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Glossary

Broadband and telecoms:
a plain-language glossary

A guide to the terms you are most likely to encounter when reviewing your connectivity, comparing packages, or speaking to a provider – written for business owners and managers, not IT departments.

3G, 4G and 5G

3G, 4G and 5G refer to generations of mobile network technology. Each generation brought faster data speeds and lower latency than the one before it. The number indicates the generation: 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

3G (third generation) was the first mobile network capable of supporting mobile internet browsing, though speeds were modest – typically 1-10Mbps. 4G (fourth generation) brought a major step up, delivering speeds broadly comparable to standard broadband – typically 10-100Mbps – and became the backbone of reliable mobile data for businesses. 5G (fifth generation) is the current standard in covered areas, with peak speeds of up to 1Gbps or more and significantly lower latency. For businesses, 5G makes mobile connectivity a credible primary or backup connection rather than a last resort. Coverage varies by location, with 5G rollout still ongoing across the UK as of 2026. See also: mobile connectivity, failover.

ADSL is an older type of broadband that transmits data over copper telephone lines. It delivers download speeds of up to around 8-24Mbps, with much slower upload speeds – hence “asymmetric”. For many years it was the standard broadband connection for UK businesses and homes.

Since Openreach began the PSTN switch-off, ADSL services are being phased out across the UK. The deadline for full migration is 31 January 2027, and around 1.5 million lines are yet to make the switch. If your business is still on ADSL, your provider should be migrating you to a newer technology – it is worth asking what you are being moved to, as some replacements are significantly better than others. See also: PSTN switch-off.

Asymmetric broadband is any connection where download speed is significantly faster than upload speed. Most standard broadband packages are asymmetric.
This matters in practice. Downloading – browsing the web, streaming video, loading cloud software – uses download speed. But sending data the other way (cloud backups, video calls, syncing systems between sites) uses upload. A slow upload can bottleneck your operation even when the download speed looks fine. See also: symmetric broadband.

Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can travel across your internet connection at any one time. The more bandwidth you have, the more devices and users can stay online simultaneously without slowing each other down.

Bandwidth is shared across everything connected to your network – staff devices, customer Wi-Fi, cloud software, payment terminals, CCTV, music streaming, video calls. If your bandwidth cannot keep up with peak demand, everything slows down together. Bandwidth is measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps). See also: Mbps and Gbps.

Broadband is a high-speed internet connection that is always on. The term covers a wide range of technologies, from older ADSL connections over copper wire to modern full-fibre gigabit services.

In the UK, Ofcom defines different tiers by speed: superfast (30Mbps+), ultrafast (300Mbps+), and gigabit-capable (1,000Mbps+). The right tier depends on how many people are using your connection simultaneously, what systems you run, and how important uninterrupted connectivity is to your business.

A captive portal is the login or landing page that appears when someone connects to a Wi-Fi network – the screen asking you to accept terms, enter a code, or sign in before internet access is granted. Most managed guest or visitor Wi-Fi systems use one.

Beyond access control, captive portals can be branded to match your business, used to collect visitor email addresses (with consent), and set time or data limits per user. They also create a log of who is using the network, which is important for compliance with UK legislation governing public Wi-Fi.

Contention ratio describes how many customers share the same upstream internet connection. A ratio of 50:1 means up to 50 users competing for the same available bandwidth at once. The higher the ratio, the greater the chance of slower speeds during peak periods.

Consumer and standard business broadband typically has a high contention ratio. A dedicated leased line is uncontended – the bandwidth is yours alone, regardless of what anyone nearby is doing. For businesses where connectivity is business-critical, contention ratio is worth asking your provider about directly.

Download speed is the rate at which data travels from the internet to your devices. It is measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps) and is typically the headline figure quoted in any broadband package.

Download speed determines how quickly web pages load, how smoothly video streams, and how fast cloud-based software responds for your staff and visitors. The more devices using your connection simultaneously, the more download speed you need to keep everyone running smoothly. See also: upload speed, bandwidth, Mbps and Gbps.

EPOS is the system used to process transactions at a till, bar, or reception desk – combining hardware (screen, card reader, receipt printer) with software that records sales, manages stock, and integrates with other business systems.

Modern EPOS platforms are increasingly cloud-based, meaning they rely on an internet connection to function fully. A connectivity outage does not just affect visitor Wi-Fi – it can take tills and card terminals down with it. This is one reason why resilient broadband matters to any business that processes payments.

