call center terminologies

TWC RR NHD and Callcenter Terminologies and Acronyms

ACW
The time an agent spends working on call related activities after a call is completed.
ARS (Action Request System)
Remedy program, call and report documentation/record system
AVI
A common video file format (.avi). Video quality can be very good at smaller resolutions but files tend to be rather large.
Amplifier
A device that boosts the strength of a signal at regular distance intervals to ensure quality images regardless how far away the subscriber is from the headend. Amplifiers are used in wireless communications and broadcasting, and in audio equipment of all kinds. They can be categorized as either weak-signal amplifiers or power amplifiers.
Applet
An applet is a little application. Prior to the World Wide Web, the built-in writing and drawing programs that came with Windows were sometimes called "applets." On the Web, using Java, the object-oriented programming language, an applet is a small program that can be sent along with a Web page to a user. Java applets can perform interactive animations, immediate calculations, or other simple tasks without having to send a user request back to the server.
Application
In information technology, an application is the use of a technology, system, or product. The term application is a shorter form of application program. An application program is a program designed to perform a specific function directly for the user or, in some cases, for another application program. Applications use the services of the computers operating system and other supporting applications. The formal requests and means of communicating with other programs that an application program uses is called the application program interface (API).
Example:
Examples of applications include word processors, database programs, Web browsers, development tools, drawing, paint, image editing programs, and communication programs.
Available Time
The time an agent spends waiting for calls.
Average Handle Time
Average length of time the agent was connected to calls in after call work (such as filling out information) time not signed on to answer calls (auxout) and hold time
Average Hold Time
(Incoming/Outgoing) A report item averaging the amount of time that calls were put on hold waiting for an available agent.
Backbone Network
A backbone network is a transmission facility designed to interconnect often lower-speed distribution networks - channels - or clusters of dispersed terminals or devices.
Backup
Backup is the activity of copying files or databases so that they will be preserved in case of equipment failure or other catastrophe. The process of protecting data by writing the contents of the disk to a tape that can be removed from the computer environment and stored safely.
BW (Bandwidth)
(1) Analog Bandwidth A measure of spectrum use or capacity. For instance an analog voice transmission by telephone requires a bandwidth of about 3000 hertz (3Khz.) A TV channel occupies a bandwidth of 6 million hertz (6 Mhz) of radio frequency bandwidth. Cable system bandwidth occupies 50 to 300 Mhz on the electromagnetic spectrum.
(2) Measure of the frequency width of a transmission channel or the difference between the highest and lowest frequency levels. Information - carrying capacity of a communication channel.
(3) Digital Bandwidth The data rate of a digital signal carried in a data transmission channel Digital bandwidth is commonly stated in units of bits per second (bps) and bytes per second (Bps) where 8 bits equals one byte.
Example
DOCSIS 2.0 is capable of an upstream digital bandwidth of 30720000 bits per second (30.72 Mbps or 3.84 MBps) in an analog channel bandwidth of 6.4 Mhz using the 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (64 QAM.) Baud
A unit of signaling speed equal to the number of signal events per second. Baud is equivalent to bits per second in cases where each signal event represents exactly one bit.
Example
Baud was the prevalent measure for data transmission speed until replaced by a more accurate term, bps (bits per second). One baud is one electronic state change per second. Since a single state change can involve more than a single bit of data, the bps unit of measurement has replaced it as a better expression of data transmission speed. Bits Per Second (Bps)
Bits Per Second - a measurement of the volume of data that a modem is capable of transmitting. Typical modem speeds today are 14.4K bps (14400 bits per second) and 28.8K bps. ISDN offers transfer rates of 128K bps.
BitTorrent
BitTorrent is a content distribution protocol that enables efficient software distribution and peer-to-peer sharing of very large files, such as entire movies and TV shows, by enabling users to serve as network redistribution points. Rather than having to send a download to each customer requesting it, the distributor or holder of content sends it to one customer who in turn sends it to other customers who together share the pieces of the download back and forth until everyone has the complete download. This makes it possible for the original server to serve many requests for large files without requiring immense amounts of bandwidth. According to reports, a user may expect to see a full-length movie arrive within a few hours.
Broadband
A transmission medium which allows transmission of voice data and video simultaneously at rates of 1.544Mbps or higher. Broadband transmission media generally can carry multiple channels each at different frequency or specific time slots. Capable of handling frequencies greater than those required for high-grade voice communications. A type of data transmission in which a single medium (wire) can carry several channels at once. Cable TV for example uses broadband transmission. In contrast baseband transmission allows only one signal at a time.
Broadband Provisioning System (BPS)
TWC RR modem, email, product provisioning.
Browser
A browser is an application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web. The word "browser" seems to have originated prior to the Web as a generic term for user interfaces that let you browse (navigate through and read) text files online.
Technically, a Web browser is a client program that uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to make requests of Web servers throughout the Internet on behalf of the browser user.
Trivia: The first Web browser, called WorldWideWeb, was created in 1990. That browsers name was changed to Nexus to avoid confusion with the developing information space known as the World Wide Web. The first Web browser with a graphical user interface was Mosaic, which appeared in 1993. Many of the user interface features in Mosaic went into Netscape Navigator. Microsoft followed with its Internet Explorer (IE).

