Today’s abbreviations can be confusing, IMHO.
Some of the oldest are FYI, TGIF and ASAP. In recent years, ETA, DM and LOL have become almost commonplace and those are pretty generic. When they become more perplexing is when they are specific to an industry or group.
Communications is no exception. Here are a few terms you may see regularly from your internet service provider:
AI: Artificial Intelligence
CCTV: Close Circuit TV
VPN: Virtual Private Network
MFA: Multi-Factor Authentication
But these are probably less familiar:
IoT: Internet of Things
ISP: Internet Service Provider
IP Address: Internet Protocol Address
MAC address: Media Access Control Address
And one not included in either list that can be a bit puzzling is 5G, which can, on occasion, be used in multiple ways. It’s because a lot of terms in communications start with the letter G.
Wireless, one of FTC’s five core products, is communication via the company’s Wireless network through smart devices and traditional cell phones. The G for that technology has been around for a while and stands for Generation, so the 5G Wireless network is fifth generation.
The Internet is another of FTC’s core products. Wi-Fi is the broadcasting of that Internet signal through radio waves that can be accessed on devices like desktop or laptop computers, smart and IoT devices, all without cables. The signal is in Gigahertz and is normally abbreviated GHz, but sometimes is abbreviated with a G. One of the frequencies is 5, hence it is sometimes seen as 5G. Just an FYI, the other frequency is 2.4.
There is also a Gig, as in Gigabit, which is the top speed in the business and residential Internet plans. Could that have a 5 in front of it down the road? Stay tuned to find out.
IDK if that clears it up for everyone but hopefully it helps a little.
ICYMI, there were more blogs like this in the preceding months. Check out ftc.net/news/
And we will BRB in September with another.
