PowerlineCommunications.net

Consumer Powerline Communications Network

	Digital Powerline Communications
	What is Powerline Communications?
	Smart Homes
	Powerline Networking
	Powerline Internet
	Powerline Phones
	Why Powerline?
	Powerline Communications Blog
	Powerline Communications News and Press Releases
	Powerline Communications News Sources
	Powerline Networking Reviews
	Powerline Glossary
	Contact Us
	Advertising

Sign up for Powerline Communications News

Powerline Communications Glossary

Bluetooth: Bluetooth is a technology that allows wireless communication within a range of about 30 feet. Instead of connecting your computer and printer or your PDA and cell phone by wires you bring them into proximity to share, synchronize, or print information.

Broadband: A band of frequencies used to transmit voice, data, or video signals simultaneously. Use of broadband allows more information to be transmitted at the same time. Broadband is like multi-lane highway.

Computer Network: A system that transmits any combination of voice, video and/or data between computers. The network includes the network operating system in the client and server machines, the cables connecting them and all supporting hardware in between such as bridges, routers and switches. In wireless systems, antennas and towers are also part of the network. Also see LAN.

Ethernet: Coaxial cable used to network computers. The cable carries radio frequency signals between the computers at a rate of 10 megabits per second. Faster versions of Ethernet are becoming more widely available.

Home Network: two or more computers interconnected to form a local area network (LAN) within the home. It is estimated that 15 million US homes have more than one computer. A home network allows computer owners to interconnect multiple computers so that each can share files, programs, printers, other peripheral devices, and Internet access with other computers.

Homeplug: a home networking standard for an emerging market that allows people to connect their electronic devices together, so they can share Internet access, play video games, and enjoy music throughout the house.

Hubs: device used to connects multiple computers.

Internet Home Gateway: acts as a router to direct the flow of digital signals throughout a building.

ISP: Abbreviation for Internet Service Provider. Internet service can be provided through the phone line, cable and power line.

Kbps: The speed of data transmission measured as the number of thousands of data bits per second.

LAN: Short for Local Area Network. LANs connect computers in a home, office or building. Each computer in a LAN can run its own programs, as well as access data on other computers on the LAN. The computers can also share printer and allow users on the LAN to communicate with each other, by sending e-mail or engaging in chat sessions.

Last Mile: the wires from the local power transformer stations to the building.

Mbps: The speed of data transmission measured as the number of millions of data bits per second.

PLC: abbreviaton for Powerline Communications.

PLC Technology: The transmission of information using the existing power line as the method of transmission without running new wires.

Powerline Internet: using the powerlines to bring the Internet to your home or office from an Internet Service Provider.

Powerline Network: Powerline networks transmit data (phone calls and faxes as well as e-mail and Web pages) over regular electrical wiring, transforming every electrical outlet in the immediate area into a network connection. Wires and sockets are used simultaneously for electricity and data, without disrupting each other.

Power Packet: PowerPacket technology uses the same powerline that provides electricity to your computer to network it to other computers in your home or in an office. PowerPacket uses a process called Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) to handle high speed data transmission between computers. OFDM detects changes within the powerline and maintains network communication even during power fluctutations.

Residential Gateway: A device that connects your home to the Internet via an Internet service provider.

Routers: devices which allows you to share one internet connection among multiple computers.

Server: a computer program that provides services to other computer programs or other computers.

Streaming: Streaming video is a sequence of "moving images" that are sent in compressed form over the Internet and displayed by the viewer as
they arrive. Streaming media is streaming video with sound. With streaming video or streaming media, a Web user does not have to wait to download a large file before seeing the video or hearing the sound. Instead, the media is sent in a continuous stream and is played as it arrives. The user needs a player, which is a special program that uncompresses and sends video data to the display and audio data to speakers.

Switches: a central device that connects PCs at higher speeds than a hub.

Telephony: The use of the internet for phone calls and faxing. Three new services are now or will soon be available:

• normal voice phone calls where the phone rings at the location of the person called through the Internet at the price of a local call
• sending faxes at very low cost through a gateway point on the Internet in major cities
• sending voice messages along with text e-mail

Universal Plug and Play: an initiative to simplify the interconnection of PCs, appliances, networks and services by extending plug and play to include networking.

VOIP: Short for Voice over IP. This refers to any technology offering voice telephony services over the internet.

WAN: Short for Wide area network. This refers to a communication network that uses:

• telephone lines
• satellite dishes
• radio waves

to span a larger geographic area then can be covered by a local area network (LAN).

X-10: a communications “language” that allows you to control lights, appliances and other equipment in your house via the existing electrical wiring in your house. No rewiring is necessary.