Know your new buzzwords

Here are some broadband terms you will see more of

FTTH

This stands for Fibre-to-the-home. Unlike current broadband technologies that rely on copper cables - like phone lines - in the final stretch or 'last mile' of the connection, FTTH calls for a fibre-optic cable to be run right into homes.

The downside, though, is cost. Despite falling prices for fibre optics, it is costly to hire skilled workers to lay cables into each individual apartment.

For users, there is also the added cost (of a few hundred dollars) of a modem-like device called a termination module.

GPON

Pronounced 'G-Pon', or short for Gigabit Passive Orbital Network, the term refers to a fibre-optic network that uses unpowered optical splitters. These 'split' a single optical line into several lines to serve multiple apartments.

This reduces the amount of fibre-optic cables used and is likely to be the technology that telcos will deploy for FTTH.

Metro-E

Short for Metro Ethernet, this is a technology that involves hooking up users with (copper) Ethernet cables - the network cables that are common in offices and homes now.

Broadband service providers offering Metro-E broadband usually install a network point - similar to what you get in the office - in the wall. From there, you can connect to your PC's Ethernet port at speeds of up to 1Gbps without using a modem.

But these speeds are achievable if the cables do not run more than 100m. To overcome this, network switches have to be installed in telecom rooms in each building. And these switches require fans to cool, adding to the cost.