DSL Speed PerformanceDSL signals "piggyback" on top of the voice signal, where the line gets split, the voice calls are sent to the public switched telephone network, and the data transmission goes to the Internet. DSL is sometimes called the last-mile technology because it is used only for connections from a telephone switching station to a home or office. DSL is an always on connection m because it uses existing 2-wire copper telephone line connected to the premise and will not tie up your phone line as a dial-up internet connection does. DSL uses the industry standard TCP/IP protocol for communication. DSL is a technology for pushing large number of bits through wiring that is typical for "last mile" telephone connection protocols that fall under the DSL umbrella: ADSL, RADSL, HDSL, etc. DSL Broadband is basically a high bandwidth internet connection that can transmit and download large amounts of date or information at high speed, with data transmission rates at up to 10 times faster than a dial-up connection. DSL service providers offer you a choice of self installation or it can be professionally installed (for a fee). Most consumers are able to complete the self installation without difficulty, and with DSL there are no cables to run room to room or outside your home. Because DSL works over your existing telephone lines, you can talk on the telephone or use your fax or answering machine, even while you are actively using your DSL internet connection. Broadband connections like DSL are usually offered in bandwidth speeds ranging from 128 kbps to several megabits per second (mbps), where broadband upload speeds are usually around 10% of what your download speed is. Testing your upload speed rates can help in troubleshooting problems with your download speed rate. DSL performance is principally affected by the distance of a subscriber from a central switching station, where the further away you are, the slower the connection. In most cases, an ADSL and SDSL connection must be located within 18,000 feet of the telephone company's central office. DSL performance is improved because the DSL signals traverse only the relatively short distance from the central office to the customer site. DSLs must however cope with the huge embedded base of loop plants, some of which are over 75 years old. With DSL performance continually advancing and operators are offering new services, such as IPTV, major consumer brands now offer their own broadband services, using either wholesale DSL or local loop unbundling. |