• Access provider—A company that sells Internet connectivity. Examples are MTNL, VSNL, Satyam and Mantra.

• Bandwidth—A measure of the information-carrying capacity of a transmission medium. For digital devices, bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted in a certain period of time. The larger the bandwidth, the greater is the amount of information that can move through a network.
  Nasscom’s Operation Bandwidth has drawn attention to India’s bandwidth-related problems. According to Nasscom-McKinsey Report 1999, India will require a bandwidth of 300GB by 2005. India’s current international bandwidth is estimated at 325Mbps.

• Backbone—A large transmission line that carries data gathered from smaller interconnected lines. India does not have an Internet backbone. DoT has plans to set up the National Internet Backbone to cover 549 stations across the country.

• Broadband—A type of data transmission in which a single medium-wire is used to carry multiple channels simultaneously. Examples are cable TV and DSL technology.

• Collision—Collision occurs when one part of the network is used for different data transmissions at the same time. A collision results in a garbled message. There are collision detection techniques that can ensure proper transmission of your data.

• Connectivity—Reference to a program’s or device’s ability to link with other programs and devices.

• Data transfer—The outward-bound traffic from a Web site, with the exception of e-mail. This includes HTML, graphic, audio or video content accessed by someone viewing the site.

• Digital subscriber line (DSL)—DSL connects the PC to the telephone exchange using the same copper lines as the normal telephone connection. Attaching a DSL modem to this connection will enable you to have a 24-hour online connection to the Internet. Your telephone line is free for simultaneous communication. In India, DSL accounts cost up to Rs 30,000, including modem and installation charges.

• Integrated services digital network (ISDN)—A communication protocol offered by telephone companies to carry data, video and voice traffic. ISDN allows you to send digital information at speeds up to 128Kbps over the normal telephone network. MTNL and VSNL offer ISDN services in India.

• Leased line—A permanent telephone connection between two points. A leased line is always active. In India, leased lines are popular in the corporate sector, although getting a leased line can take about 45 days.

• Optical carrier—The term is used to specify the speed of fiber optic networks conforming to the SONET standard. A few examples are OC-1, OC-3 and OC-48, which are equivalent to 51.9Mbps, 155.5Mbps and 2.5Gbps, respectively.

• Optical fiber—A thin strand of glass wire capable of transmitting large amounts of information in seconds. Information is transmitted through the optical fiber in the form of light. In fiber, data can travel at 60% of the speed of light—that means 179,876 kilometers per second. In India, various companies are into the business related
  to optical fiber, notable among them being Spectranet, Hughes Tele.com, Reliance and Enron.

• SONET—Short for Synchronous Optical Network, SONET is a standard for connecting fiber-optic transmission systems. The international equivalent term is SDH.

• Streaming—The broadcasting of sound and video over an Intranet or Internet in real time. This is a bandwidth intensive application and is yet to make waves in India.

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