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RBOC . Regional Bell
Operating Company. There are seven RBOCs, each of which owns two or more BOCs (Bell Operating Companies). The RBOCs were carved out of the old AT&T/Bell System as a result of the divestiture of the Bell
operating companies from AT&T at the end of 1983.
RDC . Regional Data Center. Covad's™
RDC is a state-of-the-art carrier grade facility that switches client traffic to and from the customer (corporation). Covad has an RDC in each area where it operates--for example, San Francisco Bay or New York City.
Covad aggregates client traffic from each central office in a region on its regional network, switches the traffic through its RDC, and then delivers the traffic to the corporate network over one or more high-speed
wide area network (WAN) circuits. The WAN circuit terminates on a corporate router or switch.
RJ-45 . An 8-pin connector used to attach
data transmission devices to standard telephone wiring. Commonly used in 10BaseT connections.
router . The device that connects
multiple computer networks by reading OSI Layer 3 addressing on incoming and outgoing packets. Packet information is read, and the packets are then forwarded to the appropriate end station. While routers are like
bridges, they work differently. Routers provide more functionality than bridges. For example, they can find the best route between any two networks, even if there are several different networks in between. Routers
provide network management capabilities such as load balancing, partitioning of the network, use statistics, communication priority, and trouble shooting tools that allow network managers to detect and correct
problems even in a complex network of networks. Given these capabilities, routers are often used in building wide area or enterprise wide networks. Some routers are protocol-dependent, and some are
protocol-independent.
switched virtual circuit (SVC).
A virtual circuit connection established across a network on an as-needed basis and lasting only for the duration of the transfer. It is the datacom equivalent of a dialed phone call. The specific path provided in
support of the SVC is determined on a call-by-call basis and in consideration of both the end points and the level of congestion in the network. SVCs are used extensively in X.25 networks. SVCs also are provided for
in Frame Relay network theory, but have not been implemented, because permanent virtual circuits (PVCs) provide the same function and are much less complex to provision. See also permanent virtual circuit .
synchronous transmission . Data transmission using synchronization bytes, instead of start/stop bits, to control the transmission. In xDSL, video streams are considered to be synchronous in
nature. See asynchronous transmission .
telco . A generic term
for the local telephone company operator in a given area. In the U.S., the major telcos are the seven regional Bell operating companies and the leading independent telcos, GTE, SNET, and Sprint; in Europe, Asia and
elsewhere, the term "telco" generally refers to the incumbent monopoly, but increasingly refers to competing local providers as well.
TeleSpeed® . TeleSpeed ,
a service mark of Covad Communications, is the name of Covad's service offering that allows customer employees who work at home (teleworkers) to transfer data to and from their corporate LAN at very high speeds.
TeleSpeed is available in four data speeds ranging from 144 Kbps to 1.1 Mbps. For an extensive description, refer to Covad's marketing data sheet describing TeleSpeed.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The TCP/IP is a networking protocol that provides communication across interconnected networks, between computers with diverse hardware architectures and
various operating systems. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol) are only two protocols in the family of Internet protocols. Over time, however, "TCP/IP" has been used in industry
to denote the family of common Internet protocols.
twisted pair (TP). A common form
of copper cabling used for telephony and data communications. It consists of two copper lines twisted around each other; the twisting protects the communications from electromagnetic frequency and radio frequency
interference. See also unshielded twisted pair .
UAWG . Universal ADSL
Working Group. The UAWG is a consortium of telecommunications service providers (including Covad), PC and network equipment manufacturers, and ADSL equipment manufacturers. These companies plan to develop a set of
technical specifications to be submitted to international standard setting bodies for ADSL products. These specifications will describe ADSL products that will hopefully meet the price points and installation
requirements necessary to promote high speed Internet access for the consumer market. The UAWG was initiated by Microsoft, Intel, and Compaq. See their website at http://www.uawg.org/.
unshielded twisted pair (UTP). A cable with
one or more twisted copper wires bound in a plastic sheath. Preferred method to transport data and voice to business workstations and telephones. Unshielded wire is preferred for transporting high speed data,
because, at higher speeds, radiation is created. If shielded cabling is used, the radiation is not released and creates interference.
WAN . Wide Area Network. A
data network typically extending a LAN (local area network) outside the building, over telephone common carrier lines to link to other LANs in remote buildings in possibly remote cities. A WAN typically uses
common-carrier lines. A LAN doesn't. WANs typically run over leased phone lines--from an analog phone line to T1 (1.544 Mbps). The jump between a local area network and a WAN is made through a device called a bridge
or a router.
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