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.