This cairn is a field-side glossary, not a narrative essay. Use it when someone drops alphabet soup into a meeting, a construction note, or an invoice and you need the plain-English version quickly.

Key Takeaway

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The source material in Notion is organized more like an operator notebook than a formal standard. Some entries are strict acronyms. Others are internal shorthand, funding-program names, or billing language that show up in real fiber work. This version keeps that mix, but puts it into tables so you can scan it faster.

Core fiber acronyms

Term Meaning
ADSS All dielectric, self-supporting (aerial fiber, no need for messenger wire or lashing)
APC Angled Physical Contact (Green)
ARC Arkansas Rural Connect: Provide grants to qualifying communities of at least 500 people to deploy high-speed broadband to its residents. The high-speed broadband must have a rate of at least 25 megabits per second for download and 3 megabits per second for upload (25/3).
ARKUPS Arkansas Utility Protection Services
ARPA American Rescue Plan Act
ARPU Average Revenue Per User
BEAD Funding Program Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Funding Program: Utilized for broadband deployment, mapping, and adoption projects. Funding priorities for the program are sequential with the first funding priority for providing broadband to unserved areas.
BOD Board of Directors
BOM Bill of Materials
BPO Blanket Purchase Order
CAN Splice Enclosure
CASE Splice Enclosure
CARES Act Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act
CO Central Office; usually where the main voice switch lives.
COP Close Out Process
CWDM Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing; an optical transport method for combining multiple wavelengths.
DBA Doing business as
DC Data Center; where ISP servers live, often used interchangeably with CO.
DIA Dedicated Internet Access
DWDM Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
EPON Ethernet Passive Optical Network
FAT Fiber Access Terminal
FC Fixed Connection
FCAPS Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security
FCC Federal Communications Commission; regulates telecommunications companies.
FDH Fiber Distribution Hub
FDP Fiber Distribution Panel
FECC First Electric
FODP Fiber Optic Distribution Panel
Form 477 FCC data collection form that tracks broadband availability and adoption across the U.S.
FOSC Fiber Optic Splice Closure
FTTB Fiber to the Business
FTTC Fiber to the Curb
FTTH Fiber to the Home
FTTN Fiber to the Node
FTTT Fiber to the Tower
FTTX Fiber to the X or variable endpoint
FUSF Federal Universal Service Fund
FWDM Filter Wavelength Division Multiplexing
GPON Gigabit Passive Optical Network
HLD High Level Design
HUBB FCC Reporting
ISP Internet Service Provider
LASER Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
LAC Location area code
LC Lucent Connector (Locking Connector); often used for fiber jumper connectors such as LC-to-SC.
LCP Local Convergence Point
LED Light Emitting Diode
LLD Low Level Design
MDU Multiple Dwelling Unit
MOP Method of Procedure
MRC Monthly Recurring Charge
MSA Multi-Source Agreement (between vendors)
MSO Multiple-Services Operator
MST Multi-Port Service Terminal
MTP/MPO Multi-fiber Termination Push-On
NAP Network Access Point
NOC Network Operations Center
NPS Net Promoter Score
OCP Operational Communication Plan
OLT Optical Line Terminal
OMB Office of Management and Budget; produces the president’s budget and reviews agency compliance and policy coordination.
ONT Optical Network Terminal; the device at the residence that allows for service connection.
OOB Out of Band; using a secondary isolated path to control or monitor network infrastructure even if the main network is down.
OSP Outside Plant
OTDR Optical Time Domain Reflectometer
OTE Optical Termination Enclosure
P2P Point to Point
POP Point of Presence
PON Passive Optical Network
RDOF Rural Digital Opportunity Fund; broadband funding for rural network construction.
RFO Reason for Outage
RFP Request for Proposal
SC Subscriber Connector (Slide Connector)
SDC Splitter Distribution Cabinet
SFP Small Form-Factor Pluggable
SP Splice Point
ST Straight Tip (Slide Twist)
TAP Splice Point for a lateral
UAT User acceptance testing
UPC Ultra Physical Contact (Blue), a type of fiber connector polish.
USAC Universal Service Administrative Company
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol; the rules that make internet-based calling and videophone communication possible.
WBS Work Breakdown Structure
WISP Wireless Internet Service Provider
WOA Work Order Authorization
XGS-PON 10 Gigabit Symmetrical Passive Optical Network

Internal shorthand and billing language

These are less about industry-standard acronyms and more about the language operators, program managers, and billing teams use around a fiber build.

KCCI terms

KCCI term Definition
Program Biller + Supervising Superintendent
RUS codes Rural Utility Standard units
ATT Articles RUS Units
Departments Clients (46 customers have departments)
Print Map or engineering diagram (ATTs come from Orca)
Callout Operational or emergency response; also ECO for Emergency CallOut
Reconcile Cost to GL Compare actual project costs from timesheets, materials, subcontractors, and similar sources to the general ledger accounting system.
Contracts: JC & PM JC = Job Cost Contract, the specific work agreement for a fiber build or repair. PM = Project Management Contract, the person or service managing execution, schedules, and compliance.

Common billing units

Activity or Item Billing Unit Example
Trenching / Plowing Per linear foot (LF) or meter (m) “Install 2-inch conduit: 500 LF @ $12/LF”
Cable Installation Per foot or meter “Pull 96-count fiber cable: 1,000 LF @ $1.50/LF”
Handhole / Vault Placement Per each (EA) “Install Tier 22 handhole: 5 EA @ $450 each”
Splicing Fiber Per splice or fiber count “Splice 432-count cable: 864 splices @ $5/splice”
Aerial Cable Lashing Per foot or meter “Lash fiber to strand: 1,200 LF @ $2.25/LF”
Potholing Per each or hour “Pothole existing utilities: 6 EA @ $250/EA”
Directional Boring Per foot; often includes setup and bore shot “Directional bore 100 LF under road @ $28/LF”
Traffic Control Per day or setup “Traffic control plan: 3 days @ $650/day”

Installation language that shows up in field conversations

Term Definition
Whitelining Initial visual and inspectional pass at defining the job
Redlining Annotating construction or engineering drawings with corrections, clarifications, or as-built changes
Handhole Small underground access vault for cables and splices
HDD Horizontal directional drilling
Jetting or blowing fiber Install fiber in conduit without digging trenches
Slack loop Extra cable length reserved for future maintenance and repairs
Lashing Attaching a fiber cable to a messenger wire using a spiral wrap
Pole line hardware Strand clamps, guy wires, and brackets
Messenger Wire Supports the fiber cable and maintains tension
Splicing Trailer Climate-controlled portable workspace for splicing cables
OTDR Optical Time Domain Reflectometer; related variants include OCCR and OCDR
Fusion Splicer Tool that melts fiber on both sides of a connection and fuses it together
Dump Trailer Functionally similar to a dump truck in field logistics
Reel Trailer Trailer that carries the cable reel on an axle
Hand Hole Below-ground box accessible by hand
Pothole or Test Hole Small excavation used to expose buried infrastructure, confirm utility depth and location, and avoid damage during boring or trenching
Flowerpot Weatherproof closure used on aerial cables to protect fiber splices and terminations

References

  1. Fiber Industry Top-level Fiber Industry data source in Notion.
  2. Terms and Acronyms The specific page used to rebuild and reformat this quick reference.