Buffer/Buffering
Memory area in a computer or peripheral device used for temporary storage of information tht has just been received. The information is held in the "buffer" until the computer or device is ready to process it. Hence, a computer or device with memory designated as a buffer area can process one set of data while more sets are arriving.

Cable
A cable is a group of metallic conductors or optical fibers that are bound together- usually with a protective sheath- a strength member- and insulation between individual conductors/fibers and for the entire group.
A large number of twisted wire pairs bundled together to carry multiple telephone connections or circuits.

Cable Modem to CPE Interface
The part of DOCSIS specification defining the communication between the cable modem and consumer premise equipment (CPE) devices.

Cache
A cache (pronounced CASH) is a place to store something temporarily. The files you automatically request by looking at a Web page are stored on your hard disk in a cache subdirectory under the directory for your browser (for example, Internet Explorer). When you return to a page youve recently looked at, the browser can get it from the cache rather than the original server, saving you time and the network the burden of some additional traffic. You can usually vary the size of your cache, depending on your particular browser.

Call Volume
The number of calls offered.

Calls Answered
Total number of telephone calls answered by an agent. Also known as handled.

Calls Offered
Total number of telephone calls that enter Call Management (CMS) including those not handled by an agent.

Calls Waiting
The total number of ACD calls waiting to be answered.

Client
A program (like an email or news client) that connects to and requests information from a server. An example of a client would be Outlook or Outlook Express.

Community Antenna Television System (CATV)
Offers the transmission of television signals including those that originate at over the air broadcast stations to customers on a wired network. CATV was the origin of the cable television networks known today.

Completed Contact
A contact that finalizes a call cycle. Indicates that an agent completed all parts of making the call (usually in outbound).

Computer
A high-speed electronic device that processes, retrieves, and stores programmed information.

Convergys CVG /CVGS
Convergys Corporation is a global leader in providing customer care, human resources and billing services. They combine specialized knowledge and expertise with solid execution to deliver outsourced solutions, consulting services and software support. Clients in more than 70 countries speaking nearly 35 languages depend on them to manage the increasing complexity and cost of caring for customers and employees. They serve the worlds leading companies in many industries including:
· Communications
· Financial services
· Technology
· Consumer products. Know Your Competition
Know Your Competition

Cookies
The collective name for files stored on your hard drive by your Web browser that hold information about your browsing habits like what sites you have visited which newsgroups you have read etc. Many view cookies as an invasion of privacy.

Customer Satisfaction
The degree to which a customers experience with a product or service meets customer expectations for that product or service.

Dial-up Connection
Dial-up pertains to a telephone connection in a system of many lines shared by many users. A dial-up connection is established and maintained for a limited time duration. The alternative is a dedicated connection, which is continuously in place. Dial-up lines are sometimes called switched lines.
A dial-up connection can be initiated manually or automatically by your computers modem or other device.

Digital Subscriber Line
DSL technologies use sophisticated modulation schemes to pack data onto copper wires. They are sometimes referred to as last-mile technologies because they are used only for connections from a telephone switching station to a home or office not between switching stations.

