24-hour update
This is the first step in escalating a problem. We check back 24 hours later and if no update has been posted, we send for a second level escalation with our dedicated Vendor teams. You will not see evidence of the second level of escalation in TAC.

ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. ADSL utilizes line-sharing technology to run a service that delivers a larger download and smaller upload over an existing, numbered, phone line. This service can range from 608/128kbps to 1.5mbps/768kbps.

ATM
Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is a dedicated-connection switching technology that organizes digital data into 53-byte cell units and transmits them over a physical medium using digital signal technology. Individually, a cell is processed asynchronously relative to other related cells and is queued before being multiplexed over the transmission path. Because ATM is designed to be implemented via hardware instead of software, faster processing and switch speeds are possible. The pre-specified bit rates are either 155.520 Mbps or 622.080 Mbps. Speeds on ATM networks can reach 10 Gbps. Along with Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) and several other technologies, ATM is a key component of broadband ISDN (BISDN).

AWI
Active Work Item. The active work item is part of Covad's internal automation that moves the order along to all the different departments in Covad that have to touch it. What directly follows the initials AWI is where your order sits in the system.

Address Invalid
This term appears in DSL worklogs, typically the day after ordering service. This can mean one of two things: 1.) Our line vendor has moved your order into an automatic step in their provisioning system, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with your address information. 2.) There is a discrepancy between the name and address you provided on your order, and the one that the phone company's business office has associated with your number. This difference can be as small as an abbreviation (ST instead of Street), spelling, capitalization (sf instead of SF), or punctuation (Pl. instead of Pl). Either our vendor, or our Activations team can alter these slight differences without any action from you.

BBox
The bbox is slang for the F2 terminal. Basically these are all catch phrases for the terminal box either on or under your curb, or on the pole on aerial lines that terminate lines from the CO before a line is run from it to your home or business.

BERT
A test that reflects the ratio of erroneous bits to the total number transmitted. Usually shown in exponential form (10^6) to indicate that one out of a certain number of bits are in error. BERT tests are run solely on IDSL orders so that the line might be tested past the repeater cards and to the Adtran. What this test looks like: Client Order Id : xxxxxx Test Date Application Loop Test Passed Override Acceptance Test Comments 12/12/2000 11:36 AM BERT Yes No No 100% successful over 2 repeater(s), 0 Errors What this means: A Bert test will only test the success of the line over the repeaters. This line is successful because both repeaters pass.

BUG
Stands for "buried underground wire". The line that runs from the neighborhood box (the b-box, phone pole or F2)

Bridge Taps
Bridge taps are essentially splices that are added to a telephone line that split off the main line for the purpose of connecting another customer to the main line. There can be multiple bridge taps present in different locations on a given line. Bridge taps generally impede the DSL signal such that customers whose telephone line has a bridge tap cannot get DSL service. However, if there are less than 2000 ft. or 16% (whichever is less) of bridge taps and the total distance of the telephone line, including bridge taps, is less than the maximum allowable distance for DSL, it may be possible that the line can still carry a DSL signal. Depending on the telephony company, only so many feet of bridge taps are required to be removed. If there are too many feet, they will refuse the construction.

CLEC
Competitive "L"ocal "E"xchange "C"arrier. Covad, WorldCom and New Edge are examples. CLECs lease lines, collocation space, and equipment to provide a competitive alternative solution to your local telco's data services. The FCC determines which companies receive CLEC status versus ILEC status, per the 1996 Telecommunications Act that makes competitive local and long distance voice and data services possible.

CO
The CO is a switching location for local and long distance calls. It is the office your lines terminate at before connecting to your telco's voice network. Once the line is delivered by the telco to the Covad DMARK in the CO, you are no longer connected to your local telco on that line and you are not obligated to pay them for the use of that line.

COB
While Speakeasy has 24x7 technical support and customer service, our vendors and the phone companies do not. Close of business can be anywhere from 4pm PST to 1pm PST for the various companies we work with.

