DSL

Digital Subscriber Line technology for transmitting data up to 50 times faster than present analog modem and ISDN alternatives. Telephone companies are hoping that DSL service will keep telephone lines competitive with cable modems and other competitive alternatives to present telephone transmission services. Telephone companies are considering two dominant DSL technologies: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) and High Rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL). ADSL technology will deliver higher downstream speeds (6 Mbps) than upstream speeds (640 kbps). For additional information, seehttp://www.kentrox.com/news/110696.pr.html . See also MMDS and Modem .

(Digital Subscriber Line) -- A method for moving data over regular phone lines. A DSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection, and the wires coming into the subscriber’s premises are the same (copper) wires used for regular phone service. A DSL circuit must be configured to connect two specific locations, similar to a leased line.

A commonly discussed configuration of DSL allows downloads at speeds of up to 1.544 megabits (not megabytes) per second, and uploads at speeds of 128 kilobits per second. This arrangement is called ADSL: “Asymmetric” Digital Subscriber Line.

Another common configuration is symmetrical: 384 Kilobits per second in both directions.

In theory ADSL allows download speeds of up to 9 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 640 kilobits per second.

DSL is now a popular alternative to Leased Lines and ISDN, being faster than ISDN and less costly than traditional Leased Lines.

See Also: bit , bps , ISDN , Leased Line

A direct connection to the internet,usually using your existing phone line.Advantages are that you are always ‘online’,you can use your phone or fax without having to logoff,and higher connection speeds.DSL (Digital Subscriber Line )

Stands for "Digital Subscriber Line." It's basically another medium for sending data over regular phone lines. However, a DSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection, even though the wires it uses are copper like your typical phone lines. An asymmetric DSL (ADSL) connection allows download speeds of up to about 1.5 megabits (not megabytes) per second, and upload speeds of 128 kilobits per second. That is why it's called ADSL and not just DSL (because of the asymmetric speeds). There is also a "Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line" (SDSL) which is similar to ADSL, but allows data transfer speeds of 384 Kilobits per second in both directions. Theoretically, this type of connection allows download speeds of up to 9 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 640 kilobits per second. The difficult part in establishing an DSL circuit is that it must be configured to connect two specific locations, unlike a regular phone line or cable modem. DSL is often seen as a better alternative to the older ISDN standard.