Lost in the Internet jargon? We have you sorted. This Rebel Internet Glossary will give you everything you need to know about the confusing words you may hear in the Broadband world.
B | C | D | E | F | H | I | J | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | U | V | W
Bandwidth: Bandwidth measures the total data transfer capacity. Think of it as a motorway: the bandwidth is the motorway and can have lanes and cars in each lane, where cars are the data. All of Rebel’s products, Rebel Fibre and Rebel 115 / 330 / 1000 (Full Fibre Broadband), provide enough bandwidth available to cater to your data needs. If you are a Rebel Fibre customer, as soon as Full Fibre is available, we will upgrade you for free to ensure your motorway (Bandwidth) increases to handle even more data and devices.
Broadband: A type of Internet connection that allows faster speeds and higher bandwidth. While this was defined to differentiate with older types of connections offering slower speeds (dial-up, for instance) Broadband is now widely deployed across the country.
Broadband-only: A Broadband-only solution provides access to the Internet via a dedicated router. This ensures your entire line (copper or Fibre) is being used for data, not TV channels or a landline. At Rebel Internet, you can always get a Broadband-only deal, shipped without Wi-fi SuperPods or Home Phone.
Broadband speed: This is the speed at which you can expect to download and upload data with your Broadband connection. Broadband speeds are a key factor in determining what the right Broadband is for you. Most Broadband providers will state the maximum speed available to a home; however, this speed can vary due to a lot of factors. At Rebel, we show you the expected speeds, because Broadband transparency matters to us. Learn more at Data Transfer Rate.
Browser: See web browser
BT Openreach: See Openreach
CPI (Consumer Price Index) and CPI+: The Consumer Price Index is the annual rate of inflation as measured by the UK Government. This is the rate of which the average prices of a basket of goods increased over a year. Most of the big Broadband providers charge an additional fee on top of this CPI rate, to ensure they make even more money on their customers, regardless of if their customers are in a contract or not. At Rebel, we think this is wrong. We do not charge in-contract price rises. The price you see is the price you pay each month.
Data Transfer Rate: The speed at which data can be downloaded or uploaded with your Broadband. It is measured in kilobits per second (Kbps), megabit per second (Mbps) or gigabit per second (Gbps) for the fastest speeds. Learn more at Broadband speed
DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. You may see this acronym while browsing your Router control panel or your HomePass app. DHCP is a system that automatically attributes IP addresses to all the devices connected to your home network. Advanced users can configure many DHCP options on your Rebel Router control panel. See IP Address
DNS: Dynamic Name Server, it’s the phonebook of all websites addresses. When you write a website address on your browser, it queries a DNS server to confirm which IP address is matching the website you want, then serves the website on your browser.
Download: Defines the data transfer from the Internet to your device. Saving an email attachment, or an image from your favourite website are examples of downloads.
Download Speed: The speed at which you can transfer data from the Internet to your device. It is measured in kilobits per second (Kbps), megabit per second (Mbps) or gigabit per second (Gbps). See Broadband Speed and Data Transfer Rate
Dynamic IP: see IP Address
Ethernet: A network of device via wired connections. Your Rebel Router offers LAN ports that let you connect devices with Ethernet cables. See LAN
Fibre Optic Broadband: A type of Broadband network that uses plastic or glass cables instead of copper wires. In a fibre Broadband, data is transferred using light pulses rather than electric pulses. This allows for much greater speeds, much more bandwidth, and less network congestion. Rebel Internet partners with Openreach, the largest Fibre optic network in the UK, to offer quality Fibre Optic Broadband to UK customers.
Firewall: A firewall enables a filtering gate between your device and the Internet. It is a key component in network security, from personal devices with embedded firewall capacities to enterprise level networks with dedicated firewalls. Today, most personal devices come with built-in firewall capacities. The Rebel Router and SuperPods are also shipped with advanced firewall capacities, further ensuring a secure Broadband experience.
FTTC: Fibre-to-the-Cabinet designates a fibre Broadband network all the way to the street cabinet. The final leg from the cabinet to your home is using copper wires. Our Rebel Fibre package uses FTTC (now called SOGEA, a data-only version of FTTC).
