DSL is a type of digital subscriber line service that offers high-speed internet and other services over copper wire. ADSL, a specific type of DSL, has different upload and download speeds. DSL has advantages over dial-up, but proximity to the telephone company’s central office affects connection speed.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is an umbrella term that classifies services delivered over copper wire. DSL subscribers can receive high-speed Internet services and other services bundled with the DSL package. When a service provider or ISP offers Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), the customer will receive service that is not guaranteed to be the same speed in both directions.
For example, many ISPs advertise their Internet service with download and upload speeds, 1Mbps download and 256Kbps upload (or something similar). These advertised speeds are rarely the same in both directions. This would be how ADSL works, the upload and download speeds offered by the ISP to subscribers are different and stated like this.
DSL is more generic, implying any type of digital subscriber line service, from ADSL where upload and download speeds are different, to symmetrical digital subscriber line (SDSL) where upload and download speeds are the same. Service providers are introducing new methods of ADSL-style technologies, including tiered pricing that allows the ISP to charge higher rates for more bandwidth for download, upload, or both. ADSL is a specific type of service sold to allow subscribers to connect to high-speed data networks. Most of the DSL service sold for residential access is ADSL.
DSL, no matter the flavor, has some great advantages over the dial-up technology used on phone lines before it. The biggest or most seen benefit of DSL is the ability to use your phone to make or receive calls while connected to the Internet. With traditional dial-up service, this wasn’t possible without the use of a second phone line. DSL accomplishes this by embedding a filter on telephone jacks in a location that will have telephones plugged into them. Signals on the wire below 4Khz are considered speech signals and anything above 4Khz is considered a data signal, the filter helps ensure these signals never cross.
One disadvantage of DSL is the proximity issue. The closer a subscriber lives to the telephone company’s central office (CO), the faster the DSL connection (ADSL or otherwise) will be. Subscribers who live farther from the CO, but still within reach of DSL service, (as determined by the telephone company) will have a slower Internet connection. People living outside the predetermined boundary for DSL service will not be able to benefit from DSL and other means of high-speed access will be required.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
