DSL
-- (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 (howeverr a DSL
circuit is not a leased line.
A common 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: ADSL,
Bandwidth,
ISDN
, SDSL
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