FTTP/FTTH: Fibre-to-the-Premises or Fibre-to-the-home. A fibre Broadband network that goes all the way to your house. FTTP connections are usually offering the fastest speeds, such as our Rebel 115/300/1000 products.
HomePass: HomePass is Rebel’s powerful mobile application that lets you take control of your home Wi-fi network. Available for iOS and Android devices, the app offers a wide range of network options so you can tailor your home Wi-fi just the way you want. Check out our dedicated HomePass Knowledge Hub article.
Home Phone: Rebel Internet Voice over IP (VoIP) phone service that connects to your existing telephone handset. Rebel’s Home Phone has a telephone line directly connected to your Broadband, meant to work just as any other phone. Check out our dedicated Home Phone Knowledge Hub article.
Hub: see Router
Internet: There are many definitions of what the Internet is. In its simplest term, the Internet designates a global computer network providing a wide range of information and communication facilities, all using the same standardized communication protocol.
Internet of Things (IoT): Designates the implementation of Internet-enabled features in various objects. A connected fridge, for example, is an Internet of Things device that allows the fridge to send and receive data, allowing users to do more with their device.
IP Address: An Internet Protocol address is a string of characters that acts as a unique identifier for a device connected to the Internet. Addresses can be in two formats: IPv4 and IPv6. While IPv4 has been the standard for some time now, IPv6 offers additional addresses for future devices and better security. Rebel Internet offers both IPv4 and IPv6 compatibility, as well as dynamic or fixed IP. Check out our Knowledge Hub articles about IPv6 and Static IP.
Internet Service Provider (ISP): That’s Rebel Internet! As your Internet Service Provider, we take care of providing great Broadband experiences and all the Broadband and Wi-fi equipment you need.
Jitter: Jitter characterises when there are noticeable variations in your Broadband latency. While latency will always fluctuate marginally, jitter is when such fluctuations are so large, they negatively impact your Broadband experience. A high jitter can for instance degrade your video call or any usage that require low, constant latency. A high jitter is usually the sign of a connection issue. See latency.
LAN (Local Area Network): A network of connected devices covering a limited area, such as your house. LAN networks are comprised of Ethernet and Wi-fi devices altogether.
Latency: Measures the time it takes to send data and receive a response and is measures in milliseconds. High latency creates a “lag” on your Broadband, which can be felt in applications that require fast communication, such as voice calls or online gaming.
MAC Address: A MAC (Media Access Control) Address is a unique identifier attached to the hardware you are using to connect to the Internet. MAC addresses can be used to allow or deny access for a specific device in your home network.
Malware: Contraction of “malicious software”, a malware is a software built to do harm to a computer or a mobile device. The types of malwares and their harmful capacities can range from annoyance to critical hacking.
Modem: A modem, short for modulation-demodulation, is a device that converts the data sent and received by your computer so it can be properly transported across the Broadband network. Rebel customer with SOGEA (FTTC) lines use a feature of their Rebel Router to act as a modem, while Rebel FTTP customers have a small device that converts the electric signal into light impulses compatible with a fibre network. See Router and ONT.
NAS: Network Attached Storage. A NAS is a storage space directly accessible via a network. Rebel Broadband and Wi-fi allow for NAS to be part of your home network.
Net: see Internet
Ofcom: Office for Communications, Ofcom is the UK’s Communication Regulation authority. As part of its mission, Ofcom has worked a lot in improving Broadband offerings, speeds and availability throughout the UK, as well as ensuring that Broadband offers are fair and sound to consumers.
ONT: Acronym for Optical Network Terminal, an ONT is a small device that converts electric signal into light impulses. An ONT is required for FTTP connections, as the optic fibre cable reaches your house, you need the ONT to convert the light signal into an electric one that can be understood by your Router and all your devices.
Openreach: Is the company that deploys and maintains the cables and all infrastructure element that connect UK households and businesses to Broadband and telephone. With more than 12.5m households connected, Openreach is by far the biggest and most robust Broadband network available in the UK, which is why Rebel Internet has partnered with Openreach to offer you the best possible Broadband experience.
Packet: A packet is a small amount of data travelling across the Internet. All files exchanged across the network are automatically subdivided into small packets to ensure they reach their destinations safely. If a packet does not go through as expected, the network will resend the missing packet, this way users are certain that all their data exchanges are successful.
