ion of appropriate standards, competitive procurement becomes significantly easier. Once the goods and services are delivered, it becomes prudent to determine whether or not the deliverables meet 1 BASIC FUNDAMENTALS, DEFINITIONS, AND KEY TERMS End-To-End Content Transport Service Internet / Telecom Equipment & Facilities Network Switching Network Broadcast Broadcast Interface Access Access Interface Facility Device Transport Device Facility FIGURE 1-7 Inter-Facility Link End-to-End Service Model the requirements of the contract, not just at the point in time where the delivery occurs, but continue to meet the requirements minute to minute of each hour, day, month, and year as agreed to in the contract. In many situations, it's not possible to acquire network services from a single supplier. A well thought-out and documented end-to-end service model can be used to detail requirements for a meet point, a term for literally connecting one service provider's network interface to another. The end-to-end service model can eliminate finger pointing, and enable objective measurement and monitoring of indi- vidual components and elements of a network, not just the end-to- end connection. A well-documented, end-to-end design enables the broadcaster to separate facts from conjecture, and the known from the unknown during delivery and acceptance, as well as trouble reporting and resolution during operations. ACRONYMS AND KEY TERMS While there's a more extensive glossary of acronyms and terms in Appendix I, it is by all measures not comprehensive nor is the only source you should have handy. Cisco has produced a very good dictionary2 containing Internet working terms and acronyms. Gilbert Held, a well-known communications author has written an excellent data dictionary. Another good source of Telecom and re- lated terms is Harry Newton's Telecom Dictionary.4 And there's always your favorite search engine on the Internet. Having said all that though, the last part of this chapter is an attempt to highlight the key terms and p