CPE
Customer Premise Equipment. This is standard terminology for the router or bridge (modem) that you receive as part of your installation.

Cable Pair
Another term for the telephone line on which our vendor will install DSL service. It is called a cable pair because each telephone line is made up of a pair of copper wires.

Co-Lo
Simply a Collocation Meeting between the ILEC and an FST. The Collocation is the space our vendor rents from the ILEC in the CO to house the DSLAM and splitter.

Cross-connects
The cross-connect is the connection made at one of several locations along a DSL or T1 line. Typically, it is used in reference to the connection between the ADSL splitter, which is in the Central Office and operated by the ILEC, and the equipment operated by our loop vendor that is necessary to make an ADSL connection work.

Customer Care
The department within Covad or New Edge that is responsible for answering ISP's general questions about status, escalations, and scheduling changes. They also are the ones responsible for ordering the loop and getting the loop date. It's important to remember for every call you make to them to either complain or request status we are unable to connect to them or properly funnel your request. Always contact us for status, escalations, complaints, questions, and scheduling issues.

DLC
Digital Loop Carrier, which provides pair gain on a network of lines. Basically a four pair drop terminates remotely in the CO to specific electronics that either multiplex or de-multiplex the signal over those specific lines. Voice-grade copper pair is then run out of the back end of the remote termination point to your home. This is used by the phone company to offset the cost of demand for a lot of voice lines in one CO. Another form of DLC involves using fiber-optic lines for the first leg of the aforementioned line (from the CO DMARK to the remote DMARK, prior to the F2 terminal), and a normal twisted pair for the second leg of the line. Both these DLCs are generally unworkable with DSL, and usually require a downgrade to 144k IDSL, if a cancellation of service due to technological incompatibility.

DLR
Design Layout Report. This is a report received by our vendor from your phone company. It is a record of the makeup and layout of your physical line.

DMARK
The point at which a line terminates. Usually refers to your phone box. This also refers to notes made when the telephone tech calls on the day of your line install and tests with Covad. These are also referred to as a D-mark or demark.

DNS
Whenever you type in a web page, or reference any domain name, your computer asks a special server, the Domain Name Service server (DNS server) what IP address is linked to the Domain name. A DNS server is an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. It sends the IP number back to your computer. Then your computer sends out a request for the information from that IP address.

DSL
Digital Subscriber Line. DSL utilizes the existing copper lines run by the telephone companies to deliver high-speed data to homes and businesses. DSL equipment uses the unused, high frequency channels of your analog voice line to pass digital traffic.

DSLAM
Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer. This piece of equipment is installed and owned by our vendor, at the CO. It provides a connection to the vendor (and Speakeasy's) network to provide you DSL.

Degrade
Either the Activations Department, or Customer/Technical Support often uses this term, in relation to a DSL or T1 line. Degradation of the physical lines that connect any portion of your DSL or T1 line is entirely possible, and simply means that your line has encountered normal or extraordinary wear and tear. Additionally, degradation can occur on the signal level, with the DSL or T1 signal wearing down or weakening the longer it has to physically travel.

Dialup
Dialup is a long-standing means of connecting to the Internet, accomplished by means of analog signals passed between two electronic modulator-demodulator devices, often referred to as 'modems', over a standard phone line. There are a number of distinct steps in establishing a dialup connection, which can be briefly summarized as dialing, handshake/negotiation, authentication, and PPP (Point-to-point protocol) session start.

Distribution Cable
The distribution cable connects to the F1 cable at the cross-connect box and travels deeper into the neighborhood. The F2 cable connects to the drop wire, which runs into the customer premises at the DMARK.

Due Date
This is when information is due from the telephone company. The vendor updates soon after the receive it, and if they don't receive it, they go back and push on the telco for it.

Dynamic IP
A dynamic IP address is one that is temporarily assigned to your DSL circuit, and will change when you either restart your computer or your DSL modem. The Speakeasy DSL equipment assigns it.

