Learn more about the high-speed network. What it can do, how it is operated, and some of the ways in which it can transform your business.
Connect to FibreSpeed and transform your business
IT communication has its own language. If you’re not sure what some of the terms mean, check out our handy glossary here.
In-site was outgrowing its broadband connection. A large part of its customer offering uses the Internet as a delivery mechanism, from updating software to running online sales demonstrations. It needed a cost-effective alternative to traditional, ADSL broadband.
Real Radio is a commercial radio station
and part of the GMG Radio group. It is
made up of five large stations across the
UK, including the first national commercial
station for Wales, Real Radio. GMG Radio
is one of Britain’s leading radio businesses
encompassing the Real Radio, Smooth
Radio and Real Radio XS brands.
Llangefni dad, David Parry, has been surfing the Internet since 1994 – but very, very slowly. Now he and his family have superfast links to the modern world from their home at Lon Cae Cwta on the outskirts of town, thanks to the FibreSpeed network and a rural link provided by pioneering Welsh broadband company eXwavia.
Anglesey resident Dorian Roberts reckons he’s been living in the Dark Ages when it comes to the Internet. But now the 47-year-old father of one, who lives on a farm in rural Capel Coch, is surfing the Web in a way that has changed his life.
Mum-of-two Bo Coates is used to a hectic family life looking after her children at home on Anglesey and doing the accounts for husband Trevor’s caravan repair business. But a complete lack of reasonable Internet access was cramping her style – until service provider eXwavia came along.
Ash Court is owned and operated by Northern Way Properties. It is located in Parc Menai, one of 13 business parks across North Wales that benefit from a FibreSpeed network connection point, known as a Point of Presence.
Treuddyn is a village approximately 5 miles
from Mold. Its rural location means that ADSL broadband speeds vary from around 4Mbps to none at all. Resident and home business owner Gary Short became involved in a community broadband project to address the issue. The question was, could Treuddyn find an alternative method to access faster broadband?
Collister and Glover are independent stockists and distributors of engineering supplies such as tubes, valves, fittings, tools, pumps, motors, seals and ancillary products.
Agored Cymru is an qualifications awarding organisation that creates qualifications and rewards achievement in Wales
MWL Systems provides IT consultancy,
infrastructure, applications and support, and specialises in virtualisation and storage.
Glossary Of Terms
Glossary Of Terms
Don't worry if you're not sure what a word means or your confused by the jargon. See our handy jargon buster below. You can also download the FibreSpeed Jargon Buster here
A
- ADSL
- ADSL broadband, or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, is the most common broadband type, using standard phone lines. Bandwidth is limited, shared with other users (so slows down if more people use it), and upload speed is much slower than download speed. FibreSpeed does not use ADSL technology and therefore avoids these limitations.
B
- Bandwidth (connection speed)
- This defines the ability to pass data through a computer connection. The greater the bandwidth, the more free-flowing (and therefore faster) the data passes to and from your computer.
- Broadband
- Broadband is a permanent connection to the Internet allowing networks to carry data over existing copper wire telephone cables. Its capability is impeded by distance from the telephone exchange and the number of people using the Internet at the same time. FibreSpeed’s optical fibre technology does not suffer these limitations.
C
- CCTV Applications
- FibreSpeed's high bandwidth capacity is ideal for Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) applications. Better quality audio and images from multiple cameras and locations can be transmitted more securely and over longer distances using optical fibre networks, such as FibreSpeed.
- Cloud Computing
- A generic phrase used to describe a situation where IT services and software applications are delivered over the web through a standard internet browser.
- Consumer connectivity
- Some FibreSpeed service providers already offer connection services for home or non-business users. Typically, these users have lower bandwidth requirements and don't need all the additional services associated with multiple workstations.
- Corporate VPN
- VPN stands for ‘virtual private network’. In reference to a corporate situation this then simply means a private area which has restricted access and is available for organisations and members to use.
- Co-location
- Co-location is a hosting option for businesses that want the features of a large IT department without the costs. It allows you to locate your server machine (or rent one) in someone else's rack and share their bandwidth as your own. You simply access the server as if it was on your own premises.
- Connectivity
- This is simply a matter of being connected to the Internet.
- Connection Speed / Slow Connection
- People often talk about connection speeds but it’s bandwidth that governs how “fast” data travels to and from your computer. ADSL broadband is a shared service, so the more users there are, the more it slows down. And uploading – or sending data – from your computer is always slow, as standard broadband technology can’t improve on this.
D
- Data Centre Services
- Data centres handle the storage, management and dissemination of data using hardware, software, processes and personnel. Using a third-party data centre handler can save your business time and money and give you peace of mind.