Domain
The Internet is divided into smaller sets known as domains including.com (business) .gov (government) .edu (educational) and others.

Domain Name
Allows you to reference Internet sites without knowing the true numerical address.

Domain Name System
Domain Name System - The domain name system (DNS) is the way that Internet domain names are located and translated into Internet Protocol addresses. A domain name is a meaningful and easy-to-remember "handle" for an Internet address.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is an Internet protocol used for dynamically assigning network layer (Internet Protocol) addresses to IP Hosts.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is a communications protocol that lets network administrators centrally manage and automate the assignment of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in an organizations network. Using the Internet Protocol, each machine that can connect to the Internet needs a unique IP address, which is assigned when an Internet connection is created for a specific computer. Without DHCP, the IP address must be entered manually at each computer in an organization and a new IP address must be entered each time a computer moves to a new location on the network.

Electronic Mail
The exchange of computer-stored messages by telecommunication. (Some publications spell it email; we prefer the currently more established spelling of e-mail.)

Fiber optics
The technology of guiding and projecting light for use as a communications medium. Hair-thin glass fibers sometimes called lightguides waveguides or optical fibers allow light beams to be bent and reflected with low levels of loss and interference. Fiber optics vastly increases the number of simultaneous voice or data transmissions that can occur within a small diameter cable.

File Transfer Protocol
A standard Internet protocol, is the simplest way to exchange files between computers on the Internet. FTP is commonly used to transfer Web page files from their creator to the computer that acts as their server for everyone on the Internet. Its also commonly used to download programs and other files to your computer from other servers.

Forecasting
The process of projecting staffing requirements by half-hour increments based upon historical call patterns and weighed against what the future volume of calls might be for a given period.

Frequently Asked Questions
A collection of common questions and answers on a particular subject.

Gateway
Computer hardware and software that allow users to connect from one network to another.

Gigabyte (GB)
Gigabyte - is a measure of computer data storage capacity and is "roughly" a billion bytes. A gigabyte is two to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 in decimal notation. The term is pronounced with two hard Gs. The prefix, "giga" comes from a Greek word meaning "giant."

Gigahertz (GHz)
Gigahertz (billions of cycles per second) - is a unit of alternating current (AC) or electromagnetic (EM) wave frequency equal to one thousand million hertz (1,000,000,000 Hz). The gigahertz is used as an indicator of the frequency of ultra-high-frequency (UHF) and microwave EM signals and also, in some computers, to express microprocessor clock speed.

Global Network Operations Center (GNOC)
The Global Network Operator Center (GNOC) handles high-end network troubleshooting for the Divisions and NHD (i.e., DHCP service is down, Network router not functioning as it should be, etc.).

Graphical User Interface (GUI)
A GUI (usually pronounced GOO-ee) is a graphical (rather than purely textual) user interface to a computer. As you read this, you are looking at the GUI or graphical user interface of your particular Web browser. The term came into existence because the first interactive user interfaces to computers were not graphical; they were text-and-keyboard oriented and usually consisted of commands you had to remember and computer responses that were infamously brief.

Hard Disk
A non-removable internal media for data storage in a personal computer. Hard disk is part of a unit, often called a "disk drive," "hard drive," or "hard disk drive," that stores and provides relatively quick access to large amounts of data on an electromagnetically charged surface or set of surfaces. Todays computers typically come with a hard disk that contains several billion bytes (gigabytes) of storage.

Head End
A cable head-end is the facility at a local cable TV office that originates and communicates cable TV services and cable modem services to subscribers.
In distributing cable television services, the head-end includes a satellite dish antenna for receiving incoming programming.
This programming is then passed on to the subscriber. (Cable TV companies may also play videotapes and originate live programming.)
When a cable company provides Internet access to subscribers, the head-end includes the computer system and databases needed to provide Internet access.
The most important component located at the head-end is the cable modem termination system (CMTS), which sends and receives digital cable modem signals on a cable network and is necessary for providing Internet services to cable subscribers.

Headset
Any configuration of earpiece and speaker which fits over the head to allow hands-free telephone use.

Hertz (cycles per second - Hz)
Hertz (cycles per second) - is a unit of frequency (of change in state or cycle in a sound wave, alternating current, or other cyclical waveform) of one cycle per second. It replaces the earlier term of "cycle per second (cps)."

