What Is the Difference Between Telco and Telecom? How Each Term Is Used to Connect Businesses in San Jose, CA
“Telco” is short for telephone company or telecommunications company, and it usually means a carrier that provides phone or internet service. “Telecom” is short for telecommunications, and it refers to the whole industry and the technology behind it.
In short, a telco is a company, while telecom is the field that company works in. People often use the two words interchangeably, but on a building project the difference matters. When you talk with a carrier, a building manager or a Telecommunications Contractor in San Jose, CA, knowing which term means what helps everyone point to the right room, rack and responsibility.
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Request a quoteWhat “Telco” Means
The term telco grew out of the traditional telephone company. Today it describes any carrier that delivers phone, internet or data service to customers, whether over copper, fiber, coaxial cable or wireless. In the U.S. you’ll also see related terms such as ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier), the established local phone company in an area, and CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier), a newer competitor.
The word also shows up in building and equipment names. A “telco room” or “telco closet” is often where the carrier’s lines enter a building, and a “telco rack” is the common name for a two-post equipment rack.
What “Telecom” Means
Telecom is the broader term. It covers the technology of sending voice, data and video over a distance, and the industry built around it: carriers, equipment makers, infrastructure builders, data centers and installation contractors.
Industry standards use the full word. The TIA standards contractors follow refer to a “telecommunications room,” the space on each floor where horizontal cabling is terminated and connected to network equipment. Day to day, most people simply call it the telecom room.
Telco vs. Telecom at a Glance
The two words overlap, but they point to different things.
| Telco | Telecom | |
|---|---|---|
| Short for | Telephone company or telecommunications company | Telecommunications |
| Refers to | A company, usually a carrier | The industry, technology or field |
| Typical use | “Call the telco to schedule the circuit install.” | “We work in telecom.” |
| In a building | Telco room or demarc, where carrier lines enter | Telecom room, where building cabling connects to equipment |
| Equipment | Telco rack (two-post rack) | Telecom equipment, telecom cabling |
| Who it describes | AT&T, Verizon, cable and fiber providers | Carriers, manufacturers, builders and contractors |
Common Phrases Using Each Term
These are the phrases you’re most likely to hear on a commercial building project.
- Telco demarc: the point where the carrier’s responsibility ends and the building’s begins
- Telco room or closet: where carrier lines enter the building
- Telco rack: a two-post rack for patch panels and network equipment
- Telco circuit: an internet or phone line ordered from a carrier
- Telecom room: the floor-level room where building cabling connects to switches
- Telecom contractor: a licensed contractor who installs cabling and low voltage systems
- Telecom cabling: the copper and fiber that carries data through a building
- Telecom infrastructure: the full set of cabling, rooms and equipment a network depends on
Telco and Telecom on San Jose Projects
Both terms come up on almost every commercial project in the city.
Downtown San Jose office towers
Telco room to tenant suite
Carrier lines usually arrive in a basement or ground-floor telco room, and a riser carries them up to each tenant’s telecom room.
North First Street tech offices
New circuit install
A carrier delivers a fiber circuit to the demarc, and a telecom contractor extends it to the tenant’s network rack.
Warehouses in Berryessa and Edenvale
Far-end telecom rooms
Large buildings may need extra telecom rooms connected by fiber because copper runs are limited to 100 meters.
Retail centers like Santana Row
Shared telco closets
Stores often share a landlord’s telco closet, so each tenant’s lines need clear labeling.
Where Telco and Telecom Fit in the Wider Industry
Telcos are one segment of a much larger field that also includes equipment makers, infrastructure builders, data centers and installation contractors. Our guide What Kind of Industry Is Telecommunications explains how that field is classified and how its segments work together.
Telco and Telecom: The Short Version
A telco is a company that provides phone or internet service, and telecom is the industry and technology it belongs to. On a building project, the telco brings service to the demarc, and the telecom cabling inside the building carries it the rest of the way.
Telecommunications itself comes in several forms, from wired lines to wireless and satellite links. Our guide What Are the Three Types of Telecommunication breaks those down.
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