Packet Loss: When a packet does not reach its destination, packet loss occurs. Packet loss can be detrimental to your Broadband experience depending on what to do: while not an issue for standard web browsing, it can lead to degraded service during a video call (when the image freezes, for example) or online gaming, as they both require real-time communications.
Phishing: A hacking technique that consists of luring an Internet user into giving personal information or control of a device. This is the fake email asking you to reply with your username and password or to click on that weird link. Be careful out there!
Ping: A short signal that is sent to a connected device to confirm it is accessible to the network, as well as to check the latency between your device and the device pinged. Real-time communications such as online gaming are offering much better experiences with low pings, such as the ones coming with all of Rebel Internet products.
PPPoE: Acronym for Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. It’s a technical feature that allows your router to connect automatically to the Broadband network, so you do not have to authenticate with a username and a password. PPPoE is the reason why your Rebel Router, once plugged in and initialised, lets you immediately enjoy your Broadband!
Resolution: Applicable to screens, the resolution is the number of pixels on a display. Typically, a Full HD monitor or TV has a resolution of 1920x1080, meaning 1920 horizontal pixels by 1080 vertical pixels. Images and videos with higher resolutions mean bigger files as there are more pixels.
Router: Your router directs the traffic across your network. Often coming with an embedded modem, your router receives the traffic from the Internet and redirects it to the right device connected to your home network.
SOGEA: A type of Fiber-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) broadband in which the final connection between the street cabinet or pole to your property is done with copper cables. SOGEA lines offer speeds close to full fibre ones, with the advantage of not requiring a dedicated phone line built to your property. Our Rebel Fibre offer is built on the SOGEA technology.
Spyware: A type of malware that is designed to collect sensitive information without the device user’s consent (password, personal information…)
Static IP: see IP Address
Streaming: A stream is when you view media without downloading the entire media file to your device. Streaming applies to music and videos; e.g., Spotify or Netflix. The main streaming advantage is to let you enjoy your content without having to wait for the entire file to download. However, you will need a fast Broadband connection, such as Rebel Internet’s packages, to enjoy a seamless streaming experience.
Symmetrical Broadband: A type of Broadband connection offering the same speeds for download and upload.
SuperPods: Rebel Internet’s SuperPods are mesh WI-Fi extenders that have our WI-FI software embedded in them. SuperPods ensure your Wi-fi is faster, covers your entire home, and constantly optimizing to ensure you always receive the best Broadband experience. Check out our Knowledge Hub article about SuperPods.
Upload: An upload is when data is sent from your device to the Internet.
Upload Speed: The speed at which your device is sending data to the Internet. It is measured in kilobits per second (Kbps), megabit per second (Mbps) or gigabit per second (Gbps). See Broadband Speed and Data Transfer Rate
VDSL: Acronym for Very High Bitrate Digital Subscriber Line. An infrastructure technology that allows for superfast Internet connectivity over copper lines. Rebel’s Rebel Fibre Broadband package will see a VDSL line set up from your street pole or cabinet to your house.
VOIP: Acronym for Voice-over-IP is a technology that allows phone calls to be carried by the Internet network rather than traditional phone lines. Rebel’s Home Phone is a VoIP telephone service.
VPN: Acronym for Virtual Private Network, which is an Internet service that offers additional encryption as well as other location-related services. Check out our Knowledge Hub article on VPN and why it impacts your Broadband experience.
Web: Short for World Wide Web, and invented by British engineer Tim Berners-Lee in 1989, the World Wide Web is basically the Internet you know, made of websites, web pages, and all sorts of multimedia content available across pages.
Web Browser: an application for accessing websites and the internet. A web browser requests web pages from a website and displays them on the user’s screen. Web browsers can handle text, images and videos and can enable interactive experiences for users. Most common web browsers include Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Apple Safari.
Wi-Fi: designates a technological standard for connecting devices using radio waves. Wi-fi is enabled by wireless routers and wireless network devices, such as Rebel’s router and SuperPods, so that all your wi-fi enabled devices can connect to the Internet. There are several iterations of Wi-fi as a protocol, that your SuperPods can handle easily. Wi-fi itself does not mean anything but it is a trademark of the Wi-fi Alliance, the international organization behind the Wi-fi specifications.