Glossary of Terms – What does it all mean?

At Home Telecom we want to make the process of joining us as easy as possible so we have created this section to simplify some of the technical terms that you may come across. If there is anything you do not understand you can find out what it means in this section:

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) – ADSL is a data communications standard used in broadband internet.

APN/ Access Point Name – An Access Point Name identifies an external network that is accessible from a terminal. An APN has several attributes associated with it that define how you can access the external network at that point. You can request the latest settings from your phone manufacturer.

Assured Rate – having an assured rate in place means that you will always be guaranteed a decent level of broadband performance. This differs from most providers as you will no longer be stuck with a slow connection at busy times.

Bandwidth – Bandwidth or digital bandwidth is a rate that data is transferred, measured in bits per second (bps). The higher the bandwidth the faster you will be able to transfer data across the internet.

Browser – A software application used to access information on the internet e.g. Internet Explorer.

Call Charges – see our tariff guide for a breakdown of what you will be charged for making different types of calls.

Cookies – Some websites create small files on your computer called cookies to monitor your personal preferences and browsing habits. Cookies have multiple uses, such as storing the settings you have chosen for a specific website. Cookies are relatively benign compared to ’true’ spyware like behavioural and keyword monitoring applications. Make sure you check your internet settings to see your what cookies you are allowing.

Download Speed – The download speed of your broadband connection is the speed of which data is transferred from the internet to you.

Encryption – Encryption is the process of changing information to make it unreadable without special means.

Ethernet – A common method of networking computers in a local area network. Ethernet provides a fast and efficient connection between devices such as PCs, routers and printers. The supplied router can be connected to computers using an Ethernet cable, which requires the user’s computer to have an available Ethernet port.

Firewall – A security system that can consist of either hardware, software or both that limits the exposure of a computer or computer network to attacks from crackers by blocking selected traffic.

IP – The abbreviation for internet protocol, IP refers to a set of communication standards that control certain communications activity on the internet. An IP address is the identifying number assigned to any computer connected to the internet.

Internet Service Provider (ISP) – This is a company which provides internet access to its customers. If you’re a Home Telecom customer, Home Telecom is your ISP.

Local Area Network (LAN) – A local area network is a computer network covering a small area such as a home or office. It is possible to set up a LAN with a Home Telecom router using either Ethernet cables, a wireless connection or a combination of both.

LLU – LLU broadband providers supply their product using a privately owned local network between the local BT exchange and the customer’s premises. They have their own dedicated equipment located within the BT exchange.

MAC – A migration authorisation code, this is issued by your broadband provider and used to switch from them to another provider with the minimum of down-time. Often known as a ’MAC code’, it is normally 17 or 18 characters long and start with FTIP, BBDS, BBIP, or L. We use the code provided by your existing broadband service provider to ensure that the provision of your new Broadband and the cancellation of your old service are timed together as closely as possible, to minimise the time you’re without a broadband service.

Mb – Refers to Megabits per second. This is the speed at which data can be transferred.

MB – Stands for megabyte, a unit for measuring the size of electronic data. 1 MB = 1024 kilobytes = 1048576 bytes = 8388608 bits.

Microfilter – A microfilter typically separates signals of different bandwidths. ADSL uses a filter to separate the voice component of the signal on the copper phone line from the internet communications signal. Hence, it is possible to use the one telephone line entering a home to carry normal voice telephone conversations and broadband internet without any interference between the two.

Monthly Usage Cap – With the Home Telecom products, this is the amount of data that a customer can download from the internet in one month.

Phishing – Phishing is the act of attempting to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords or credit card details on the internet, commonly by sending fake emails claiming to be from reputable organisations.

Public Switched Telephone Network/PSTN – This is the network which connects all the telephone lines in the United Kingdom into a single network capable of handling voice communications from anywhere in the country.

Router – A device in a network that handles data transfer between computers.

Spam – Refers to unsolicited email (email that has not been requested), often sent to large numbers of people with the intention of illegally advertising products or services.

Spyware – Generally refers to software that is secretly installed onto a user’s computer to monitor its use in some way without the user’s consent. Spyware is usually unknowingly installed on a computer as part of the installation of other software, such as screensavers or peer to peer networking clients, or from visiting dubious websites.