Electronics
This is a catchall phrase for several pieces of equipment that either extend the line or boost the signal. For DSL, there are very few good electronics. A short list of possible electronics includes bridge taps, load coils, and repeaters.

End user
That would be you, our customer. Because the vendors write their portion of the log for us, and they consider us their customer, they refer to you as the E/U, or end user.

Ethernet
A special cabling type that allows for the transfer of a large amount of data at high-speeds. This term is also occasionally used to refer to TCP/IP protocols that are used to make high-speed Internet connections to function. Where Speakeasy refers to Ethernet, we are referring to the cabling.

F1 facilities issue
The first leg of the local loop, from the CO to the bbox. See below representation: CO------f1-------------------------------bbox----------f2------------home/office If there is a problem with the F1, the telco will try to resolve it for up to 31 days. After day 31 the order will be cancelled due to cost of repair and the likely hood of success.

F2 facilities issue
Unlike the F1 facilities issue this refers not to the line running from the box to your home, but the wiring in the terminal. Sometimes an entire terminal must be rewired without dropping voice lines for any of your neighbors served out of the same box. See below representation: CO------f1-------------------------------bbox----------f2------------home/office If there is a problem with the F1, the telco will try to resolve it for up to 31 days. After day 31 the order will be cancelled due to cost of repair and the likely hood of success.

FOC
Firm Order Commitment. This represents the telco recognizing your loop order, and scheduling a date to deliver your line. In a perfect world this would indicate if your line is DSL ready or not. Unfortunately that's not what happens, and additional issues may be discovered before or after the line install by the telco. So can you reschedule this? The telephone company makes rescheduling impossible. Can you have a timeframe for this install? Unfortunately no. If you have tbe there (to provide access to the NID, or if you are an East Coast GTE, Bell Atlantic or SNET customer), it is an all day appointment for someone (either you or someone of your choice) who is 18 or older. If you are a line-sharing customer, this represents the date that the local telephone company makes connections at the CO. No onsite visit is necessary for the FOC of a line-sharing customer.

FST
Field Service Technician. This is the vendor tech.

FUSF
This term is an acronym for the Federal Universal Service Fund fee. All communications companies are required to charge an FUSF fee under the terms of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The FUSF ensures the availability of telecommunications services at a reasonable cost, and is used to provide discounted communication services to schools, libraries, and rural health care providers. According to all current state and federal laws, only specific institutions in the state of Texas may be exempt from this law. All other typically tax-exempt institutions are required to pay this fee. Regardless of any mention to this fee as a tax, this is a non-negotiable fee from the Federal government that all customers will be charged.

Facilities
This is the catch phrase for anything wrong with your line. If you see this word and no further explanation this means that either more information will be coming later from the phone company or we are trying to get more information.

Facilities not available
a.) There are complete lines, but they are not DSL quality copper. b.) The loop has been run in such a way that extends it to a length beyond what is acceptable for DSL service. c.) The CO you are being served from has reached capacity and we are awaiting a cancellation from one of your telco's customers before we can assign or deliver a line.

Fastpath
This is one of two possible delivery methods used with an ADSL line (the other being Interleaving). Where Interleaving performs additional error checking on each packet, Fastpath allows your line to pass all traffic from the DSLAM to Speakeasy's network without discarding any packets. Fastpath takes into account that some level of error checking is available within the TCP/IP, and that additional checking is unnecessary. All Speakeasy DSL circuits are set as Fastpath by default.

Fiber
Fiber Optic Cable - Cabling made of spun glass, which carries data in the form of a beam of light. These facilities are currently incompatible with DSL services.

Firewall
Firewall is a term adopted from a real world, fireproof wall that is used to keep a fire from spreading from one room to another. In Internet terms, a firewall is a piece of software, or hardware with software, that is programmed to recognize certain types of intrusions and scans, and both warn you that they are occurring and prevent the intruder from taking malicious action against your computer or network.

