Glossary

DSL Related

ADSL

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

BRAS

Broadband Remote Access Server (Takes PPP from EU and passes it to ISP by L2TP)

CPE

Customer Premise Equipment (router or modem)

DSL

Digital Subscriber Line. E.g. ADSL, FTTC/VDSL, Gfast.

DSLAM

Digital Subscriber Line Access Modulator

DLM

Dynamic Line Management

FTTC

Fibre to the Cabinet. Fibre optic cables to the cabinet, and then copper to the premises.

FTTP

Fibre to the Premises. Broadband running over fibre optic cables. The data is sent through light lasers. No copper pair is required. Fastest speed.

G-Fast

Addition on the cabinet that gives faster speed. Higher frequencies.

L2TP

A standard system called Layer Two Tunnelling Protocol (L2TP) which allows you (using suitable software or equipment) to connect to us via another Internet access service.

LTS

L2TP tunnel switch - the router on the wholesaler's network (eg TalkTalk) that forwards the LT2TP to the ISP. Also see; L2TP on Juniper's website

TAM

Test Access Module

VDSL

Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line

VP

Virtual Path - a link between an Exchange and the BRAS

BT Fault Terms

See also BT's jargon buster at https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/serviceproducts/orderandfaulttracker/faulthandling/faulttrackerjargonbuster.do

AI

Action Item

BBCR

BroadBand Customer Reporting (BT)

BBEU

WBC EUA Service ID (Circuit ID)

CA

Customer Apparatus

CDTA

Conscious Decision To Appoint - force booking an Openreach engineer

CP

Communications Provider

CRD

Customer Required by Date

DP

Distribution Point

ELF

Early Life Failure - A fault soon after an install

EU

End User

FaultReportAdvised C

The result after running a PSTN line test. Usually Y or N, bur C means test Inconclusive/ Not Completed - Fault Report may be raised if CP believes there is a problem on BT network charges may be incurred if the fault is subsequently shown to be off BT network

FTR

Fault Threshold Rate - The speed at which the line is considered at fault

KBD

Knowledge Based Diagnostics

KCI

Keep Customer Informed. SMS or Email informing customers of any line discrepancies.

MBORC

Matters Beyond Our Reasonable Control. Used by BT to indicate that they're suspending normal fix guarantees as some external event has made it impossible to achieve them (e.g. a fire, storms, terror attack).

MFL

Main Fault Location

MPF

Metallic Path Facility

NTE

Network Termination Equipment

NTE5

Network Termination Equipment, 5th version

PONR

Point of No Return - e.g. when an engineer is booked and cannot now be cancelled.

PCP

Primary Cross-connect Point

PEW

Planned Engineering Works

POH

Point of Handover

RA

Rate Adaptive

REIN

Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise - some sort of interference causing problems with a broadband line - tricky to pinpoint, patience needed in diagnosing these faults.

RWT

Right When Tested

SIN

Supplier Information Note [BT]

SMPF

Shared Metallic Path Facility

SP

Service Provider (e.g. AAISP)

SSFP

Service Specific Front Plate

TPM

Tie Pair Modify - The cable from the MDF (main distribution frame) to the DSLAM port is replaced

TSO

Technology Service and Operations - a department within BT

WAC

Work Allocation Controls (team)

WLR

Wholesale Line Rental

BT Fault Locations

See also BT's jargon buster at https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/serviceproducts/orderandfaulttracker/faulthandling/faulttrackerjargonbuster.do

CA

Fault located at Customer Apparatus

CE

Fault located at Customer Equipment. Provides further breakdown of a CA fault

DT

Diagnostic Test required to establish fault

EX

Fault located in Exchange

FU

Fault Located at Frames Unit. Provides further breakdown of an EX fault.

LN

Fault Located in Local Network

Openreach PSTN Fault Types

Terms used to describe a fault type on a PSTN phone line. When reporting a PSTN fault to Openreach one of these terms is used to describe the fault.

BNR

Bell not ringing

BR

Bell ringing continuous

CCS

Call minder problems

CDT

Continuous Dial Tone

CO

Cuts off

DRO

Damage to aerial cables

DRU

Damage outside end user premises

DRW

Damage at the end users site

DRA

Damage Report Apparatus

ESF

Exchange Service Facility

FNT

Faint Transmission

MOD

No other equipment, retried

NDT

No dial tone

NR

Dial tone no answer

NSY

Noisy

NT

No Tone

NU

Number not Obtainable

OHR

Overhearing

OWT

One Way Transmission

PET

Permanently engaged tone

RTP

Ring Trip

UTR

Unable to trip ringing

WNO

Wrong Numbers Obtained

XL

Crossed lines

Services Related

BT

British Telecom

BTOR

British Telecom Openreach

BTW

BT Wholesale

CLI

Caller Line Identification (re telephony)

CLI

Command Line Interface

CDR

Call Detail Records - Call logs

CQM

Constant Quality Monitoring - the name given to the monitoring graphs used on the control pages and FireBricks. Customers and staff can view these graphs in near real time and historical graphs. It’s updated every 100 seconds. Sends an LCP echo every second (a bit like a PING).

DNS

Domain Name System/Server. Translates domain name to an IP address to have an internet location.

Domain

Text/written address of an IP address. DNS translates this to an IP address to be understood by a computer.

DS

Delegation signer (The record used to identify the DNSSEC signing key of a delegated zone)

Hostname

Used in association with domain name. E.g. support.aa.net.uk.

IDN

Internationalised Domain Name

IP

Internet Protocol

MSO

Major Service Outage - some sort of fault that will be affecting lots of customers - should be on https://aastatus.net.uk

OR

Openreach

RIPE

The Réseaux IP Européens Network - the organisation in Europe who manage IP addresses

SIM

Subscriber identity module

SIP:Session Initiation Protocol - Sets up a VoIP call.

TTW

TalkTalk Wholesale

VoIP

Voice over Internet Protocol

Email Related

IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol

POP3

Post Office Protocol, Version 3

SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Other

IRC

Internet Relay Chat - an online chat room, AAISP have one, see the contact page. You can talk to staff and customers

TCH

Telecity Hex - a datacentre in London run by Equinix AKA HEX, LD8, LOH - A&A have racks there

THN

Telehouse North - a datacentre in London - A&A have racks there