I

IAB

Internet Architecture Board; a part of the Internet Society, the IAB oversees the IESG and the IETF.

IANA

Internet Assigned Number Authority; a group organized through the Internet Society for maintaining assigned numbers relating to the Internet Protocol suite.

ICMP

Internet Control Message Protocol; a protocol used to exchange reachability and routing information between hosts and routers on the same LAN.

IESG

Internet Engineering Steering Group; a steering committee overseeing the activities of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

independent sales organization

The Visa term for a company that is sponsored by an acquiring bank to solicit and sometimes support merchants.

information superhighway

A common idiom that loosely describes a medium that delivers digital information. Some believe that this term will eventually mean the Internet.

interchange

The flow of information between issuers and acquirers (transactions, retrieval requests, chargebacks).

interchange fee

The fee charged by Visa and MasterCard for each credit card transaction. This fee is part of the discount rate.

Internaut

A combination of the words Internet and astronaut, describing one who explores the Internet.

internet

See internetwork.

Internet

The network of networks connecting tens of millions of users around the world.

Internet merchant bank account

A special type of account that is required for merchants who want to sell goods and services over the Internet and accept credit cards as payment. This type of account is different than a typical merchant account and is considered card-not-present.

Internet Service Provider

A company that supplies a method for individuals or companies to connect to the Internet.

internetwork

Literally, a network of networks. Any network consisting of two or more discrete networks connected by routers and capable of supporting seamless interoperability between hosts connected to any part of the internetwork.

InterNIC

Internet Network Information Center; an organization that administers and assigns Internet domains and network addresses.

interoperability

The ability of disparate computer systems to send and receive requests for network services across disparate networks, seamlessly and transparently to the end user.

IP

Internet Protocol; a protocol defining the interaction between hosts communicating across an internetwork.

IP address

A numerical address assigned to a computer connected to an internetwork that uniquely identifies it on that internetwork.

IPv6

Internet Protocol, version 6; the next revision of the Internet Protocol, that was implemented in the second half of the 1990s. In addition to various new features, IPv6 increases the size of Internet addresses from 32 bits to 128 bits, thus increasing the number of available network and host IP addresses. This is necessary to accommodate continued exponential growth in Internet connectivity.

IPX

Internetwork Packet eXchange; an internetwork protocol used by Novell NetWare and other LAN operating systems.

ISDN

Integrated Services Digital Network; a type of telephone service providing high-speed (128 Kbps and up) and digital services (multiple phone lines on a single link, conferencing, and many others).

ISOC

Internet Society; a professional organization supporting Internet standards processes as well as other activities.

issuer

The institution (or its agent) that enters into a contractual agreement with MasterCard and issues MasterCard cards to the cardholders.