Good Faith Extension
GFE is used to describe a temporary suspension of the Speakeasy billing cycle, due to extraordinary reasons.

HEC
A HEC error is the Header Error Control error. Basically, each ATM cell is segmented into a 48-byte payload and 5-byte header. So for our purposes, the IP packet is broken down into controlled ATM cells equaling 48 bytes payload and 5-byte header. The header is marked at the point of transmission (i.e. an end user's cpe). The ATM cell is then re-encapsulated within a DSL frame and then transmitted down the loop towards the DSLAM. The DSL frame is then stripped off and then the ATM header is checked. The next node (in this case, the DSLAM) will then run a calculation to determine if the value represented by that cell matches the value calculated. If the value matches, then the packet is then re-encapsulated with a new header and then sent to the next node. If however, the values do not match the packet is then dropped and a HEC error is recorded.

Hard Down
This term is used by Speakeasy Customer Support to describe a DSL or T1 line that is completely non-functional.

Harris
Covad's name for a loop back test. A tone is sent from the Central Office (triggered from a remote Covad office) across the loop to determine the exact length as well as possible problems that might occur with the loop.

Held Order
Unique to USWest, a process for holding and repairing problem lines. Updated only once a week.

Hub
In general, a hub refers to a central gathering point for any traffic or service, at which point these gathered entities forward out to various connection points off of the main hub. For Internet connectivity's sake, a hub is a small piece of equipment that connects directly to the bridge or router to run the connection to several computers on your network.

IDSL
Integrated Services Digital Network. It uses existing ISDN technology and equipment to increase the data transfer over a long, bad, or noisy line. While IDSL will technically work up to 30,000 ft, our vendors only support IDSL on lines under 25,000 ft. IDSL is one of the only cases where electronics are used to benefit the installation, using repeaters to volt the DSL signal to make it travel the degraded line, and the Adtran unit which de-volts the signal before it enters your internal wiring.

ILEC
Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier. The ILECs are the primary phone companies in the country, and are identified as such by the FCC, based on owning a controlling share of the telephony customers, equipment, and infrastructure. Speakeasy works with CLECs that have contracts with the following ILECs to provide data services: o SBC: Pac Bell, Southwestern Bell, and Ameritech o Verizon (East and West) o Sprint o Qwest o SNET o Bell South

ILEC Trouble Ticket
Most commonly shown as TT in the Covad log. A trouble ticket is only opened with the telco if the loop has been delivered but the line is still not working after an attempt to install. Each ILEC has their own turn around time to begin investigation, but you must keep in mind that some trouble tickets take a while to resolve.

Interleaving
Interleaving is a method of ADSL delivery that increases the amount of error correction performed on your line by the DSLAM. Basically, it checks every single packet sent to or from the DSLAM to ensure that they are not corrupted. Interleaving may increase packet loss, as it will discard packets that are found containing errors, but will improve ping time for some customers.

Jumper

Kbps
Kilobits, or one thousand bits, per second. This is the measurement of the transfer rate for nearly all Speakeasy services.

LOOP NO CONTINUITY
This means the signal from the Central Office to your home is not a continuous one that will support data transfer.

LSR
Line Service Record. This is the record provided by the phone company to our line vendors when ADSL services are ordered. The LSR will contain the number of the line (pair), the circuit number with the phone company, the Central Office name, last recorded line length, and any electronics issues. An example is below:

Latency
Latency is a catchall term we use to describe slow broadband or dialup service. Latency is literally a delay from when you send a request to any particular Internet address/server, and when you receive a response (such as the web page loading).