Call Periods – Depending on what time of the day you make calls, you may be charged different amount. At Home Telecom our call periods are as follows:
Standard – 08.00-18.00
Weekend – 00.00-24.00 Saturday and Sunday
Off Peak – all other times

Wireless Adapter – A wireless adapter is a device that allows a computer to communicate with your wireless router without using cables. To connect a computer to a wireless network the computer needs to be wireless enabled. If a computer is not wireless enabled, either a card that fits into the machine or an external USB device will provide this functionality.

Changes to Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions shall apply to the provision of Home Telecom services (as specified below) by Global 4 Communications Ltd to the Customer.

We reserve the right, from time to time, with or without notice to you, to change these Terms and Conditions at our sole discretion.

Any changes will be listed below.

As of 20th August 2020
7.5 - Each invoice shall be paid by the Customer by Direct Debit unless agreed otherwise. Direct Debits will be taken on or around your agreed payment date. Any due amounts from previous months will be displayed on the Customer’s monthly invoice and will be collected by Direct Debit in that month

As of 5th August 2020
2.1.4.To return all equipment owned by Global 4 upon termination of the Agreement at your own expense. The equipment we provide is loaned to you for the length of the agreement and remains the property of Global 4.
Any equipment not returned within 14 days will be chargeable and invoiced to you as follows:
a) £39 charge for a TG588 model router.
b) £59 charge for a DWA0120 model router.
Proof of postage will be required for any router returned at the request of Global 4.
8.2.5 If you cancel a contract you are responsible for returning any equipment within 14 days of cancelling the order to avoid an equipment charge:
a) £39 charge for a TG588 model router.
b) £59 charge for a DWA0120 model router.
You are responsible for the costs of returning the equipment you have ordered.
Proof of postage will be required for any router returned at the request of Global 4.

As of 9th July 2020
7.11 - RPI Price Increase: Each year, your Pay Monthly airtime tariff will be adjusted according to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of inflation. Before your bill is adjusted, we will notify you at least 30 days prior to the adjustment.
8.6 - If you decide to terminate this Agreement upon receiving notification that we have applied RPI increases to your tariff, then early termination charges will be apply for the remainder of your term of your Agreement.

As of 18th March 2020
9.1 - Moving home costs are set by the standard installation fees advertised on our website. The installation fee will be dependent on the contract length taken, package chosen and the area you are moving to. We will then arrange a new agreed contract term with you for your new address, to which a separate minimum contract term will apply. Please also note that if you move home, your contract with us for your current Services will continue until it is ended in the way set out in condition 8.3 "Term and Termination". If you have our Fibre to the Property Service, then you cannot move home with your Services within the first 12 months of your contract. If you do move home then the full 12 months minimum term is payable, plus moving home costs.
14 - When calling from your landline to a mobile number, please be aware that your call package includes only calls to the following service provider networks:

• Mobile - O2
• Mobile - Virgin
• Mobile - T-Mobile
• Mobile - Orange
• Mobile - Vodafone
• Mobile - Hutchinson G3
• Mobile - Opal
• Mobile - BT Fusion

Calls to other operators that are not listed above are not included in your call package. This could potentially mean that you incur additional call charges if the mobile number you are calling is associated to a service provider that is not part of your call package.

As of 25th November 2019
2.1.11 - Added clause for fair usage policy of 10,000 minutes per month for "Unlimited" calls

As of 14th October 2019
4.2 - The Customer shall reimburse Global 4 for all reasonable costs and expenses incurred as a result of such suspension and any re-commencement of the Service as appropriate where suspension is implemented as a result of any act or omission of the Customer. Global 4 will apply a combined suspension and late payment charge of £20 to recover these costs that will be applied to the customers next invoice.
4.3 - Global 4 reserve the right to recover all outstanding charges by passing on to an external debt collection agency (DCA). The customer will receive notice from Global 4 of our actions in passing on the customer’s details to the debt collection agency (DCA). This may incur additional charges to the customer.
4.4 - The customer must be aware that this may be passed over to the County Court to recover outstanding debt.
7.4.1 - If the customer pays on the 28th of the month, a direct debit instruction must be set up. If this has not been set up, the customer will receive notification via email that the payment date will be moved to the 7th of each month going forward. The customer will be charged a non-direct debit admin fee of £10.00.
7.5 - The Customer shall pay all invoices by Direct Debit unless otherwise permitted by Global 4 in writing. If Global 4 permits the Customer to pay otherwise than by Direct Debit, Global 4 reserves the right to charge the Customer an additional administrative fee of £10 per invoice. In the event the Customer cancels any established Direct Debit payment arrangements, Global 4 reserve the right to charge the Customer an administrative fee of £25 per invoice until the Direct Debit facility has been reinstated. 7.6 - The customer shall pay all invoices by the agreed collection date unless otherwise permitted by Global 4 in writing. Any overdue payments to Global 4 will incur a £20 suspension and late payment fee. 11. - DATA PROTECTION & CONFIDENTIALITY
Data protection legislation means collectively:
i) any applicable laws of the EU;
ii) any applicable laws relating to the processing or personal data and the protection of an individual’s privacy;
iii) GDPR means the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and any amendment or replacement to it. Home Telecom privacy policy means that the policy that Home Telecom has implemented and may be updated from time to time on how it processes personal data. Document can be found here
iv) Data protection legislation means the Data Protection Act 1998 superseded by the Data Protection Act 2018

