
		Broadband Glossary C - Definitions beginning with C

Broadband Glossary "C" Definitions

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Welcome to our Broadband Glossary. We compiled a comprehensive collection of Broadband and Internet related terms and definitions. To look for a definition or term, simply click on the letter that matches the first letter of the word you are searching for. If the term you want is a numeral, you will find it under the 0-9 listing.

We intend for our Broadband Glossary to be ever expanding. As new technology is released, we will add these definitions to our Glossary. If you cannot find the term you are searching for, please contact us and we will add it to the Broadband glossary as quickly as possible. We hope that you find this Broadband Glossary easy to navigate and that you find the term you're looking for.

Cable Modem: Though it serves the same purpose as a typical analog, or dial-up modem, a cable modem is different in many ways. The biggest difference is that a cable modem is much faster. While a 56K modem can receive data at about 53 Kbps, a cable modem can haul it in at about 1.5 Mbps (Megabits per second). That's about 30 times faster. The actual Internet bandwidth over a cable line can be as high as 27 Mbps downstream and 2.5 Mbps upstream. However, most cable modems connect to the ISP's T1 connection, which maxes out at 1.5 Mpbs, so that will be the maximum transfer rate for the subscriber.
A cable modem connects to a standard cable television line. Computers equipped with a cable modem have a continuous or “always on” connection to the Internet. This saves the user time since there is no need to dial up the ISP for every little task.
A cable modem is typically an external device, but there are some models that are internal. Instead of connecting to a serial port such as a dial-up modem, a cable modem connects to a standard Ethernet port in order to transfer data as quickly as possible.
Capacity: See Bandwidth.
Central Office or CO: A telecommunications term used to refer to the physical location of the local telephone company's building where home and business subscriber lines are connected to the rest of the network. For the purposes of Internet access, the central office switching equipment receives data transmission from a customer's location and then threads those transmissions to the Internet over the telephone companies’ or third party networks.
Coaxial Cable: Coaxial cable is the kind of copper cable used by cable television companies between the community antenna and user homes and businesses. Coaxial cable is sometimes used by telephone companies from their central office to telephone poles near users. It is also widely installed for use in business and corporation Ethernet and other types of local area networks. Coaxial cable is called "coaxial" because it includes one physical channel that carries the signal surrounded (after a layer of insulation) by another concentric physical channel, both running along the same axis. The outer channel serves as a ground. Many of these cables or pairs of coaxial tubes can be placed in a single outer sheathing and, with repeaters, can carry information for a great distance.
Coaxial cable was invented in 1929 and first used commercially in 1941. AT&T established its first cross-continental coaxial transmission system in 1940. Depending on the carrier technology used and other factors, twisted pair copper wire and optical fiber are alternatives to coaxial cable.
Connection Speed: Connection speed is the speed at which data is transferred between your computer and the Central Office. The two types of speed are receiving (downloading) and sending (uploading).
· Receive Speed (download speed) refers to the rate that information is transferred from the Internet to your computer. Examples of receiving or downloading are reading a Web page, downloading a program, or receiving e-mail.
· Send Speed (also called upload speed) refers to the rate that information is transferred from your computer to the Internet. Examples of sending or uploading are sending e-mail or sending files.
Cookie: A block of information generated by a web server and stored on your hard drive for future access. This allows a Web site to display customized information or identify a customer. May also be called a “persistent cookie”.
See also Session Cookie.
CPU or Central Processing Unit: Refers either to the principle microchip that the computer is built around (such as the Pentium or AMD Athlon chip) or the box that houses the main components of the computer.