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DSL is a high speed internet connection, often called broadband connection.

By Jose L. Anton

Broadband is a generic term used to describe a high speed internet connection. As on date any internet connection other than a dial-up can be termed as broadband. DSL or digital subscriber line is a form of broadband connection. Therefore , in essence, a DSL internet connection is  broadband.

It is interesting to understand how the word broadband came about. Around a decade back when there were only dial-up networks , a new technology came about which offered faster speed using the same telephone cable. Traditionally ,even today , a telephone communication cable is an analog cable which means that the capacity to carry frequencies is limited. On the other hand , internet requires digital signals. Instead of converting analog signals to digital and back , DSL merely permits communication in digital form . This gave two distinct advantages. Firstly , the telephone cable could carry higher bandwidth (meaning broadband capability) and secondly one could simultaneously speak on the phone line as well as maintain an internet connection. One can now imagine the popularity of DSL technology .

Within DSL , we have SDSL and ADSL . ADSL has been more popular among the two. It stands for asynchronous digital subscriber line. Whenever we are using   internet , the data we download in terms of video, audio, graphics or text has much higher bandwidth or data than what we upload. Essentially we are uploading keystrokes and mouse clicks. It therefore makes sense to allocate more bandwidth for downloads than uploads. Asynchronous means exactly this. The bandwidth between uploading and downloading is shared disproportionately to provide better efficiency.

DSL technology is broadband in that it provides high speed internet connectivity. There are other broadband technologies like cable which are also quite popular. How to choose between DSL  and cable? It all depends upon the cost , location and individual preferences. In Cable broadband , the number of simultaneous users impacts significantly on the performance or speed. If all your neighbors use the internet along with you , an element of frustration is bound to creep in. This situation does not arise in case of DSL. This does not mean that DSL has no limitations. The distance from the telephone exchange counted in number of hops affects the speed of transmission.

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DSL as well as Cable are equally popular broadband technologies in the United States of America. Preference of one over the other depends solely on individuals and internet service providers . As the need for bandwidth increases with services like video conferencing and real time video , broadband will play a larger role in the internet space. Both DSL as well as Cable may well be winners in this race.

Thank you,

Jose L. Anton

For comments or inquiries regarding this newsletter please contact me at the following address joseanton@greencodetech.com