Jargon buster: building full fibre broadband networks and the world of telecomms
Jargon is the technical, specialised language used by people in a particular industry. The world of telecommunications, construction and full fibre broadband is packed with jargon, and it’s not always easy to figure out how to make sense of these terms.
We’ve made this jargon buster dictionary which we hope will help you understand more about what we do.
Jaron buster: a helpful dictionary!
| Blowing fibre | When a machine is used to float fibre optic cables throughout the duct/cable. The machine uses highly pressurised air to push it forward, essentially blowing the fibre through the feeder routes. |
| Cabinet | The cabinet its owned by us and installed locally to our networks. We hold our technical kit in there and have to connect a leased line from an internet exchange point and power it up so it can feed our networks. |
| Civils construction | Civil construction takes care of things such as roads, bridges, buildings, tunnels, and railways. It includes excavation, laying of new infrastructure and backfilling. |
| Feeder cable | We use a feeder cable as a route from the network cabinet to the primary node, |
| Internet Exchange Point (IXP) | This is a physical location where internet infrastructure lives. It’s also the place where we (Fusion Fibre Group) connect each area’s cabinet. It’s like the mothership of telecommunications distribution! |
| Leased line | A leased line is a private telecommunications circuit typically used by businesses. They can offer businesses up to 10 Gbps. They can sometimes be known as a private circuit or private data line. Each area’s cabinet is connected to the IXP by a leased line. |
| Node | A node is a redistribution point, it can also be a communication endpoint. Primary and secondary nodes are integral parts of a full fibre network. |
| Rod and roping | Rod and Roping is the act of proving the integrity of existing underground ducting. This is how we determine the condition of the ducts and find blockages that we may need to repair ahead of our fibre optic network installation |
| Splitter | A splitter is a device used to split a cable signal into two or more routes, enabling the fibre to be distributed into several different routes to get to the property. |
| Subduct | Subducts are small, lightweight tubes used to house fibre optic cables. They provide protection and help to organise the cables, allowing the fibre to pass through the route uninterrupted. |
| Testing | Fibre testing refers to the process of validating the integrity of our newly installed fibre optic network. We use specialised equipment to interrogate the key components and events, such as a fusion-splice or mated pair of connectors. We measure losses through these events using three different wavelengths of light to industry-defined parameters. |
| Wayleave | A wayleave is a contractual agreement between a landowner or landlord and a telecommunications provider, where the landowner grants the network provider a licence with the right to access land and/or property, to install and/or maintain electronic communications apparatus. |
Leave a comment on this blog post if there are any other words you think should be added!
A guide: the cables we use to build full fibre broadband networks
We refer to installing cables, routes and feeder lines a lot in our build updates. So, we made this extremely simplified diagram to help you visualise how they all work together to bring your full fibre network to your door.
