What’s ADSL broadband?

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ADSL broadband is high-speed internet provided over existing telephone wires. It uses copper wires to handle both voice calls and internet data. Download speeds are faster than upload speeds, and the connection speed depends on distance from the provider’s central office. A DSL modem is needed to connect to the internet.

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) broadband is a type of high-speed Internet service provided over existing telephone wires in a home or business. When a person has ADSL broadband, they connect to the Internet through an always available Internet connection instead of making a call using a computer modem. The name of this type of broadband includes the word asymmetric because the upload and download speeds for this type of broadband Internet service are not identical. Instead, download speeds are typically faster than upload speeds, although the speed can be affected by how far the internet signal has to travel.

ADSL broadband internet uses the existing telephone wires in a person’s home or place of business. In many places, telephone wiring includes a pair of copper wires. ADSL broadband service is possible because copper wires can handle not only one person’s telephone conversations, but also a large amount of extra data. Since telephone calls usually cannot even come close to the capacity of the telephone wire, copper telephone cables can be used for both voice calls and Internet data.

When a person has ADSL broadband, their Internet speed typically differs slightly, depending on whether they are uploading or downloading from the Internet. In most cases, people spend much more time downloading from the internet than uploading data. For this reason, ADSL broadband typically splits frequencies to allow for faster download speeds and cater to the average Internet user. However, the upload speeds are still faster than what dial-up service offers.

The speed of the ADSL connection often depends on the distance from the central office of the line provider where the Internet user is located. The closer the line is to the office, the higher the speed. Likewise, connection quality can also decrease with distance. Distance is often to blame when an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is unable to offer ADSL broadband in a given area. If your connection speed is too slow and the quality drops significantly, you may need to choose a different Internet service.

To use ADSL broadband service, a person needs a transceiver, which is usually referred to as a DSL modem. This transceiver serves as a connection from a computer to an ADSL line. It can connect to a computer using a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection in some cases and an Ethernet connection in others.




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