An Ethernet leased line is a dedicated, uncontended internet connection that belongs exclusively to your business – not shared with other nearby premises. It delivers the same speed for both upload and download (symmetric), and comes with guaranteed minimum speeds backed by a formal service level agreement (SLA).

Leased lines cost more than standard broadband but are worth evaluating for any business where downtime has a direct financial impact – multi-site companies sharing data between locations, businesses running cloud-based systems around the clock, or wherever a connection failure costs more than the premium. They typically offer speeds from 10Mbps to 10Gbps.

Failover is the ability of a network to automatically switch to a backup connection if the primary one goes down. In practice, this might mean a fixed broadband line switching to a 4G/5G mobile connection the moment a fault is detected, so the business stays online without manual intervention.

For any business where connectivity is critical – processing payments, running cloud-based systems, or supporting customers who rely on Wi-Fi – failover is worth building into your setup. It is often part of a managed connectivity solution and can be the difference between a brief outage and a costly one.

Fibre optic broadband transmits data as pulses of light through glass or plastic cables, rather than as electrical signals through copper wire. Light travels faster and degrades less over distance, which is why fibre connections are quicker and more reliable than older copper-based ones.

In everyday use, “fibre” covers a range of products – from FTTC (where only part of the route uses fibre, with copper for the final stretch) to full-fibre FTTP (where fibre runs all the way into your building). The distinction matters: full-fibre connections are significantly faster and more consistent.

FTTC stands for Fibre to the Cabinet. Fibre optic cable runs from the telephone exchange to a green street cabinet near your building, but the final stretch still uses older copper telephone wire. It is sometimes called “part-fibre” for this reason.

Speeds on FTTC vary depending on how far your premises are from the cabinet and the quality of the copper on that last section. Maximum download speeds are typically 40-80Mbps, though real-world performance is often lower. As full-fibre rollout expands across the UK, FTTC is gradually being replaced.

FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) and FTTH (Fibre to the Home) mean the same thing: a full-fibre connection running directly into your building, with no copper wire at any point. This is what “full fibre” means in practice.

Because the entire route uses fibre, FTTP connections are significantly faster and more consistent than FTTC. Speeds typically range from 100Mbps to 1Gbps and above, with lower latency and fewer reliability issues.

Full fibre is the common term for a broadband connection where fibre optic cable runs all the way from the exchange into your building – FTTP or FTTH in technical language. There is no copper wire anywhere on the route.

Full-fibre connections are faster, more reliable, and less affected by distance than part-fibre or copper-based technologies. Openreach is rolling out full-fibre infrastructure across the UK, with the Government targeting near-universal gigabit-capable coverage. If it is available at your premises, it is almost always worth switching to.

A gigabit is a unit of data measurement equal to 1,000 megabits (or 1,000,000,000 bits). In broadband terms, it is used to describe connection speeds of 1 gigabit per second (1Gbps) or above. You will see it written as Gb or Gbps (gigabits per second).

Gigabit broadband is the current gold standard for UK business connectivity. Ofcom uses 1Gbps as its threshold for “gigabit-capable” broadband in coverage reporting, and achieving it reliably requires a full-fibre FTTP connection. For most businesses, a gigabit connection provides far more than enough headroom – the benefit is consistent performance under load, not just raw speed. See also: megabit, internet speed.

Guest Wi-Fi is a wireless network provided for visitors and customers, kept separate from the internal network used by staff and business systems. Separation is important: it prevents a visitor’s device from accessing payment terminals, internal servers, or other sensitive infrastructure.

Effective visitor Wi-Fi requires more than a single router. In any building covering multiple rooms, floors, or outdoor areas, multiple access points are needed to provide reliable coverage throughout. Speed, ease of connecting, and consistency all directly affect the experience – and are frequently cited in reviews across hospitality, retail, and leisure sectors alike.

HFC stands for Hybrid Fibre Coaxial. It uses fibre optic cable from the exchange to a street-level distribution point, then switches to coaxial cable (the same type used for cable television) for the final connection into individual premises.

HFC is used by some cable broadband providers and performs better than FTTC copper connections, but is generally not as fast or consistent as full-fibre FTTP. The coaxial section can experience congestion at peak times. It is less common than FTTC or FTTP, but worth knowing if you are comparing quotes from different providers.

Hosted telephony – sometimes called a cloud phone system – is a telephone system where all the hardware and software running it are managed by your provider remotely, rather than installed in your building. Calls are made over the internet using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology.

