Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

An IAD is a customer premises device that provides access to wide area networks and the Internet. Specifically, it aggregates multiple channels of information including voice and data across a single shared access link to a carrier or service provider PoP (Point of Presence). The access link may be a T1 line, a DSL connection, a cable (CATV) network, a broadband wireless link, or a metro-Ethernet connection.

At the PoP, the customer's aggregated information is typically directed into a MSPP (multiservice provisioning platform), which is a complex and expensive device that sits between customers and the core network. It manages traffic streams coming from customers and forwards those streams to the PSTN (voice) or appropriate wide area networks (ATM, frame relay, or the Internet).

An IAD is sometimes installed by the service provider that a customer wishes to connect with. This allows the service provider to control the features of the access link and manage its operation during use. Competitive service providers are now offering access services over a variety of access technologies, including wireless optical (i.e., Terabeam) and metro-Ethernet networks. Old telco protocols and transport methods (T1 lines and time division multiplexing) are replaced with access methods that are appropriate for the underlying transport. Because of this, the provider will usually specify an appropriate IAD, or install an IAD.

See "Network Access Services" for a continuation of this topic.

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