customer premises equipment (CPE)

Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) is a subscriber- or customer-owned terminal that is connected to the telephone or data network and supports corresponding voice and data services.

Typical CPE terminals include telephones, modems, fax machines, private branch exchanges, set-top boxes, computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, or cell phones. There is a terminal classification based on performance, functionality and price level compared to similar terminals. According to this, there are low-end devices, mid-range devices and high-end devices.

Low-end devices are inexpensive devices with a limited range of functions. Their display capabilities in terms of display size, resolution and color variety, and their computing power are below those of the other two device classifications.

Mid-range devices are the middle group of devices between low-end and high-end devices. Their range of functions is higher than that of the inexpensive low-end devices, but the depth of functions does not correspond to that of the high-end devices. In terms of sales figures, mid-range devices are the ones that are sold and used the most.

High-end devices are the ones with the highest performance in terms of computing power, memory capacity and current CPU generation. They are equipped with the most and the latest features. They represent the non-plus-ultra. The prices for high-end devices are the highest in the corresponding device group.

As for the actual CPE devices, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), they support carrier services and teleservices such as call setup and signaling. On the Internet, they support all the services offered, such as Internet telephony, InternetTV, Internet radio, virtual phone numbers, voice-to- text and many other services. Peripheral equipment that is not directly related to long distance or IP services is also not referred to as CPE equipment.

In Europe, Customer Premises Equipment is also referred to as Connected Telecommunications Equipment( CTE).