Hosted telephony replaces traditional on-premise PBX systems. The benefits include lower monthly costs, no on-site maintenance, easy scaling (adding or removing lines remotely), and features such as voicemail to email, call routing by time of day, and integration with tools like Microsoft Teams. With the Openreach PSTN switch-off deadline set for January 2027, hosted telephony is now the standard replacement for analogue phone lines. See also: VoIP, PBX.

A hotspot is a location where wireless internet access is made available to visitors, typically via Wi-Fi. In business settings, the term covers both the physical access points that broadcast the signal and the managed public-facing Wi-Fi zone as a whole.

Managed hotspot solutions include a captive portal (a login or landing page), customisable branding, options to collect visitor contact details with consent, and controls to keep visitor traffic separate from internal systems. They are used across hotels, pubs, restaurants, retail sites, health clubs, offices, and anywhere else businesses want to offer or manage visitor Wi-Fi.

Hyperfast broadband refers to connection speeds of 500Mbps or above. There is no single regulatory definition, but it sits between ultrafast (Ofcom-defined as 300Mbps+) and gigabit (1,000Mbps+) in the speed hierarchy used by the industry.

A hyperfast connection comfortably handles dozens of simultaneous users across multiple systems – staff devices, visitor Wi-Fi, cloud platforms, video conferencing, and payment processing – without becoming congested. See also: internet speed.

Internet speed refers to how quickly data can travel to and from your premises. It is measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps). The higher the number, the more data can move in any given second – and the more users and applications your connection can support at once.

Speed tiers range from ADSL at one end to gigabit at the other. Think of it like road transport: ADSL is a bicycle – it gets you there, but slowly and one thing at a time. Gigabit broadband is a Formula 1 car – fast enough that traffic is never the problem. Most modern business applications work well from superfast upwards; the right tier depends on how many people are using your connection simultaneously and what they are doing.


Speed tier Download speed Analogy
ADSL Up to 24Mbps Bicycle
Superfast 30-80Mbps Family car
Ultrafast 300Mbps+ Sports car
Hyperfast 500Mbps+ High-performance car
Gigabit 1,000Mbps+ Formula 1 car

Source: Ofcom definitions for superfast, ultrafast and gigabit-capable broadband.

An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique numerical label assigned to every device on a network. It works like a postal address for data: when information is sent across the internet, the IP address tells the network where it came from and where it needs to go.

Most business broadband connections come with a dynamic IP address, which changes periodically. A static IP address stays fixed and is required for certain uses – remote access to CCTV, running a server, or some VPN configurations. If your systems require a static IP, confirm availability with your provider before signing up.

An ISP, or Internet Service Provider, is the company that supplies your broadband and internet connection. In the UK, ISPs either own their own network infrastructure or purchase wholesale capacity from network operators such as Openreach, then sell it to businesses and homes.

When comparing ISPs, headline speed is only part of the picture. Also worth evaluating: service level agreements (SLAs), support hours, fault response times, and whether the provider has relevant sector experience.

Latency is the time it takes for data to travel from your device to its destination and back again. It is measured in milliseconds (ms) and is sometimes called “ping”. A low-latency connection feels fast and responsive; a high-latency connection feels sluggish even if the download speed is technically reasonable.

Latency matters most for real-time applications: video calls, cloud-based management systems, online payment processing, and interactive tools. High latency can make voice calls break up, cause video conferences to stutter, and make cloud software feel slow – even on a fast connection. Full-fibre connections typically have much lower latency than copper or part-fibre alternatives.

A leased line is a dedicated, private internet connection between your premises and your provider. Unlike standard broadband – which shares infrastructure with nearby businesses and homes – a leased line is yours exclusively, delivering guaranteed speeds, symmetric upload and download, and much stronger service commitments.

Leased lines cost more than standard broadband and are most commonly chosen by businesses where downtime has a direct revenue impact: multi-site companies sharing data between locations, businesses running 24-hour cloud operations, or anywhere a connectivity failure carries a significant cost. See also: SLA.

Mobile connectivity in a business context means using 4G or 5G mobile networks to provide internet access – either as a primary connection or as a backup when a fixed broadband line goes down.

For businesses with multiple sites or remote locations, mobile connectivity can bridge gaps in fixed-line coverage, provide automatic failover during outages, or keep staff connected on the move. Business mobile data SIMs can be managed centrally, with controls over usage and data limits across a fleet of devices.

A megabit is a unit of data measurement equal to one million bits. In broadband, it is used to measure connection speed – megabits per second (Mbps). The higher the Mbps, the more data can move through your connection every second.