High Definition Television (HDTV)
A television display technology that provides picture quality similar to 35 mm. movies with sound quality similar to that of todays compact disc.

High Speed Data (HSD)
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) generally defines broadband (HSD) service as data transmission speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second (Kbps), or 200,000 bits per second, in at least one direction: downstream (from the Internet to your computer) or upstream (from your computer to the Internet).
Types:
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
Cable Modem
Fiber
Wireless
Satellite
Broadband over Powerline (BPL)

High-Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL)
The main characteristic of HDSL is that it is symmetrical: an equal amount of bandwidth is available in both directions.

Hold Time
Total minutes that a customer is placed on hold.

Home Networking (HN)
A home network is two or more computers interconnected to form a local area network (LAN) within the home.
It allows computer owners to interconnect multiple computers so that each can share files, programs, printers, other peripheral devices, and Internet access with other computers, reducing the need for redundant equipment and, in general, making everything easier to use.

Home Page
For a Web user, the home page is the first Web page that is displayed after starting a Web browser like Netscapes Navigator or Microsofts Internet Explorer.

Host
Generally means a device or program that provides services to some smaller or less capable device or program.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
The set of rules for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web. As soon as a Web user opens their Web browser, the user is indirectly making use of HTTP. HTTP is an application protocol that runs on top of the TCP/IP suite of protocols (the foundation protocols for the Internet).

Inbound Call
A call received into a call center.

Information Technology
A term that encompasses all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange, and use information in its various forms (business data, voice conversations, still images, motion pictures, multimedia presentations, and other forms, including those not yet conceived).

Integrated Voice Response (IVR)
A phone technology that allows a computer to detect voice and touch tones using a normal phone call. The IVR system can respond with pre-recorded or dynamically generated audio to further direct callers on how to proceed. IVR systems can be used to control almost any function where the interface can be broken down into a series of simple menu choices. Once constructed IVR systems generally scale well to handle large call volumes.

Internet
The worldwide network of computers communicating via an agreed upon set of Internet protocol. Odds are that if you are reading this document you are probably on the Internet right now (just in case you didnt know).

Internet Protocol
The method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet.

Internet Relay Chat
A system for chatting that involves a set of rules and conventions and client/server software.

Internet Service Provider
A company that provides individuals and companies access to the Internet and other related services such as Web site building and virtual hosting.

Kilobyte (kB)
Kilobyte (Equivalent to 210 th bytes) - As a measure of computer memory or storage, a kilobyte (KB or Kbyte*) is approximately a thousand bytes (actually, 2 to the 10th power, or decimal 1,024 bytes).

Kilohertz (kHz)
A measurement of frequency equal to 1,000 hertz. Kilohertz is unit of measurement for alternating current, audio signals, and a measurement of wireless signals

Local Area Network
A group of computers and associated devices that share a common communications line or wireless link. Typically, connected devices share the resources of a single processor or server within a small geographic area (for example, within an office building).

Mailing List
A list of email addresses to which messages are sent. You can subscribe to a mailing lists typically by sending an email to the contact address with the following in the body of the message: the word subscribe the name of the list and your email address.

Media Access Control (MAC)
In a local area network (LAN) or other network, the MAC (Media Access Control) address is your computers unique hardware number.

Mega-Hertz (MHz)
The megahertz, abbreviated MHz, is a unit of alternating current (AC) or electromagnetic (EM) wave frequency equal to one million hertz (1,000,000 Hz). The megahertz is commonly used to express microprocessor clock speed.

Megabits per second (Mbps)
A unit of data transfer rates equal to one million bits per second (this equals one thousand kilobits per second) and is a measure of bandwidth (the total information flow over a given time) on a telecommunications medium.

Message Digest 5 (MD5)
A one-way hashing algorithm that maps variable length plaintext into fixed-length (16-byte)ciphertext. Md5 files, built by a provisioning server, contain provisioning data for each NIU (Network Interface Unit) on the network.

Microsoft
Microsoft is the worlds leading producer of computer software.

Mirror Site
An Internet site setup as an alternate to a busy site - contains copies of all the files stored at the primary location.

