Sometimes refered to as Broadband, ADSL is an Internet connection available from telecom companies using existing phone lines providing fast download & upload speeds.

For more detailed information please see below.

ADSL continued...

ADSL works by splitting your phone line signal into two separate channels, one for normal voice usage, and the other for data usage.

This is achieved by placing a splitter (micro-filter) on the existing phone line to enable multi-frequency communication (voice and data).

A big advantage of having an ADSL line is not missing calls while you're online, as both voice and data can be transferred at the same time.

There are several adaptations of ADSL (Broadband) technology, they each have different capabilities when it comes to speed.

The past and present ADSL standards include:

ADSL
- ANSI T1.413-1998 Issue 2
ADSL (G.DMT)
- ITU G.992.1
ADSL over POTS
- ITU G.992.1 Annex A
ADSL over ISDN (IDSL)
- ITU G.992.1 Annex B
ADSL Lite (G.Lite)
- ITU G.992.2
ADSL2
- ITU G.992.3
- ITU G.992.3 Annex J

ADSL Lite (G.Lite)
- ITU G.992.2
RE-ADSL2
- ITU G.992.3 Annex L
ADSL2 (no splitter)
- ITU G.992.4
ADSL2+
- ITU G.992.5
ADSL2+M
- ITU G.992.5 Ann. M

ADSL (ITU G.992.1 (including Annex A & B) can reach speeds of up to 12Mbit per second for downloading and up to 1.8Mbits per second upload speed.

ADSL2 (ITU G.992.3) can reach speeds of up to 12Mbit per second for downloading and up to 3.5Mbits per second upload speed.

ADSL2+(M) (ITU G.992.5 (including Annex M) can reach speeds of up to 24Mbit per second for downloading and up to 3.5Mbits per second upload speed.

For more on ADSL connections, see our guide to Internet Connections

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