To put it in context: streaming a standard HD video requires around 5Mbps. A 4K stream needs roughly 25Mbps. A single video call uses around 2-4Mbps. These numbers multiply with every additional device and user on your network – which is why businesses with many simultaneous connections need significantly more than a residential broadband package would suggest. See also: gigabit, internet speed.

Mobile connectivity in a business context means using 4G or 5G mobile networks to provide internet access – either as a primary connection or as a backup when a fixed broadband line goes down.

For businesses with multiple sites or remote locations, mobile connectivity can bridge gaps in fixed-line coverage, provide automatic failover during outages, or keep staff connected on the move. Business mobile data SIMs can be managed centrally, with controls over usage and data limits across a fleet of devices.

MPLS is a technology used within carrier-grade networks to direct data efficiently, prioritising different types of traffic to ensure it arrives quickly and in the correct order. It underpins many high-performance private business networks.

For most business owners, MPLS is a term you may encounter when a provider describes their network infrastructure. In practice, it means your data travels over a dedicated, managed network rather than the public internet – improving speed, reliability, and security. This is particularly relevant for multi-site organisations: pub groups, hotel chains, retail networks, or any business sharing data between locations.

A network switch is a hardware device that connects multiple devices within a building to the same network. Where a router manages the connection between your premises and the internet, a switch manages traffic between devices internally – computers, printers, access points, EPOS terminals, and phones.

A managed switch allows a telecoms provider to monitor and configure the network remotely – setting up separate network segments (VLANs) to keep visitor traffic away from internal systems, for example, or prioritising certain types of traffic to protect performance.

A PBX is a private telephone system used within a business. It manages internal calls between extensions and external calls in and out of the building – acting as the hub that routes all your phone traffic. Traditional PBX systems were physical hardware installed on-site.

Most businesses are now moving away from on-premise PBX to hosted telephony (cloud phone systems), which deliver the same functionality over the internet without the hardware, maintenance costs, or engineer call-outs. With the Openreach PSTN switch-off deadline of January 2027, any business still running a traditional PBX connected to copper telephone lines needs to migrate. See also: hosted telephony, VoIP.

PDQ stands for “Process Data Quickly” – though in practice the term simply means a card payment terminal: the device used to accept debit and credit card payments by tap, insert, or swipe.

Modern PDQ terminals connect to the internet to authorise payments in real time, via Wi-Fi, a wired ethernet connection, or a mobile data SIM. For any business processing card payments, terminal reliability depends directly on connectivity. If your broadband fails, Wi-Fi and ethernet-connected terminals fail with it – which is why failover connectivity or a SIM-enabled terminal is worth considering.

A PMS is the software used by hotels and accommodation businesses to manage reservations, check-ins, check-outs, room assignments, billing, and guest records. Modern PMS platforms are almost universally cloud-based.

Because a cloud PMS requires an internet connection to function, any broadband outage affects front-of-house operations from check-in to invoicing. This makes reliable, resilient connectivity a business-critical requirement for accommodation providers rather than simply an optional extra.

The PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) is the UK’s traditional copper telephone network – the infrastructure behind analogue phone lines since the 1970s. Openreach has set a final deadline of 31 January 2027 to retire it, ending support for all services that relied on the old analogue copper network.

For businesses, this affects any service running over copper: ADSL broadband, analogue phone lines, older EPOS systems, some fire alarms, lift emergency phones, and ISDN connections. As of mid-2026, approximately 1.5 million UK lines have yet to make the switch. The standard replacement for voice services is VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). If your business has not yet fully audited its copper dependencies, the deadline is approaching and the cost of delay is increasing – Openreach has confirmed line rental prices will rise again from October 2026 for those still on legacy services. Source: Openreach, ISPreview UK, July 2026.

A router is the device that connects your business to the internet and distributes that connection to devices across your network – via Wi-Fi or ethernet cables. It sits at the junction between your broadband line and everything that uses it.

Business-grade routers handle more simultaneous connections than consumer models, allow traffic to be prioritised intelligently (Quality of Service, or QoS), support multiple separate networks on one connection, and are built for continuous operation. For any business running a mix of visitor-facing and operational systems on the same connection, a domestic-grade router is rarely adequate.

An SLA, or Service Level Agreement, is a contractual commitment from your broadband or telecoms provider about the standard of service they will deliver. It typically covers uptime guarantees, fault response times (how quickly they will acknowledge a problem), and resolution times (how long they are allowed to fix it).

