ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)

Also see Fast Guide to DSL.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is a technology for transmitting digital information at a high bandwidth on existing phone lines to homes and businesses. Unlike regular dialup phone service, ADSL provides continously-available, "always on" connection. ADSL is asymmetric in that it uses most of the channel to transmit downstream to the user and only a small part to receive information from the user. ADSL simultaneously accommodates analog (voice) information on the same line. ADSL is generally offered at downstream data rates from 512 Kbps to about 6 Mbps. A form of ADSL, known as Universal ADSL or G.lite, has been approved as a standard by the ITU-TS.   

Download this free guide

How SD-WAN Can Help Enable Digital Transformation

When embarking on digital transformation initiatives, its important to factor in WAN design to avoid poor application performance and customer dissatisfaction. In this white paper, you’ll explore the drawbacks of traditional WAN architectures and how a managed SD-WAN service can overcome some of these challenges.

Start Download

• Corporate E-mail Address:

  You forgot to provide an Email Address.

  This email address doesn’t appear to be valid.

  This email address is already registered. Please login.

  You have exceeded the maximum character limit.

  Please provide a Corporate E-mail Address.

• • I agree to TechTarget’s Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and the transfer of my information to the United States for processing to provide me with relevant information as described in our Privacy Policy.

  Please check the box if you want to proceed.

• • I agree to my information being processed by TechTarget and its Partners to contact me via phone, email, or other means regarding information relevant to my professional interests. I may unsubscribe at any time.

  Please check the box if you want to proceed.

By submitting my Email address I confirm that I have read and accepted the Terms of Use and Declaration of Consent.

ADSL was specifically designed to exploit the one-way nature of most multimedia communication in which large amounts of information flow toward the user and only a small amount of interactive control information is returned. Several experiments with ADSL to real users began in 1996. In 1998, wide-scale installations began in several parts of the U.S. In 2000 and beyond, ADSL and other forms of DSL are expected to become generally available in urban areas. With ADSL (and other forms of DSL), telephone companies are competing with cable companies and their cable modem services.