From construction to Mbps and everything in between, there’s a lot to learn about fiber internet, and our lingo may confuse some. So, let’s go over our most commonly used terms when talking about Truestream and what they mean, starting with construction.
Construction
Service District
Great Lakes Energy (GLE) has nine service districts spanning 26 counties in rural Michigan. Our service districts include Petoskey, Boyne City, Waters, Kalkaska, Scottville, Reed City, Hart, Newaygo, and Wayland.
Service Area
Within each service district are smaller service areas. These service areas are named after the substation that provides electricity to the area, not necessarily the city, town, or township where your home is located.
TO FIND YOUR SERVICE AREA, CHECK OUR STATUS MAP
Interest
Showing or sharing your interest in Truestream is simply that – letting us know that when we are ready to build in your area, you’re ready, too. Interest in our service is one of the factors we look at when we determine where to build next.
Drop
The drop, or fiber drop, is the fiber line to your location from the mainline. If your electric service is overhead to your location, your drop will likely be overhead as well.
If your electric service is underground, your drop will likely be underground. Underground fiber is run through orange conduit, which will be installed prior to the drop. Once conduit is in place and the fiber is run through, the fiber is then connected to the gray box attached to the side of the house.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DROPS
Fielding
Fielding is part of our core engineering and planning stage. We visit and map out every meter in the entire service district. That service district is then separated into smaller service areas.
The information gathered during the fielding process is used to determine construction costs, necessary employee resources, and any potential issues an area may face. Based on this information, the board of directors then approves areas for construction. (*Fielding in all service districts is complete.)
Register
If a service area is active, we ask that you complete your registration. The registration process creates a service order for your location.
A lot of planning goes into building the Truestream network. When our crews are working in the area, we want to build to everyone in that area as quickly and efficiently as possible – which takes advanced planning and ask you to complete your registration and site plan by certain dates, usually before construction has even begun.
LEARN MORE ABOUT REGISTRATION
Gray Box
The technical term for the gray box is Network Interface Device (NID). It’s a small gray box that is mounted on the outside of your home where your internet service comes in, but we prefer to call it the good ole’ ‘gray box’ around here.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GRAY BOX
Lit
Once the mainline construction is done, we install the necessary network equipment and “light” up the fiber lines. Fiber lines are spliced together, and we verify those splices are working as they should before installations begin in an area. Once we know everything is working as it should, we say our network is “lit”.
We are exploring bringing our fiber network to the area. Several factors, like demand and constructability, go into deciding where to build next. This is when we encourage members to “share your interest”.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FUTURE PHASE
Mainline construction has begun in your area. This is when we notify you to complete your registration (it’s not a contract!) and return the required documents.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FIELDWORK & REGISTRATION
Mainline construction and network connections are complete, and we’ve begun construction to the home. We are accepting new registrations in this area.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CONSTRUCTION TO THE HOME: DESIGN, MISS DIG, DROP INSTALL, DROP FINALIZE
Construction in your area is complete, and we are actively connecting Truestreamers! We are accepting new registrations.
LEARN MORE ABOUT INSTALLATION & ACTIVE
Internet Terms
Fiber
Fiber-optic internet, commonly called fiber internet or simply “fiber,” is a complex technology that transmits information as light pulses through tiny glass fibers.
Wi-Fi
Wireless Fidelity, more commonly known as Wi-Fi, is the most common method of connecting multiple Internet-capable devices to a local area network.
For example, connecting your household devices, such as cellphones, tablets, or computers to your Truestream internet connection.
LEARN HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR WI-FI
Unlimited Data
Some internet providers may limit the quality or speed of the data or restrict how it can be used. Unlimited data plans, whether for mobile, internet, or Wi-Fi, allow users to use data without worrying about reaching a limit or incurring extra charges.
No need to worry about any of this with Truestream – we offer unlimited data.
Streaming
Streaming is sending sound or video to an internet connected device (i.e., computer, mobile phone, TV, etc.) directly from the internet so that it does not need to be downloaded and saved first.
TO LEARN MORE, READ ‘WHAT’S UP WITH STREAMING?’
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the rate of data transfer, bit rate, is typically measured in bits per second (bps) .
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- Megabits per second (Mbps) A measure of data transfer speed, particularly network transmissions.
- Gigabytes (Gig) are also a common measurement for broadband usage, measuring the volume of data downloaded or uploaded by a device and/or customer (1 Gig = 1,000 Mbps).
LEARN MORE ABOUT BANDWIDTH
Speed
Internet speed, or broadband speed, is the rate at which data is transferred between a device and a web server over a router. It’s measured in megabits per second (Mbps), where a megabit is one million bits. A higher Mbps means faster internet speeds, which can improve the quality of online activities. For example, faster speeds can result in quicker downloads and faster loading times.
Truestream provides symmetrical upload/download speeds (the same speed whether you’re uploading or downloading).
LEARN MORE ABOUT SPEED
Voice Service
Truestream offers a voice service using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) – technology used to transmit voice conversations over a data network using IP. This is done by digitizing voice into discrete packets that are transferred independently over the network, instead of traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
So, basically, our voice service is a phone service uses our fiber lines, not the same as old school landlines.
LEARN MORE ABOUT VoIP vs. LANDLINE
Equipment
Modem
A modem brings internet service from the internet service provider (ISP) into the home.
LEARN MORE ABOUT TRUESTREAM’S MODEM
Mesh
A wireless mesh, or Wi-Fi extender, is a device that provides extra Wi-Fi coverage, boosting the signal throughout your home.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MESH
Device
When we say device, we mean is an object that connects to the internet.
A Wi-Fi-enabled device connects wirelessly to the internet when available, while a wired device connects to the internet by cables.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DEVICES
Router
A router transfers the internet connection to the devices in your home either wirelessly via Wi-Fi or through Ethernet cables.
LEARN MORE ABOUT TRUESTREAM’S ROUTER
Battery Back-Up
A battery back-up provides power to the modem in the event of a power outage. We carry three battery back-up options that offer power to the router for 8-24 hours or more. Battery back-ups are available for purchase through Truestream for a one-time fee.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BATTERY BACK-UPS
Thingamajigger
Thingamajigger, refers to any one thing we can’t remember the name of at any given moment…you know, the thingmajigger!
However, of all the terms, we can’t forget our favorite, Truestreamer. Once you’re connected, you become a part of the Truestream family and officially earn the nickname ‘Truestreamer.’
We’re working hard and making progress because we genuinely look forward to the day we can call all of our valued Great Lakes Energy members Truestreamers.
Check out our FAQs to learn more about Truestream, or call us at 888-485-2537.