Phone lines, toll free and toll calls at unbeatable rates to high speed wireless Internet connections, Compass Communications has a practical solution to suit. Phone lines, toll free and toll calls at unbeatable rates to high speed wireless Internet connections, Compass Communications has a practical solution to suit.
 
Compass Communications: super low residential calling rates, sharp business calling rates and a wide range of services
Low toll calling rates that apply right around the clock, plus great value broadband - Compass Communications at home
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Glossary

If you don't understand some of the terms used within our site, click on the first letter of the word below.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

If still unsure, call our Compass Consumer Care Team on 0800 640 840, they will be happy to explain.

A
  
ADSL
 (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.) Sometimes just called DSL is a technology for transmitting digital information at high speeds on an existing phone line.
A normal telephone call or a dialup modem only uses a small portion (or frequency range) of the capacity of most phone lines.  ADSL is a way to use the full potential of you phone line.  
   
B
  
Broadband
 Broadband is a term for a high speed internet connection.  High speed can mean anywhere from a 4 times as fast as a standard 56k dial up connection to several hundred times as fast.
   
C
  
Capped Call
 A call that is charged per minute until the maximum advertised value is reached.  This rate will stand until the maximum advertised time duration is reached.  The call is then charged at a per minute rate.
Compass Communications
 A NZ owned telecommunications company offering high quality and low price toll calls, phone, internet and wireless internet services, 
   
D
  
data
 Information or raw facts. 
Information in a form that can be used by a computer can include text, numbers, sounds and pictures etc.  Data is measured using units such as Kilobyte(kb), Megabyte(Mb) and Gigabyte(Gb).
Data Allowance
 The amount of data allowed under the cost of your internet plan.
data usage
 The amount of data/information/files that is downloaded or uploaded via your internet account.  You can check your Compass internet data usage by logging in to your 'My Compass' page.
Dial-up Internet
 Connecting a computer to the internet via a phone line.  Dial-up differs to broadband as it has slower speeds than that of a broadband connection.  A Dial-up connection can have speeds of up to 56 kilobytes per second.
Download
 To download means to receive files or data from an internet source or other computer.  For example every time you instruct your computer system to retrieve your mail, you are downloading your mail to your computer. To upload means to transmit.
   
E
  
email
 a system for sending messages from one individual to another via telecommunications links between computers or terminals.
   
F
  
FAQ's
 Frequently Asked Questions
flagfall
 A fee incurred for using a service.
Full Speed Broadband
 High Speed internet that is as fast as your connection to the local exchange will allow.
   
G
  
Gb
 Giga Byte. (also known as Gig) A unit of measure for Data.  Compass measures 1 Giga Byte as 1,000 megabytes or 1 billion characters of information.  
Giga Byte
 (also known as Gig or Gb) A unit of measure for Data.  Compass measures 1 Giga Byte as 1,000 megabytes or 1 billion characters of information.  
   
H
  
Hardware
 Hardware is the physical part of a computer system; the machinery and equipment.
   
I
  
Internet
 Also known as the ‘Worldwide Information Highway’ or ‘World Wide Web’ , the internet is comprised of thousands of interconnected computer networks, and reaches millions of people in many different countries.   The Internet makes possible almost instantaneous exchange of information by linking documents, video, music and other files around the world. 
Internet dialler
 An Internet dialler allows you to access "premium content" on the Internet and pay for such access via an 0900 number or an international toll number charged to the bill of your phone line or toll provider.  Please be aware that Internet diallers may be installed on your computer without your knowledge.  For more information click here. 
   
J
  
Jitter
 variation in latency (delay in transmission of data)
   
K
  
Kb
 Kilobyte. One thousand bytes. A unit of measurement used for data.
kbps
 Kilobits per second. A data transfer rate.
   
L
  
landline
 A circuit of wire or cable connecting your home phone with the local switchboard.
Latency
 delay in transmission of data
Local Exchange
 Telephone Exchange
   
M
  
Mb
 Megabyte = 1,000 kilobytes A unit of measurement used for data.  Compass measures 1 Megabyte as 1,000 kilobytes.
Mbps
 Megabyte per secound. A data transfer rate.
Megabyte
 A unit of measurement used for data.  Compass measures 1 Megabyte as 1,000 kilobytes.
modem
 A simple communications device for transmitting data over a telephone line. Used to gain access to the internet.
   
N
  
Net Jet
 Net Jet is the name of Compass's broadband internet service.
O
  
Online
 being connected to the internet.
   
P
  
PIN
 Personal Identification Number - A series of numbers known only by the user to access accounts or personal/confidential information.
Router
 A system responsible for making decisions about which paths Internet traffic will follow. Routers are also called "gateways" in Internet terminology.
   
S
  
Software
 Software is the programs that tell a computer what to do. Hardware is the physical part of a computer system; the machinery and equipment.
Spam
 The electronic equivalent of junk mail often in the form of commercial announcements. The act of sending a spam is called, naturally, "spamming." Also, to cause a person or newsgroup to be flooded with irrelevant or inappropriate messages.
Spam filtering
 Software to weed out any SPAM emails.
   
U
  
UBS
 (Unbundled Bit Stream.)  High speed internet via phone lines.  Also known as ADSL
Upload
 To transfer files or data from your computer to another via the internet. For exampled every time you instruct your computer system to send an email, you are uploading. To download means to receive.
   
V
  
Virus
 A software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer.  A virus can be sent via email or downloaded unintentionally while downloading other files.  The virus will aim to install itself to you computer.  Some viruses are only pranks, and perform harmless actions like displaying a screen with a joke message on it. Others can destroy files or wipe out a hard drive.  For more information on computer viruses click here.
Virus filtering
 Software to weed out any emails that potentially have viruses and either disable of destroy them to protect your computer.
VoIP
 Voice Over Internet Protocol, the transmission of real-time voice calls over a data network or internet.
   
W
  
web mail
 Compass' email account service provided free of charge to Compass internet customers.
Wireless Broadband
 Using VoIP technology high speed internet is transmitted from broadcast points through the air to a device on your roof.  This device is connected to your computer to access the internet.  This technology can also provide telephone services bypassing the traditional in ground network.

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