Terms and Acronyms

A-C | E-I | K-N | P-W

(Note:  Major source for the definitions contained herein is the web site http://whatis.techtarget.com/ where you can find definitions for thousands of the most current IT-related words.)

ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line)

ADSL provides high-speed Internet connections by compressing data and transmitting it over large-bandwidth copper telephone wires, splitting the voice and data signals.  ADSL is asymmetrical in that it uses most of the channel to transmit downstream to the user and only a small part to receive information from the user.

Application

In information technology, an application is the use of a technology, system or product.

ASP (Application Service Provider)

An ASP is a company that offers individuals or enterprises access over the Internet, usually on a subscription basis, to applications and related services to help run a business, such as data services and office applications, or they may be of a more personal nature, such as games and entertainment.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth refers to the width of the band (range) of frequencies that an electronic signal occupies.  It determines how fast data will be transmitted, and is usually measured in kilobits, megabits or gigabits per second.

(SuperNet) Base Area

This area of the SuperNet network is made up of 27 larger Alberta communities where competitive high-speed access already exists.  Bell is investing a mimimum of $102 million to build the network's Base Area, and will own it, when finished.  As the "hub" of the network, the Base Area connects the 402 smaller communities of the network's Extended Area with each other and with the Base Area.  The province's government offices, schools, health facilities and libraries are all interconnected through the Base Area.

Broadband

Broadband refers to telecommunication in which a wide band (range) of frequencies is available to transmit information.  This means that information can be sent on many different frequencies or channels within the band concurrently, which allows more information to be transmitted in a given amount of time.

With broadband, rather than only being able to download one form of data at a time, users will be able to use the connection to simultaneously download audio, video and text data.  While DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and cable are examples of broadband, broadband networks can vary in speed and capacity.

The SuperNet network is based on a technology that creates greater capacity in the network to handle broader bandwidth, resulting in higher speeds and the safe, reliable, 'always-on' transmission of large quantities of data for multi-users, simultaneously.


CED (Customer Edge Device)

This is equipment owned by the SuperNet customer that is connected to both the customer's hardware (PC's, printers, etc.) and the SED (SuperNet Edge Device).  In most cases, this full-duplex CED equipment will be a switch, router or combination of the two.  It is the customer's responsibility to supply and maintain this device.  NOTE: Half-duplex connections, such as Hubs, are not supported as valid CEDs by SuperNet at this time.