Mosaic
Mosaic was the first widely-distributed graphical browser or viewer for the World Wide Web.

Motion Picture Experts Group
A video file format offering excellent quality in a relatively small file. Video files found on the Internet are frequently stored in the MPEG format. Full length movies (like Top Gun) are available on CD and are stored in the MPEG format.

Multi-media Terminal Adapter (MTA)
Is a Telephone Terminal Adaptor that interfaces regular analog phones with IP networks.

Multimedia
A combination of media types on a single document including: text graphics animation audio and video.

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)
A protocol for allowing email messages to contain various types of media (text - audio - video - images - etc.).

National Help Desk (NHD)
Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner Tier 2 Internet troubleshooting department.

Network
A system of connected computers exchanging information with each other.

Network Interface Card
A network interface card (NIC) is a computer circuit board or card that is installed in a computer so that it can be connected to a network.

Network Operations Center
A Network Operation (Operator) Center (NOC) is a place from which administrators supervise, monitor and maintain a telecommunications network. Large enterprises with large networks as well as large network service providers typically have a network operations center, a room containing visualizations of the network or networks that are being monitored, workstations at which the detailed status of the network can be seen, and the necessary software to manage the networks. The network operations center is the focal point for network troubleshooting, software distribution and updating, router and domain name management, performance monitoring, and coordination with affiliated networks.

Newsgroup
A particular section within the USENET system typically though not always dedicated to a particular subject of interest. Also known as discussion groups.

No Answer
A call result indicating no one answered the customers telephone after a specific number of rings.

Number of Agents Staffed
A report item indicating the current number of logged-in agents in one or more splits.

Number of Calls ACD
A report item (found in a type of report called a Split Agent Comparison Reportt indicating the number of ACD calls to one or more agents in some period of time.

Number of Calls Out
A report item indicating the number of outgoing calls from one or more extensions during some period of time.

Number of Calls Answered
A report item indicating the number of incoming calls that connect to an agent.

Number on Outgoing Calls
A report item indicating the number of agents on extension-out calls.

Oldest Call Waiting
A report item indicating the time in seconds the first call in queue (place where calls waiting to be answered are storedd) has been waiting.

On-Demand Streaming
Sending video/audio or other data that is transmitted to the end-user upon request (widely used on news and sports-oriented Web sites for example).

Online
The condition of being connected to a network of computers or other devices. The term is frequently used to describe someone who is currently connected to the Internet.

Original Equipment Manufacturer
Refers to containment-based re-branding, namely where one company uses a component of another company within its product, or sells the product of another company under its own brand. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product.

Outbound
A call originating from the call center to the customer.

Outlet
Generic term for jacks and wall plates.

Packet Internet or Inter-Network Groper (PING)
A program for determining if another computer is presently connected to the Internet.

Packet loss/dropping
Data loss throught the network or transmission

Page
On the World Wide Web, a page is a file notated with the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Usually, it contains text and specifications about where image or other multimedia files are to be placed when the page is displayed. You can think of a Web site as a book (albeit a hypertext kind of book rather than a sequentially arranged kind of book) that arrives a page at a time as you request each one. Each page is an individual HTML file with its own Web address (URL).

Percent Abandon
The percentage of calls disconnected before being connected to an agent.

Personal Computer (pc)
In its more general usage, a personal computer (PC) is a microcomputer designed for use by one person at a time. The term "PC" has been traditionally used to describe an "IBM-compatible" personal computer in contradistinction to an Apple Macintosh computer.

Personal Home Page
Personal Home Page – TWC RR product name which allows customer to create their very own web page up to 5mb of free space allowed.

Power-On Self-Test (POST)
When power is turned on, POST (Power-On Self-Test) is the diagnostic testing sequence that a computers basic input/output system (or "starting program") runs to determine if the computer keyboard, random access memory, disk drives, and other hardware are working correctly.

Production Hours
Hours spent in a productive state. Ie: The amount of time an agent spends in on a call - waiting for a call - or with a call on hold.

Protocol
An agreed upon set of rules by which computers exchange information. In information technology, a protocol (from the Greek protocollon, which was a leaf of paper glued to a manuscript volume, describing its contents) is the special set of rules that end points in a telecommunication connection use when they communicate. Protocols exist at several levels in a telecommunication connection.

