Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)

Digital Subscriber Line or DSL actually uses the same wires as your regular telephone lines and has a very high speed connection. There are both advantages and disadvantages to DSL. Some common advantages include: the ability to talk on the telephone and be connected to the Internet at the same time, DSL can in most cases use your already existing telephone lines so there should not be any new wiring, DSL’s connection speed is significantly higher than a regular modem, and which ever DSL company you decide to go through usually provides a modem with the installation. Some disadvantages on the other hand include: DSL is not yet available everywhere, DSL tends to work the best the closer you are located to the provider’s central office, and your DSL connection is faster when you are receiving data over the Internet than when you are sending data over the Internet.

There are several types of DSL, but some of the more common types include: Asymmetrical DSL (ADSL), Symmetric DSL (SDSL), Very high bit-rate DSL (VDSL), and Rate-adaptive DSL (RADSL). Asymmetrical DSL is what most homes and smaller businesses use, and was created on the assumption that most people using the Internet to download and look at web pages rather than sending information or uploading. So the connection speed is up to three to four times faster than the connection speed from the user back to the Internet. Symmetric DSL is used more in smaller business type settings, and you can not use both the Internet and the telephone at the same time but data can be sent and received at the same speed. Very high bit-rate DSL is actually the faster DSL connection you can get, but it really only works over short distances. Rate-adaptive DSL is actually a variation of Asymmetrical DSL where your modem has the ability of adjusting the connection speed depending on the quality and length of the line.

What many people do not realize is the connection speed for DSL really all depends on where your computer is set up and how far away you are from the DSL provider’s central office. Remember that DSL travels through your telephone lines, so bridge taps and fiber-optic cables can also cause your DSL some problems.