DSL
The newer high speed alternative to cable modems is the DSL family. Why do I call this the DSL family as opposed to ADSL? Well because there are many many many flavours and varients of DSL, but yes the most popular right now is ADSL. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line and this service is usually offered through your phone company/ISP. Most major cities have some neighbourhoods where DSL is available. Like Cable Modems, there is no need to "dial up" when using DSL because as long as your computer is turned on, you are conneted to the internet. But unlike cable modems, you don't share your bandwidth with others in your neighbourhood, thus you get full bandwidth all the time. There are many types of DSL out there right now. One of the more popluar versions of DSL is the "Lite" version, or G.Lite. This standard usually prodcues speeds of around 1 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps downstream and 128kbps to 512kbps upstream. The ITO (International Telecommunications Union) has recognized this standard as, G.992.2. ADSL service has been getting some bad publicity lately, but then again so did cable modems when they first were introduced into service. The problem with DSL service isn't usually the DSL Modems, its the telco's CO (central office or switch) that's the most troublesome. Most problems relate to timing problems or faulty cards at the CO. The telco's are still learning the ISP world and supporting a new service like DSL is a very very new and complex issue for them, and unfortunately many telco/DSL providers are running into a number of bumps along the way. The DSL modems are quite stable usually, much much more stable then a V.90 modem in my opinion. One other issue with DSL service is that not all Teclo's/DSL providers are adhering to a common standard. I've seen quite a few proprietary standards out there which will make it difficult for the average buyer to go to the nearest computer store, buy a DSL modem, plug it in, subscribe to a service and start surfing easily.. This will eventually all get sorted out down the road in the near future though. Last Updated March 14, 2005. by webmaster |