As of 29th June 2018
7.4 – Clause updated to explain that the due date for payment shall be 7 days from when the invoice is created, unless agreed otherwise by Global 4.

As of the 4th April 2018
6.2 – Clause 6.2 with sub clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 added to clarify use of external services, wireless equipment, slow speeds and our liability for such services.
7.12 – Removed clause on Fair usage policy for unlimited broadband areas as this no longer applies.
7.13 – Removed this clause on fair usage cap and additional charges as this no longer applies.
8.2.1 – Clause updated to clarify the application form as the customers contract.
8.2.3 – The standard prices to cover the installation charge, whilst cancelling within the cooling off period updated.
9.3 – Clause updated to explain that moving home costs are set by the standard installation fees advertised on our website and that additional charges to cover the installation of the current contract no longer apply.
9.3.1 – Clause removed which previously outlined fees to pay for moving home within the minimum contract term.
9.4 – Clause added to further clarify the customers obligation for the contract if the customer moves to an address outside of our network area.
10.1 – Changed 20 working days to 31 calendar days.
10.2 – Clause updated to explain that upgrade costs are set by the standard installation fees advertised on our website and that additional charges to cover the installation of the current contract no longer apply.
10.2.1 – Clause removed previously outlined fees to pay for upgrading within the minimum contract term.
10.3 – Added clause to outline and provide clarification on fees to assign the contract to another individual.
10.4 – Added clause to provide clarification on changing the contract, term and any additional items.
13 – Removed external services, section 13 now replaced with section 14, Enhanced Care.
13 – Enhanced care price updated to £1.95 per month within contract term and £2.95 per month outside the contract term.
13.4 – Clause removed on remote monitoring for maintenance.
13.5 – Clause removed on notice period for Enhanced Care as this would be covered until clause 10.4

As of the 15th November 2017
3.2 – Clarification on where the customer should report any fault with the services to. 8.10 – Link for disconnection fee info changed to https://admin.hometelecom.co.uk/termsandconditions . As MAC process no longer exists, clarification provided to the standard migration practice.

As of the 16th June 2017
11.1.3 – Time frame in which call recordings are held increased to 6 months.

As of the 23rd April 2017
14. Enhanced Care
This service is available to all clients on request at the point of arranging installation or during the term or the rolling on period.
This replaces the former Gold Care service recently offered over the last few months, however, all commitments on behalf of Global 4 / Home Telecom will be honoured. Should the customer wish for a refund on the Gold Care package please email customer.care@hometelecom.co.uk and the refund will appear on the next month’s bill.

As of the 10th November 2016
2.1.4 – Updated to advise that proof of postage is required for any router returned at the request of Global 4.
14.4 – Updated to advise that proof of postage is required for any router returned at the request of Global 4.
5.6 – Added to confirm the engineer call out fees for Openreach fault engineers.

As of the 11th October 2016
“In Writing” – Updated to our postal address.
2.1.5 – Clause removed from the contract and added to 14.1 instead to clarify router replacement process.
2.1.10 – To clarify that the contract will continue on a monthly rolling basis once the initial contract term has been fulfilled.
3.14.1 – Missed appointment fee changed to £150.
7.4 – Payment date changed to a minimum 3 working days from when the invoice is generated.
7.6 – Late payment charge increased to £15.
14. – Section 14 has been created to clarify the router care packages are warranty processes.
8.2.3 The charges for installation for Option 1 areas changed to £75.
8.2.4 Missed appointment fee changed to £150.
8.2.7 Cancel order fee changed to £45.

