Last mile

The last mile or last kilometer is a widely used phrase used in the telecommunications, cable television and internet industries to refer to the final leg of the telecommunications networks delivery components and mechanisms to retail end-users (customers). More specifically, the last mile is the common colloquialism referring to the portion of the telecommunications network chain that physically reaches the end-user's premises. Examples are the copper wire subscriber lines connecting telephones to the local telephone exchange; coaxial cable service drops carrying cable television signals from utility poles to subscribers' homes, and cell towers linking local cell phones to the cellular network. The word "mile" is used metaphorically — not literally: the length of the last mile link may be more or less than a mile. Because the last mile of a network to the user is conversely the first mile from the user's premises to the outside world when the user is sending data (for example, sending an email), the term first mile is also alternately used.