Layer x
All Speakeasy DSL and T1 services are delivered using the 3-layer system. o Layer 3 is Speakeasy, and all network, systems, or software components that connect you to this service. Examples of things checked during Layer 3 troubleshooting include the build of your IP address(es), or the status of our core routing equipment in your area. o Layer 2 is you, the customer, and all hardware, network, or software that connects your service at your location. Examples of things checked during Layer 2 troubleshooting include checking all cables (and their connections), powercycling any router/bridge, hubs, and computers, and checking any line filters. o Layer 1 is the line itself, or the line vendor network. Typically, some Layer 1 troubleshooting is performed as the first step of any DSL or T1 troubleshooting. We will check the statistics for your line to determine if any line problems can be seen before having you check other portions of the service. However our vendor can only perform most Layer 1 testing and troubleshooting, once we have eliminated any problems with Layer 3 or 2.

Lead
Occasionally it is necessary for one of our Customer Support representatives to escalate a problem or concern for more advanced resolution. When an issue is sent to a lead, this means it has been sent to someone with additional resources or information about your concern, who can then focus on this issue individually.

Line Conditioning
New Edge Network's process of removing electronics to make DSL technical possible on the line. This is a service that comes at an additional charge, and is only possible through New Edge.

Load Coil(s)
A load coil corrects the electrical loss on a line when bridge taps cause minute or excessive electrical loss. Unfortunately it sort of moves the loss above the voice frequency and into the frequency that ISDN and DSL travels in. Each telco is required to remove these coils or at least a certain portion of them (certain number of feet). This is also called a loaded line or unloaded line on occasion.

Local Loop
This is your line, from the CO equipment to your telephone box.

Long Term Facilities Issue
Long-term facilities issues usually are line install issues (as in portions of the line is missing), or equipment in the CO is missing or damaged. The telco has 31 days to commit to repairing these, and if they do not the line order will be cancelled.

Loop Delivery Problem
This can mean a few things. a.) Your line is not delivered to your home, or the line is not connected to the CO. b.) The line has problems caused by a break in the line or bad electronics on the line. It always means the line test failed.

Loss of Frame
Signal loss that has been isolated at the vendor frame. The frame is the vendor network equipment.

Loss of Signal
Loss of signal. The line is literally losing signal.

MPOE
Minimum Point of Entry. This is a fancy term for your phone box, more than likely if you live in an apartment building or are getting installed in an office building.

Main Distribution Frame
The equipment in the CO at which telephone lines from your premises terminate prior to connecting to the switching equipment.

Mbps
Megabit, or one million bits, per second. This is the measurement of the transfer rate for all Speakeasy services that have a download or upload of at least 1.1.

Multi-plexer
A device that allows multiple analog signals over one pair. This makes DSL impossible with our vendor's current equipment.

NAP
NAP stands for "N"etwork "A"ccess "P"oint. Essentially, it is a massive data connection that will tie a customer provisioned to it directly to our network hardware.

NID
1. A device wired between a telephone protector and the inside wiring to isolate the customer's equipment from the network. (2.) A device that performs functions such as code and protocol conversion and buffering required for communications to and from a network.

NOC
Network Operation Center. This department aids in fixing Central Office issues when it comes to software or hardware problems.

News
Speakeasy uses this term to refer to Usenet service. Usenet is a collection of user-submitted notes or messages on various subjects that are posted to servers on a worldwide network. Each subject collection of posted notes is known as a newsgroup. There are thousands of newsgroups and it is possible for you to form a new one. Most newsgroups are hosted on Internet-connected servers, but they can also be hosted from servers that are not part of the Internet. Usenet's original protocol was UNIX-to-UNIX Copy (UUCP), but today the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) is used.

No Access
Your local telco required access, or permission to access your telephone box. Usually this occurs if you were not at the install address during the day when your loop install was scheduled. It also occurs when the telephone tech cannot access your homes inside wiring if he/she feels that it's necessary. In order to reschedule this appointment you will need to contact us as soon as possible with three dates, five days from the date you call in that you will wait at the installation address for the telco. For trouble tickets, just providing access hours that you are normally there is fine.

OA
OA is Covad's Order Administration. These people are responsible for placing the first line order with the telephone company and doing the manual changes to the order before the first FOC date is received.