- Dedicated fibre networks
- unlike standard connections using telephone wires, which you share with other users, a FibreSpeed connection can be dedicated to your business alone, guaranteeing your business high bandwidth at any time of day.
- DNS
- Short for Domain Name System. When you are looking for an Internet site, you type in its domain name (e.g.fibrespeed.co.uk) which is the public address used to find that site.
E
- Encoding/Encryption
- Because the Internet is accessible by so many people, sensitive material is ‘encoded’ to keep it from prying eyes. Most surfers encounter encryption when paying for goods online. It’s the process of translating the data into a form unreadable by anyone other than a recipient who has the software to decode it.
F
- Firewall
- A firewall is a protective security screen that aims to prevent unwanted users getting access to a computer network. No large company with an online presence would dare operate without a firewall. The firewall also allows the network administrator to monitor what users are doing within a network.
- FTP
- File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the commonly accepted standard for the process of downloading or uploading files over the Internet and sending files from one computer to another.
G
- Gigabit
- When talking about bandwidths, a gigabit refers to “gigabit per second” and is equal to a data transfer rate of 1,000 megabits or million kilobits per second. Most ADSL broadband delivers no more than 20 megabits per second – and often much less.
H
- High-speed connectivity
- Refers to how your business or premises are connected to the FibreSpeed network. High-speed connections can be wired or wireless using various technologies.
- Hosting
- A Server, or Web Server, is an Internet-connected computer with its own IP Address. Software applications or very small websites can be “hosted” on an ordinary computer, but anything more sophisticated needs high speed, secure servers 24 hours a day – for a fee, a hosting company will provide these services.
I
Internet Service Provider (ISP)- Organisations that provide Internet-based services and connectivity to end-users. FibreSpeed's Service Providers are ISPs.
- IP / TCP
- Internet Protocol / Transmission Control Protocol (IP/TCP) are the guides that allow computers to communicate with each other when they are not joined together in an office or on a network.
- IP Address
- Every computer linked to the Internet has its own address. This is called its IP address – or Internet Protocol Address. It is simply a string of numbers allowing information to be called from a specific computer and delivered to the right computer.
- ISDN
- Integrated Services Digital Network. An ISDN line is a digital telephone line that allows a connection to the Internet that is faster than standard copper wires. Despite this, ISDN has largely been overtaken by ADSL(broadband) technology.
L
- LAN
- A LAN is a Local Area Network; a collection of computers linked together in one location for quick and secure internal communication.
M
- Megabit
- When talking about bandwidths, a megabit refers to “megabit per second” and is equal to a data transfer rate of 1,000 kilobits per second. Most ADSL broadband delivers no more than 20 megabits per second – and often much less.
P
- Pop
- Post Office Protocol is a code used by e-mail clients to read and receive messages from a server.
- Portal
- The term for a website that acts as a starting-point to a multitude of other sites.
- Protocol
- The Internet works by allowing computers to talk to each other over a network using an agreed set of specifications, or “protocols”. Among the most commonly seen protocols are FTP, SMTP and TCP/IP.
- Proxy Servers
- A Proxy Server is a computer that stores any page that one user has already called up from the main website and holds it in store in case anyone else wants to see it. When a subsequent user requests that page, the Proxy Server sends it straight out, instead of asking the main site to delve into its database to deliver that page all over again. ISPs set up proxy servers.
S
- Server
- Refer to hosting.
- SMTP
- Stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, the common computer language that allows different e-mail systems to talk to one another.
- Streaming
- Streaming is the process by which large Media files such as video or audio are transferred swiftly across the Internet. The information is sent in small packets and these are played out in the correct order. YouTube and BBC iPlayer are common examples.
V
- Virtualisation
- Another word used to describe 'cloud computing' - see that entry for information.
- Virtual Private Networking (VPN)
- VPN provides secure connections between private networks linked through the Internet. It allows remote computers to act as though they were on the same secure, local network, perfect for linking multiple sites, home-based or remote workers.
- Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
- VoIP enables people to make telephone calls using the Internet, instead of traditional copper wires. Very often it is a much more flexible and affordable telephony option.
W
- WAN
- A wide area network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a broad area and links computers across local, regional, or national boundaries. Multi-site organisations can use them to link LANs together (see LAN).
- WiFi
- WiFi is a type of wireless IT communications technology used in many homes and businesses. It's ideal for networking computers in a compact area.
- WiMAX
- WiMAX is a wireless IT communications technology with two advantages over WiFi: users benefit from more reliable high bandwidth, unlike WiFi users who typically have to share bandwidth and WiMAX extends over much greater distances.
