0-9  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 ILEC co-location A location serving as the interface point for a CLEC network's interconnection to that of the ILEC. Co-location can be 1) physical, in which the CLEC places and directly maintains equipment in the ILEC CO, or 2) virtual, in which the CLEC leases a facility, similar to that which it might build to obtain a presence in the ILEC CO. iMode A wireless data service offered by Japanese wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo to cellular-phone users in Japan. Using this service, users can access news, weather, and entertainment content specifically designed for viewing on the wireless phone. iMode uses a proprietary scripting language, compact-HTML (CHTML), to deliver wireless data at speeds up to 19.2 Kbps. The service has been extremely successful, with 17 million subscribers as of Dec. 31, 2000. incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) The local exchange carrier that was the monopoly carrier in a region before local exchange services were opened to competition. indefeasible right of use (IRU) In the underseas cable and fiber optic carrier business, someone owning an IRU has the right to use the circuit for the agreed-upon time and bandwidth -- usually of 10 to 20 years, with an option period for the user to renew at lower rates. At the end of an IRU, title may be passed to the user. An IRU is to a submarine or fiber optic cable what a lease is to a building. independent software vendor (ISV) Companies, such as Oracle and Siebel, that internally develop, engineer, sell and support software solutions. indirect materials Indirect materials, unlike direct materials, are not part of a company's finished product. Indirect materials include maintenance, repair, and operating materials that support business operations. InfiniBand architecture The InfiniBand architecture is designed to de-couple the I/O subsystem from memory by utilizing point to point connections rather than a shared bus, load and store configuration, over both copper and fibre implementations. Benefits may include greater performance, lower latency, easier and faster sharing of data, built in security and quality of service, and improved usability. initial public offering (IPO) Describes the first sale of a company's stock to the public. Typically, the company is selling stock in order to raise capital for expansion or further development. Being "public" refers to the period after an IPO when non-affiliated members of the public own a substantial portion of the company. It is the goal of many venture capitalists, management and other investors in the company to take a private company public. inside vapor-phase oxidation (IVPO) A process used to make optical fiber in which the vapor-phase deposition is on the inside of a rotating silicon dioxide glass tube. integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN) A technology from Motorola that supports voice, data, and short messages and dispatch radio in one phone. Nextel is the one prominent customer for this technology. integrated services digital network (ISDN) A networking standard designed to provide completely simultaneous transmission of digitized voice and data on the same link. Provides standard interfaces for digital communication networks and can carry data, voice, and video over digital circuits. ISDN protocols are used worldwide for connections to public ISDN networks. intelligent distribution network (IDN) Server-based networks that move data more efficiently and effectively to the edges of networks through intelligence rather than brute force. Many of these services are based on proprietary technology that uses complex algorithms to monitor current network performance, determine data routing, and distribute data across multiple servers in the network. intelligent optical networking A dynamic, flexible network of virlight pathspaths that transforms the capacity of DWDM into usable, service-capable bandwidth. Bringing network intelligence to the optical domain involves the creation, configuration, and management of virtual lightpaths within the optical domain. A new class of products for the development of an intelligent optical network. interexchange carrier (IXC) A long-distance telephone company linking separate local exchanges. Long-distance carriers of voice and data. interleivers The transmission of pulses from two or more digital sources in time-division sequence over a single path. intermachine trunk (IMT) T-1 equivalent CO switch interface. intermediate system to intermediate system (IS-IS) An OSI link-state hierarchical routing protocol allowing intermediate router-to-exchange routing information to determine network topology. International Telecommunications Union (ITU) An international organization that sets communications standards. Founded in 1865, ITU is comprised of over 150 member countries and is headquartered in Geneva. Internet Abbreviation inter network capitalized by consensus. In communications, the Internet is a set of computer networks-possibly dissimilar-joined by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from the sending network to the protocols used by the receiving network, with packets if necessary. Internet content application protocol (ICAP) Standardized protocol that will allow enterprises, content providers and ISPs to seamlessly conduct services such as targeted Web advertising, virus scanning, content filtering, data compression and language translation on any Internet access device. Internet messaging access protocol 4 (IMAP$) A commonly used mail protocol that stores SMTP-formatted messages until a user selectively downloads them. IMAP4 is more advanced than POP3 in that IMAP4 can archive messages in folders, share mailboxes and allow the user access to more than one mailbox. IMAP4 also enables email servers to send attachments such as spreadsheets and word-processing documents along with the messages. Internet protocol (IP) The communication protocol of the Internet that uses broken packets to transmit data across switched networks. See TCP/IP. The part of the TCP/IP layer 3 (network layer) Internet protocol that performs the addressing function and contains some control information to allow packets to be routed through networks. Each device on an Internet network is assigned a 32-bit address. Internet protocol (IP) switch A packet-switching switch that uses the Internet protocol. An IP switch has the ability to determine routing of data packets. Internet service provider (ISP) A vendor that provides subscribers access to the Internet. Internetwork Operating System (IOS) The operating system utilized by Cisco for its routers. internetworking Communication between two networks or between two types of networks or end equipment-sometimes with disparate signaling or network protocols. interoperability The ability to operate software and exchange information in a heterogeneous network, which could be made up of several different local area networks. isolator A passive optical component that permits light to travel in only one direction through it and rejects light passing in the other direction.