As of 10th January 2016
4.2 The suspension fee clarified as £25.
7.1 Time frame for notice of pricing modifications changed from 7 days to 30 days.
7.5 Non Direct Debit charge increased to £10.
7.6 Late payment fee clarified as £10.
8.1.2 Clarification provided as to what date the contract commences.
13 Section 13 has been created to clarify our association to any third party external services that we may offer you.

As of 21st December 2015
3.14 Time frame changed to amend the installation date to up to 2 working days before the start date, subject to a £20 charge.
3.15 Time frame changed to amend the installation date within 2 working days of the start date, subject to a £120 charge.
8.2 The before installation cancellation rights have been updated to clarify the customer’s rights to cancel before installation. Clarification as to what charges apply for cancelling whilst in the cooling off period has been made along with a more detailed explanations of the obligations of the customer and Global 4 for cancelling whilst in the cooling off period.

As of 26th September 2015
8.2.2 Cancellation fee amended to reflect current inflation and to cover the associated costs from BT Wholesale.

As of 3rd February 2015
Terms and Definitions section now includes ’Cancellation’ and ’Termination’ definitions, and the ’In Writing’ section has been amended with the correct process for writing to Home Telecom.
Cancellation form has been amended with how to provide written notice, and a direct telephone number has been provided to contact our Customer Care team.

As of 16th October 2014
9 Section 9 has been added to provide a more detailed explanation of the costs involved with moving home within and outside of the agreed contract term.
10 Section 10 has been added to provide a more detailed explanation of the costs involved with upgrading or changing the Services within the agreed contract term.

As of 15th October 2014
8.2.1 More detailed explanation for the 14 day cooling off period and how the rights of the customer are affected by placing an order within the cooling off period.
8.2.2 Cancellation fee amended to reflect current inflation.

As of 13th June 2014
8.10 More detailed explanation for the disconnection fee has been added along with a link to the website for further information.
8.2.1 Extending the 7 working day cancellation period to 14 calendar days in line with the new Distance Selling Regulations cooling off period as of 13/06/2014.
3.14.1 Reworded due to the new Distance Selling Regulations cooling off period as of 13/06/2014, a free amendment charge no longer applies within 7 days.
A Model Cancellation Form is now available, in line with the new Distance Selling Regulations, and can now be found on the last page of our Term and Conditions.

Updated 29th May 2014
3.14 to advise customers of a £20 administrative fee for any amended installation date up to three working days prior to the service go live date.

Updated 5th May 2014
2.1.4 to advise customers of a £50 charge if equipment is not returned to Global 4 upon termination of the contract.
2.1.5 to advise customers of a £50 charge is a replacement router is provided and the faulty router not returned within the set time frame.

Updated 19th February 2014
8.10 to advise customers that if they end their broadband contract with us, they agree to pay us a cessation fee of £40. This fee is to cover the cancellation charge that we must pay and associated administration costs.

Updated 27th January 2014
3.14 To advise customers of a £15 administrative fee for any amended installation date up to three working days prior to the service go live date.
3.14.1 Notwithstanding the above, any customers amending their installation date within 3 working days of the service go live date will be subject to a £120 late amendment fee.
8.2.1 to make customers aware of our 7 day cancellation period and the charges that apply for requesting to cancel once this period has lapsed.
8.2.2 to make customers aware that they may cancel the installation of their Service up to 3 working days before their service is due to go live at a cancellation fee of £25.

Updated 14th January 2014
1.1.6 to make customers aware that all installation charges are subject to Openreach survey.

Updated 11th December 2013
8.4.1 to make aware that if they have received an upgrade and cancel early within their contract, charges will be payable.

Updated 11th December 2013
8.5 to make customers aware that if they have taken advantage of a special offer and cancel early within their contract then full package price will be payable.

Updated 23rd April 2013
Small clarification amendment to Data Protection section on call recording (section 9.1.3).

Updated 14th March 2013
Residential terms and conditions were updated on 14th March 2013 to provide full clarification to Customers of their rights to cancel and implication of doing so both before and after the service has been installed. The primary amendments appear in section 8. This update also provides clarification on the application of our fair usage policy which only applies to products sold with a fair usage policy and not our totally unlimited offering (see clauses 7.11 and 7.12).