Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a family of all-digital, high-speed lines that use your
normal phone wires with special modems on either end. Most DSL lines are actually
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line). ADSL is optimized for the way many people
use the Internet: more downloads than uploads. The line is asymmetric, because it has
more capacity for data received by your computer (such as graphics, video, audio, and
software upgrades) than for data that you send (such as e-mail and browser commands).
The downstream
bandwidth (data transfer speed from the Internet to your computer) can range from
384 Kbps to 8 megabits per second (Mbps). The upstream bandwidth (speed from your
computer to the Internet) can range from 90 Kbps to 768 Kbps. In real life, however,
speeds are usually much lower and depend on the distance between you and the phone
company’s Central Office (CO) or wherever the DSL modem at their end is located.
With a DSL line, you can connect your computer to the Internet and talk on the
phone at the same time on the same phone line. DSL
lines can’t be more than 18,000 feet (5,460 meters) from the phone company’s central
office (or switching point for your exchange).
0 comments:
Post a Comment