Wire World Of America 1800 - Manual (Page 142)

136
Network Service Provider (NSP). A high-level Internet provider that offers high-speed backbone
services.
Network Telephone Adapter. A class of electronic device that transmits and receives telephone
conversation digitally through some types of packet network. One or more telephones are connected to the
adapter in order to carry out verbal conversation.
Network Termination Equipment (NTE). The equipment at the ends of the communication path.
NIC. See Network Interface Card.
N-ISDN. See Narrowband ISDN.
NSP. See Network Service Provider.
NTE. See Network Termination Equipment.
O
OC-3. See Optical Carrier 3.
ONU. See Optical Network Unit.
Optical Carrier 3 (OC-3). An fiber optic line carrying 155 Megabits per second; a U.S. designation
generally recognized throughout the telecommunications community worldwide.
Optical Network Unit (ONU). 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. See Hybrid Fiber/Coax.
P
Packet-switched Network. A network that allows a message to be broken into small “packets” of data that
are sent separately by a source to the destination. The packets may travel different paths and arrive at
different times, with the destination sites reassembling them into the original message. Packet switching is
used in most computer networks because it allows a very large amount of information to be transmitted
through a limited bandwidth.
Passive Optical Network (PON). A fiber-based transmission network containing no active electronics.
Peripheral. An electronic device, such as a printer or scanner, that is not integral to running a computer,
but increases the capabilities of PCs.
Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). An acronym identifying the traditional function of a telephone
network to allow voice communication between two people across a distance. In most contexts, POTS is
synonymous with the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Point of Presence (POP). The physical point of connection between a data network and a telephone
network.
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP). Point-to-Point Protocol is a protocol which allows a computer to access
the Internet using a dial-up phone line and a high-speed modem. This can be accomplished over Ethernet
(PPPoE), or over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM; PPPoA).
PON. See Passive Optical Network.