).

T1 / DS1: A leased line, sometimes referred to as a T1 or DS1, is a private, dedicated line that goes directly from your office to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), providing transmission at 1.544Mbps (40 times the speed of a standard dial-up modem). Unlike a DSL connection, a T1 dedicated connection provides guaranteed bandwidth, since the line is not shared with other users. The T1 / DS1 standard is used in the North American and Japanese marketplaces.

T1 + DEDICATED CIRCUITS (Private Line): A high speed non-switched direct circuit connecting two or more sites used in a Wide Area Network (WAN). It is often used to connect Local Area Networks (LANs) together. Speeds available range from 1.544Mbps to 622Mbps

VoIP: Technology that allows for sending voice information in digital form in descrete packets rather than in traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). A major advantage of VoIP and Internet telephony is that it avoids the tolls charged by ordinary telephone service. This service can be a derivative of hardware VoIP phone system or carrier-based service, or both.

VPN: A Virtual Private Network is a network that communicates securely over a public network (i.e. the internet). The network is protected through the use of encryption. VPN clients authenticate users, encrypt data, and otherwise manage sessions with VPN servers utilizing a technique called tunneling. There are three types of VPNs: 1) software based VPNs, 2) hardware based VPNs and 3) firewall based VPNs.

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