Open in
Open in means that the DSL line the telco was supposed to deliver is not connected to the Covad portion of the line. The telco are the only ones that can make this connection by law and contract.

PON
Purchase Order Number. This is the secret order number that the phone company gives Covad for your line order. Don't get excited if you see it in the logs, however, there are other ways you must validate that you work for Covad before the phone company will let you access your line records.

POP
POP stands for Point-Of-Presence, which is where your circuit and those of others in your region are connected from the Covad backhaul network to the Internet. Click here to see an estimation of this network (http://www.speakeasy.net/images/popmap.jpg). As you can see, there are quite few steps in between you and the Internet. We haven't removed any of the steps, but we made your delay in connecting to the second-to-last one, the ATM Network, a lot shorter.

PVC
PVC is used to define the numerical representation of your circuit in both the Speakeasy and vendor networks. Using this number, Speakeasy allocates your IP address, binding it to the vendor network.

Packet
A packet is a short fixed-length section of data that is transmitted as a unit in an electronic communications network. More simply, a packet is a package of bytes (information) that is sent from one location to another. An example of packets is the information sent while pinging an IP. Packet loss refers to the amount of packets that aren't arriving at the destination, or aren't returning to the sender.

Pair Gain
A means of consolidating multiple telephone lines into a lesser number of lines in an effort to avoid running out of telephone lines. DSL cannot be provisioned across integrated pair gain.

Ping
Ping is a basic Internet application that allows you to verify if a particular Internet address (most commonly an IP address or domain name) can and is accepting requests. Loosely, ping means "to get the attention of" or "to check for the presence of" another party online. Ping operates by sending a packet to a designated address and waiting for a response.

Powercycle
This fancy-sounding term simply means the act of turning off a router, bridge, hub, or computer, and after 10-12 seconds, turning it back on. Typically this is done to clear any accumulated errors that might exist in that piece of hardware's temporary memory. By doing this, we can ensure that the hardware is not acting on information it might have saved, which might no longer be relevant.

RCCC
Regional CLEC Communication Center, which is a department in Verizon. This department is the scheduling department, sort of like a dispatch center for line installers and repair techs for Verizon East.

Rebate
Often, Speakeasy offers rebates on the install or hardware cost of a DSL or T1 installation. This means that, after your initial 25-day term of service with Speakeasy, and providing you have paid the fee/charge in question, you will be eligible for any rebates. Once you complete the rebate form exactly as required, and send it off, it will take roughly 12 weeks to process the rebate. This allows time for your rebate to reach the rebate center via mail, them to process your rebate (by ensuring you are a customer and qualified for this particular rebate), and time for that rebate check to reach you. This process might seem overly complex, but the rigorous check that the rebate center performs help ensure that our costs are low enough to continue to offer a rebate program.

Red cable
All ADSL orders that receive a ZyXel 645M will also note there is a shorter, red Ethernet cable included in their self-installation kit. This Ethernet cable is called a crossover or patch cable, and is different than standard Ethernet. The pins on the jack of the cable are wired differently. This cable should be used between your ZyXel and your hub/router.

Repeater
An electronic device inserted at intervals along a circuit to boost and amplify an analog signal, or regenerate a digital signal.

Router
A router is a device that forwards packets between networks. The forwarding decision is based on network layer information and routing tables, often constructed by routing protocols. The router is connected to at least two networks and decides which way to send each information packet based on its current understanding of the state of the networks it is connected to.

SDSL
Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line. SDSL uses a second, unnumbered pair of copper wires to deliver identical upload and download speeds, ranging from 192kbps to 1.5mbps.

SOC
This represents the date that the local telephone company makes connections at the CO. No onsite visit is necessary for the FOC of a line-sharing customer.