Quality
Meeting customer expectations. Some literature differentiates between Big Q and little q. Quality is meeting or exceeding evolving customer expectations for the quality - cost - and availability of products and services whereas quality is the degree of excellence of a product or service characterized by reliability - durability - and freedom from defects.

Quality Assurance
Any systematic process of checking to see whether a product or service being developed is meeting specified requirements.

Queue
A list of email messages that will be distributed next time you log onto the Internet.

QuickTime
A common video file format created by Apple Computer. Video files found on the Internet are often stored in the QuickTime format - they require a special viewer program for playback.

Record
A collection of information fields for example a persons name or street address or city or state and zip code.

Remote Access Service
Remote Access Services (RAS) refers to any combination of hardware and software to enable the remote access to tools or information that typically reside on a network of IT devices.

Remote Procedure Calls
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is a protocol that one program can use to request a service from a program located in another computer in a network without having to understand network details.

RJ-45
Connect single fixed line loss loop data installations and provides bridged connections to the tip and ring of a telephone line.

Road Runner
Road Runner High Speed Online is an US Internet service provider (ISP) focused on providing service over DOCSIS-compatible cable modems. It is a division of Time Warner Inc. and provides service throughout the footprint of Time Warner Cable as well as other contracting cable companies. Its services are currently available only in the United States.
Road Runner often competes with ISPs owned by local telephone companies. Its mascot is Road Runner from the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series (all properties of its corporate parent). When the service first launched with a 1995 market test in Elmira, NY, it was called the Southern Tier On-Line Community,[2] then LineRunner[3] (a moniker that was later used for VOIP service), before Time Warner Cable adopted the current brand name.

Script
The guide agents follow when making calls. It will gives the words to say as well as guide the agent through the application and information gathering phases of the call.

Search Engine
A tool for searching information on the Internet by topic. Popular engines include InfoSeek Inktomi and Web Crawler.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a commonly-used protocol for managing the security of a message transmission on the Internet.

Server
In a network a server is equipment that makes available file - database - printing - facsimile - communications or other services to client terminals/stations with access to the network.

Service Level
The percent of inbound calls answered within a certain desired number of seconds. Example - 80% of calls answered within 20 seconds.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)
A service-level agreement (SLA) is a contract between a network service provider and a customer that specifies, usually in measurable terms, what services the network service provider will furnish. Many Internet service providers (ISP)s provide their customers with an SLA.

Shareware
Software that is available on a free limited trial basis. Sometimes this is a fully featured product other times it lacks some of the features of the commercial version.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
Shielded twisted pair is twisted copper paired wire cable with an outer metallic sheath surrounding insulated conductors.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - a protocol dictating how email messages are exchanged over the Internet.

Site
A Web site is a collection of Web files on a particular subject that includes a beginning file called a home page.

Skill
The skill of an Agent determines what types of calls they are scheduled to receive. Example: Joe is skilled to receive Level I while Sue is skilled to receive LII calls.

Small Computer System Interface
SCSI (pronounced SKUH-zee and sometimes colloquially known as "scuzzy"), the Small Computer System Interface, is a set of ANSI standard electronic interfaces that allow personal computers to communicate with peripheral hardware such as disk drives, tape drives, CD-ROM drives, printers, and scanners faster and more flexibly than previous interfaces.

Snail Mail
Plain old paper mail. United States Post Office. Cliff Claven delivered snail mail when he wasnt drinking with Norm at Cheers.

SPAM
Sending multiple sometimes thousands of unwelcome messages to a newsgroup or mailing list to promote a commercial product or Web site.

Staffed
An active ACD position. The agent has logged in or pressed the STAFFED button.

Subscriber
A household or business that pays a monthly fee to a cable system operator for providing a connection to the cable, and for the programs and services carried on it.

Subscriber Access Control System (SACS)
The abuse department tracking system and program.

T1
A category of leased telephone line service allowing transfer rates of 1.5 Mbps (megabytes per second) over the Internet. Normally used by businesses.