Consumer broadband has no meaningful SLA. Standard business broadband often includes a basic one. Leased lines and premium managed services come with the most robust SLA terms. For any business where a connectivity outage has a direct operational cost, SLA terms are as important as the headline speed when comparing packages.

Superfast broadband is defined by Ofcom as a connection with download speeds of at least 30Mbps. In practice, most superfast packages deliver 30-80Mbps, typically via FTTC – meaning part of the connection still runs over copper telephone wire.

Superfast was a significant upgrade when it replaced ADSL and remains adequate for smaller businesses with modest connectivity needs. For businesses with many simultaneous users – a retail site, a busy office, a hotel, a leisure venue – it can become a bottleneck quickly. Ultrafast and gigabit options are increasingly available as full-fibre rollout expands.

Symmetric broadband delivers the same speed in both directions – upload and download. It is the opposite of asymmetric broadband, where download speed is much faster than upload.

Symmetry matters more than many businesses realise. Cloud backups, video conferencing, remote access to management systems, and cloud-based software that syncs data to central servers all require solid upload capacity. A standard asymmetric connection might deliver 80Mbps download but only 10-20Mbps upload. A symmetric leased line or full-fibre business product delivers equal speeds both ways. See also: leased line, upload speed.

Ultrafast broadband is defined by Ofcom as a connection with download speeds of at least 300Mbps. Achieving this reliably requires a full-fibre FTTP connection or a high-specification cable connection.

The jump from superfast to ultrafast is substantial. A 300Mbps connection comfortably serves dozens of simultaneous users across visitor Wi-Fi, staff systems, and cloud platforms without congestion. Ultrafast is increasingly available across UK towns and cities as national full-fibre rollout continues.

Unified communications (UC) refers to integrating different communication tools – voice calls, video conferencing, instant messaging, and file sharing – into a single platform, rather than running separate systems for each.

UC platforms simplify how teams communicate across departments and multiple sites. A hosted telephone system integrated with Microsoft Teams, for example, allows staff to take calls, join video meetings, and message colleagues from one application on any device. For businesses with remote workers or more than one location, unified communications reduces both cost and complexity.

Upload speed is the rate at which your connection sends data from your premises out to the internet. It is measured in Mbps or Gbps and is almost always the smaller number in a standard broadband package.

Upload speed is easy to overlook until it creates problems. Slow upload affects cloud backups, remote access to management systems, video calls, and any software that syncs data to a central server. If your broadband consistently feels slow for certain tasks despite a good download speed, check your upload figure – it is often the constraint. See also: asymmetric broadband, symmetric broadband.

VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol – is the technology behind phone calls made over a broadband connection rather than a traditional telephone line. Your voice is converted into digital data and sent over the internet, in the same way an email or web page is.

Since Openreach set its PSTN switch-off deadline for January 2027, VoIP has become the standard for UK business telephony. Any system that relies on copper telephone lines – traditional desk phones, ISDN, analogue extensions – will need to migrate to VoIP. The quality of a VoIP call depends on the quality of the internet connection it runs over; low latency and reliable broadband are essential. See also: hosted telephony, PBX, PSTN switch-off.

A VPN creates a secure, encrypted tunnel between devices or locations over the internet, so data travels privately even though it is passing through shared public infrastructure.

For businesses with multiple sites – a retail chain, a pub group, a hotel company – a VPN allows all locations to communicate securely as if they were on the same private network. VPNs are also used to give remote workers secure access to central systems. An Ethernet leased line is often recommended for sites using a VPN, as the uncontended, symmetric connection ensures consistent performance.

Wi-Fi is wireless networking technology that allows devices to connect to the internet without a physical cable. It works by transmitting data as radio waves between a router or wireless access point and the devices within range.

Coverage quality depends on distance from the access point, physical obstacles (walls, floors, thick masonry), and the number of devices competing for bandwidth at once. A single router is rarely sufficient for any building covering multiple rooms or floors. A professionally designed installation uses multiple access points to ensure consistent signal everywhere – from reception to the top floor, and from the main space to external areas.

A wireless access point (WAP) is a device that broadcasts a Wi-Fi signal within a specific area of a building. It connects back to the main router or network switch via a cable, extending wireless coverage beyond what a single router can reach.

In a domestic setup, router and access point are usually the same device. In a larger commercial building, multiple WAPs are installed throughout so that every area has a reliable signal – across offices, meeting rooms, warehouses, studios, or customer-facing spaces. The number, placement, and configuration of access points are what separates Wi-Fi that works everywhere from Wi-Fi with dead spots.

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