SPAM
SPAM is strictly defined as any unsolicited e-mail you receive. However, many emails you receive that do not necessarily appear to be ones you solicited are the result of opt-in mailings. These opt-in mailings typically are created when you sign up for any Internet account, place online orders, or enter your email address in any website. For this reason, you should carefully read the privacy policy for any site requesting your email address. These opt-in mailings are not considered SPAM, and you should follow the instructions included on that mail to remove yourself from that list. Please take a moment to read the Speakeasy Privacy Policy as well as our TOS Section regarding email use.

Second-line ADSL
For the period of time between March 2000 and December 2000, Speakeasy offered an ADSL service that was installed on a secondary, unnumbered pair of phone wires, rather than via the primary phone line. This method was gradually discontinued during 2000, and was completely replaced with line sharing as the installation method for ADSL service beginning with all orders placed on and after January 1st, 2001.

Service Delivery
Service Delivery is the department Speakeasy's Provisioning department works with most. Service Delivery is a department that communicates and works with the telco on your behalf to get the line installed and/or repaired.

Shell Account
A shell account offers access to a UNIX terminal-type environment. By using a telnet or SSH program, one can access their email with a text based email client like Pine, use IRC, read Usenet or edit files with an editor like vi or emacs. The advantage of a shell account is that allows those people who are in an environment where telnet or SSH capability is present to access these or other tools from anywhere on the Internet. If you would like more information about how to use your shell account, click here for a basic 'how-to' for Speakeasy shell accounts.

Short Term Facilities Issue
Short-term facilities issues usually are repair issues on the line or instances where there are minor repair issues in the central office. The telco has 31 days to commit to repairing these, and if they do not the line order will be cancelled.

Static IP
A static IP address is one that has been reserved and assigned to one particular customer's DSL or T1 line, and will be used by one computer or router. It does not get reassigned or changed unless the customer requires it to be, or network changes at Speakeasy prompt it to be.

Sup
A "sup" is a supplement order that Covad places with the telco to either change their original line order or request a date on it if one has been missed.

Sync-no-Surf
This term is used by Speakeasy Customer Support to describe a DSL or T1 line whose CPE is showing signs that the connection with the line and the hardware has been established, but is not able to be used by the customer.

T1
This service uses 24-channel (4 wires) pulse code modulation to transfer up to 1.5MB symmetric data transfer. Unlike DSL, T1 service works with fiber-based phone infrastructure, and can work at extreme distances with little to no degradation in service.

T1 Interference
The presence of a T-1 in the same binder group as a line carrying DSL service can create enough interference to prevent DSL from being able to be delivered via that cable pair.

TAC
Our vendors TAC are their Technical Assistance Centers. It's their version of technical support.

TISOC
Telecom Industries Operations Center, which is a department in Verizon. This is like customer service and technical support wrapped up into one.

Telco
This is slang for the ILEC, or the telephone company.

Term
Definition

Terms Of Service
Terms of Service. This document, located here, is your contract with Speakeasy.

Trench
If trenching is mentioned in your log, it means that the phone company has found that between the F2 terminal and your phone box, that there is a lack of a physical wire.

Troubleshooting
This is a process of elimination through taking steps to isolate a problem. Just as when you have a health problem, and go into the doctor so he or she can resolve the problem, our technicians will need to ask you to perform tests, answer questions, and narrow down the problem.

UNIX
Developed in 1969, this is a command-line (rather than graphic interface) operating system. Because it is not a proprietary operating system, and allows for maximum flexibility, it is used by developers to manipulate files and create graphic interface operating systems like Linux.

Vendor
We use this term to refer to our CLEC partners. They are our line vendors for all DSL and T1 orders.

WiFi
WiFi is a popular new concept. The term actually means: wireless fidelity. WiFi describes a high frequency, wireless, local area network (LAN). WiFi uses several specifications from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to provide shared connections within the 2.4 GHz range, offering data speeds between 11 and 54 megabits per second. Unless adequately protection is established for such a network, a WiFi network is susceptible to exploits that provide the unauthorized party to access and use the Internet connection for their personal use.