Broadband has more than its share of jargon, and providers don’t always explain it. This glossary sets out the terms you’re most likely to meet when comparing deals, setting up your connection or sorting out a problem, each in a sentence or two. Where a topic needs more than that, the entry links to the guide that covers it properly.
Jump to: Connection types · Speed and performance · Home network · Switching and your rights · Home phone
Connection types
Full fibre
A connection where fibre optic cable runs all the way into your home, with no copper wire involved. It is also called FTTP (fibre to the premises) or FTTH (fibre to the home). It gives the fastest and most consistent speeds available on a fixed line. Read our guide to full fibre vs fibre.
Part fibre
Fibre runs from the exchange to the green cabinet in your street, and the old copper phone line covers the final stretch to your home. It is also known as FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) or superfast broadband. Speeds fall the further your home is from the cabinet.
ADSL
The original form of home broadband, carried over the copper phone line all the way from the telephone exchange. It is slow by modern standards and is gradually disappearing as the copper network is retired.
Cable broadband
Broadband over Virgin Media’s own network, which uses fibre for most of the route and coaxial cable for the final connection in many areas. It gives very fast download speeds, with lower upload speeds than most full fibre. See our Virgin Media page.
5G home broadband
Home broadband delivered over the 5G mobile network to a router indoors, with no phone line or engineer visit needed. Speeds depend on the signal at your address. Read our guide to 5G and mobile broadband.
Mobile broadband
Any internet connection that runs over a mobile network, including 5G and 4G home routers, pocket hotspots, data SIMs in laptops and phone tethering. It suits travel, short stays and homes without a good fixed line.
SoGEA
Short for Single Order Generic Ethernet Access. It is part fibre broadband on the copper line without a traditional phone service attached. As the old phone network closes, it replaces the familiar line rental plus broadband setup for many homes on part fibre.
Gigabit broadband
Broadband with download speeds of 1,000Mb (one gigabit) or close to it. Full fibre and Virgin Media’s network can both deliver it. Most households don’t need this much speed, as our guide to what broadband speed you need explains.
Altnet
Short for alternative network. It means a company building its own full fibre network separate from Openreach and Virgin Media, usually in particular towns or regions. Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, YouFibre and Trooli are examples. Browse them on our broadband providers page.
ONT
Short for optical network terminal. It is the small box fitted on an inside wall when full fibre is installed, where the fibre cable ends. Your router plugs into it. Some providers build it into the router itself.
Speed and performance
Symmetrical speeds
A connection where the upload speed is the same as the download speed. Many altnets offer it, which helps with video calls, cloud backups and sending large files. Most Openreach and Virgin Media packages have much lower upload speeds.
Ping
The time a small piece of data takes to travel from your device to a server and back, measured in milliseconds (ms). It is also called latency. A lower figure means a more responsive connection, which matters most for online gaming and video calls. Our broadband speed test guide explains what good results look like.
Jitter
How much your ping varies from one moment to the next. Low jitter means a steady connection. High jitter causes choppy calls and sudden lag in games, even when your average ping looks fine.
Packet loss
The share of data that fails to arrive and has to be sent again. Even a small amount can cause frozen video calls and stuttering games. It is usually a sign of a fault, weak Wi-Fi or a congested network.
Home network
Mesh Wi-Fi
A system of two or more units placed around the home that work together as a single Wi-Fi network, so devices move between them without dropping the connection. It suits larger homes and those with thick walls. Read our guide to Wi-Fi boosters, extenders and mesh.
Wi-Fi booster
A single unit that picks up your router’s signal and sends it further, also sold as a Wi-Fi extender or repeater. It is cheap and quick to set up, but basic models reduce speed and may create a second network name.
Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7
Recent Wi-Fi standards. Wi-Fi 6 handles many devices at once and copes well with gigabit broadband. Wi-Fi 7 is faster still, but only when your phones and laptops support it too. Older Wi-Fi 5 equipment can hold back faster packages.
2.4GHz and 5GHz bands
The two main radio frequencies Wi-Fi uses. The 2.4GHz band reaches further through walls but carries less data. The 5GHz band is faster over shorter distances. Many routers use both, and newer ones add a 6GHz band too.
Ethernet
A wired connection between a device and your router using an Ethernet cable. It is faster and more reliable than Wi-Fi, and it is the best way to connect a games console, smart TV or computer near the router, or to run a fair speed test.
Static IP address
An internet address that stays the same every time you connect, instead of changing from time to time. It is mainly useful for people running servers, remote access or certain business systems. Some providers, such as Zen, include one with their packages.
Switching and your rights
One Touch Switch
Ofcom’s process for changing broadband provider at the same address. You contact only the provider you’re joining, and it arranges the changeover with your old provider, even between different networks. It doesn’t apply when you move home. Read our guide to switching broadband provider.
Switching credit
Money a new provider credits to your account to cover some or all of the exit fee your old provider charges when you leave a contract early. It is also called a contract buyout. You usually claim it by sending your final bill. See our guide to leaving a broadband contract early.
Automatic compensation
Payments that providers in Ofcom’s scheme credit to your account, without you having to claim, when a repair takes too long, a new service starts late or an engineer misses an appointment. Our switching guide lists the current amounts.
Alternative dispute resolution
A free, independent service that settles complaints you can’t resolve with your provider. If your complaint is still open six weeks after you made it, or the provider says it can do no more, you can take it to the scheme your provider belongs to.
Universal Service Obligation
Your legal right to request a decent broadband connection if you can’t get one, defined as at least 10Mb download and 1Mb upload. Requests go to BT, or to KCOM in Hull. If the work costs more than a set threshold, you may be asked to contribute.
Broadband speeds code of practice
A voluntary Ofcom code that many large providers have signed. It means you get a speed estimate and a minimum guaranteed download speed when you order, and the right to leave without an exit fee if your speed stays below that minimum and isn’t fixed within 30 days. Our broadband speed test guide explains how to use it.
Home phone
PSTN
Short for public switched telephone network. It is the old analogue phone network that has carried landline calls for decades. It is due to close in January 2027, when home phones move to digital services. Read our guide to the landline switch off.
Digital Voice
The name BT and EE use for home phone calls carried over a broadband connection instead of the old phone network. Other providers offer the same kind of digital landline under their own names. Your phone plugs into the router rather than the wall socket. See BT Digital Voice.
Telecare
Alarm services that let older or vulnerable people call for help, such as pendant alarms and fall detectors. Many have used the phone line, so they need checking before a home moves to a digital landline. Providers have agreed not to switch telecare users until a working solution is in place.