Sonar 2026 · ISP Terminology

GLOSSARY

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The language of broadband operations.

BEAD, IPAM, OLT, ONT, DOCSIS, MRR, churn. Defined the way operators actually use them.

33Terms

Funding & Compliance

BEAD(Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment): $42.5 billion federal program administered by the NTIA to fund high-speed internet deployment in underserved areas. Sub-grantees report on deployment progress for six years.
FCC BDC(FCC Broadband Data Collection): FCC program requiring providers to file broadband availability data twice yearly. Data feeds the National Broadband Map and informs funding eligibility.
CAF(Connect America Fund): FCC subsidy program supporting broadband deployment in high-cost rural areas. Largely succeeded by BEAD and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).
Broadband Label: FCC-mandated nutrition-style label that ISPs must display at point of sale, listing speeds, prices, fees, data caps, and network management practices.
USF(Universal Service Fund): Federal fund that supports telecommunications service in rural, low-income, and high-cost areas. Funded by fees on telecom carriers passed through to subscribers.
E911: Enhanced 911 service that delivers automatic location information to emergency responders. Mandated for VoIP providers via per-line fees.

Network & Hardware

IPAM(IP Address Management): System for tracking and assigning IP addresses across a network. Prevents address collisions, tracks which IPs are assigned to which subscribers, and provides the audit trail BEAD compliance needs.
OLT(Optical Line Terminal): Headend device in a passive optical network (PON) that connects fiber subscribers to the operator's network. Talks to ONTs at the customer premise.
ONT(Optical Network Terminal): Customer-premise device that terminates the fiber connection and delivers Ethernet, voice, or video to the subscriber. The fiber equivalent of a cable modem.
DOCSIS(Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification): International standard for delivering high-speed internet over cable TV infrastructure. DOCSIS 3.1 supports gigabit speeds; DOCSIS 4.0 supports multi-gig symmetrical.
RADIUS(Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service): Networking protocol that authenticates and authorizes subscribers connecting to an ISP. Commonly paired with FreeRADIUS for ISP deployments.
DHCP(Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol): Network protocol that assigns IP addresses and configuration to devices automatically. ISPs use DHCP to provision subscriber gear without manual setup.
FTTH(Fiber to the Home): Network architecture that runs fiber optic cable directly to each subscriber's residence, delivering the highest available speeds.
FTTN(Fiber to the Node): Hybrid architecture where fiber runs to a neighborhood node and copper completes the last leg. Lower cost than FTTH but capped on speed.
WISP(Wireless Internet Service Provider): Operator delivering internet via fixed wireless from towers to fixed antennas at subscriber premises. Common in rural areas where fiber is uneconomic.
MDU(Multi-Dwelling Unit): Apartment building, condo, or other property with multiple residential units sharing infrastructure. ISPs serving MDUs bill the property and/or individual residents.
CGNAT(Carrier-Grade NAT): Network address translation at carrier scale, sharing public IPv4 addresses across many subscribers. Used to extend IPv4 capacity during the IPv6 transition.
OLT (demo)(Optical Line Terminal): An Optical Line Terminal is the operator-side endpoint of a passive optical network. It sits in the central office or headend, converts between the core network and the fiber serving subscribers, and controls the ONTs at each home.

Internet Standards

VLAN(Virtual Local Area Network): Logical separation of a physical network into isolated virtual segments. ISPs use VLANs to separate customer traffic, management traffic, and services.
QoS(Quality of Service): Traffic management techniques that prioritize specific traffic types over others. Voice and video calls typically get QoS preference over bulk downloads.
QoE(Quality of Experience): End-user perception of network performance. QoE complements QoS by measuring the experience subscribers actually have, not just protocol-level metrics.

Operations

OSS(Operations Support Systems): Software that handles network operations: provisioning, monitoring, dispatch, inventory. The technical backbone of ISP operations.
BSS(Business Support Systems): Software that handles business operations: billing, customer management, ticketing, communications. The commercial side of ISP operations.
Truck Roll: Dispatching a technician to a customer site for installation, repair, or equipment swap. Each truck roll costs $50–$200 in labor and time.
Provisioning: Process of activating service for a new or upgraded subscriber, including IP allocation, equipment configuration, and billing setup.

Customer & Billing

MRR(Monthly Recurring Revenue): Predictable monthly revenue from active subscribers. The primary metric ISPs report to lenders, PE firms, and BEAD reviewers.
ARPU(Average Revenue Per User): MRR divided by active subscriber count. Tracks pricing power and plan mix over time.
Churn: Rate at which subscribers cancel service over a period. Churn directly impacts MRR and the unit economics of ISP operations.
NPS(Net Promoter Score): Customer loyalty metric calculated from a 0–10 likelihood-to-recommend question. NPS above 30 is generally considered good for ISPs.
CSAT(Customer Satisfaction Score): Customer experience metric derived from post-interaction surveys. Often paired with NPS for retention analysis.
Dunning: Process of communicating with customers about overdue payments, including reminders, grace periods, and eventual service suspension.
Proration: Adjusting bills for partial billing periods when service starts, stops, or changes mid-cycle. Critical for accurate revenue recognition.
Vacation Mode: Billing feature that pauses service charges for subscribers who temporarily don't need service (seasonal homes, deployments, etc.) without losing the account.

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