Overview
A high-speed DSL connection provides you with a dedicated line that is always connected to the Internet. While it runs over a phone line like a dial-up connection, DSL allows you to make and receive calls while you are online. DSL is much faster than dial-up which means pages appear sooner when you surf the Web, and you don't have to wait long to download computer files or email.
What is ADSL?
ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, and is a type of high-speed, or broadband, Internet service that works over the existing copper telephone lines that are in use throughout most of the country. It works by using specialized equipment to communicate at a very high sound frequency.
As anybody familiar with dog whistles is aware, there is a large range of high sound frequencies the human ear cannot hear. This remains true over telephone lines. That same large range of high frequencies is carried over a copper telephone wire that is not used for human voice conversation. ADSL uses this frequency range, from about 250kHz to about 1.1gHz, for data transmission.