Telecommunications
The communications of voice data or images over telephone or telephone-like circuits. The telecommunications industry encompasses the equipment and transmission facilities needed for telecommunications. This equipment includes everything from telephones to modems computers switches and networks.

Telnet
A protocol for logging onto remote computers from anywhere on the Internet.

Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable Inc. is the second-largest cable operator in the U.S. and an industry leader in developing and launching innovative video, data and voice services. We deliver our services to customers over technologically-advanced, well-clustered cable systems that pass approximately 26 million homes.
We were the first or among the first cable operators to offer high speed data service, IP-based telephony service and a range of advanced digital video services, such as VOD, high definition television and set-top boxes equipped with DVRs.

Topology
A topology (from Greek topos meaning place) is a description of any kind of locality in terms of its layout. In communication networks, a topology is a usually schematic description of the arrangement of a network, including its nodes and connecting lines.

Traceroute
A traceroute tracks a packet from a starting point (for us it is the DHCP Server) to an end point (for us it is the subscribers cable modem) displaying how many hops and how long it took that packet to go from the start to the finish. It is very useful if a subscriber has issues concerning the speed the connection is because you can see where the longest delay is.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
TCP/IP is the transport layer and Internet layer, respectively, of the Internet suite of protocols. This protocol is the foundation of the Internet, an agreed upon set of rules directing computers on how to exchange information with each other. Other Internet protocols such as FTP Gopher and HTTP sit on top of TCP/IP.

Trunk
Call path between any two switches, either public or private.
A trunk is a line or link designed to handle many signals simultaneously, and that connects major switching centers or nodes in a communications system. The transmitted data can be voice (as in the conventional telephone system) data, computer programs, images, video or control signals.

Unavailable
Agent is not available to take calls.

Universal Diagnostic Interface
TWC RR technical agent tool that allow us to view modem / blade and test information

Universal Serial Bus
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a plug-and-play interface between a computer and add-on devices (such as audio players, joysticks, keyboards, telephones, scanners, and printers). With USB, a new device can be added to your computer without having to add an adapter card or even having to turn the computer off.

UNIX
A powerful operating system used on the backbone machines of the Internet. World Wide Web servers frequently run on UNIX.

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) is the most common kind of copper telephone wiring used to connect home, and many business computers, to the telephone company.

Upload
To copy a file from a local computer connected to the Internet to a remote computer. Opposite is download.

User ID (UID)
User ID - you need a User Id to logon to TWC RR system tools and programs in assisting with customer calls.

Users Network (USENET)
The collection of the thousands of bulletin boards residing on the Internet. Each bulletin board contains discussion groups or newsgroups dedicated to a myriad of topics. Messages are posted and responded to by readers either as public or private emails.

Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)
A virtual (or logical) LAN is a local area network with a definition that maps workstations on some other basis than geographic location (for example, by department, type of user, or primary application). The virtual LAN controller can change or add workstations and manage loadbalancing and bandwidth allocation more easily than with a physical picture of the LAN.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organizations network. A virtual private network can be contrasted with an expensive system of owned or leased lines that can only be used by one organization. The goal of a VPN is to provide the organization with the same capabilities, but at a much lower cost.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
VoIP (voice over IP) is an IP telephony term for a set of facilities used to manage the delivery of voice information over the Internet.VoIP involves sending voice information in digital form in discrete packets rather than by using the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). A major advantage of VoIP and Internet telephony is that it avoids the tolls charged by ordinary telephone service.

Wide Area Network
A system of connected computers spanning a large geographical area.

Wireless LAN
A wireless LAN (or WLAN, for wireless local area network, sometimes referred to as LAWN, for local area wireless network) is one in which a mobile user can connect to a local area network (LAN) through a wireless (radio) connection.

World Wide Web
World Wide Web or simply Web. A subset of the Internet which uses a combination of text graphics audio and video (multimedia) to provide information on most every subject imaginable.

xDSL
Refers to different variations of DSL, such as ADSL, HDSL

Yahoo
A Web directory that is constantly updated and provides an easy way of finding almost any web page.

ZIP
A compressed file format (.zip). Many files available on the Internet are compressed or zipped in order to reduce storage space and transfer times. To uncompress the file you need a utility like PKZip (DOS) or WinZip (Windows).