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ADSL

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DSL became possible due to the improvements and reduction in cost of sophisticated communications processors. DSL talks to and from a special device at the central office called a DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer. When the phone company installs DSL, they take the phone company end of your copper wire and install a signal splitter that feeds the existing voice signal into the existing voice phone system, and feeds the high frequency digital signals into the DSLAM), The high frequency digital traffic is routed through the DSLAM to your ISP (which may or may not be your local phone company). The DSLAM and your DSL modem (actually not an accurate term) adjust frequencies and voltages during the day to prevent the cross talk between lines. Keep in mind that the high frequency signals are not audible on your phone, as they are much higher than your ears can hear. On your end, filters are placed on the existing phones (usually by you if you elect a self-install) to keep the voice and data signals from interfering with each other.

The common types of DSL:

xDSL - just a shorthand way of saying "some type of DSL"

ADSL - Asymmetrical (unequal) DSL. Most home users have most of their internet traffic in one direction - they are downloading information FROM the internet, not putting information into the internet. ADSL has very high speeds downloading and much slower speeds uploading. This is perfect for most home users, who generally are not running web servers or real audio streams or devices that put a lot of information into the internet

SDSL - Symmetrical (equal speed) DSL. On the other hand, most businesses generate a lot of traffic into the internet. They run web servers, send a lot of email, Video Conferencing, Voice over IP for their internal calls, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), Remote Access Services (RAS) or similar services that send traffic out into the internet. SDSL is rarely needed by a residential customer, and is the normal class of service for a business. As such, it is generally priced much higher. ADSL typically costs about $50 a month, where SDSL can run $150 to $500 or more per month. (The traditional T1 circuit, which is the alternative for a business, generally runs about $700-$1000 per month, depending on distance and the amount of competition)

IDSL - DSL over ISDN. ISDN was the phone company's first attempt at making the last mile digital. Due to complexity and equipment that was difficult to set up, ISDN was very slow to catch on. Single channel ISDN is only slightly faster than a 56k modem, and generally a lot more expensive. Two channel ISDN is 128Kb up and down. If you've been told your only DSL option is IDSL, it is probably because you are more than about 15,000 feet from the central office and/or your neighborhood runs from a DLC (Digital Loop Carrier). If this is the case, there really is very little advantage to IDSL over just signing up for ISDN, unless you find out there is a pricing advantage (IDSL is always on service, where ISDN is frequently a per-hour charge)
Unless you sign up with your phone company, there are at least two and frequently three parties to your service. In almost all cases, the local phone company provides the copper wire, and they want to be compensated for the use of the circuit. The second party is the company that installed the DSLAM at the phone company and routes the digital traffic from the DSLAM into the internet. The third party is the ISP that provides you with email service, newsgroups, technical support, billing, web space, etc... Frequently the 2nd and 3rd parties are the same - a CLEC that runs an ISP service...

If you go with the DSL offered by your phone company, all three services are provided by them (although they may outsource the ISP services - for instance, SBC uses Prodigy as their ISP, Qwest is using MSN).

A number of companies went into the business of competing with the local telco by installing DSLAMs in colocated space in the phone company. Many of these companies faced resistance from the local telco in installing the DSL connections or clearing up the provisioning problems (load coils, noisy lines, etc...) and most of these companies are now in bankruptcy.

Be sure you understand whether the price for DSL quoted by an ISP includes the charges from the local phone company.

Sponsored DSL Provider List

DSL Provider	Status	Good Features	Bad Features
Verizon DSL	Established Telco	Probably easier installation	Availability limited to Verizon (GTE/Bell Atlantic) service areas of CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, HI, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI and WV
Covad DSL	Actively marketing directly to consumers and businesses	Pioneer in DSL technology and marketing	Recently emerged from bankruptcy Installation fee (partially rebated)
Earthlink DSL	Aggressive National Rollout	No setup fee, special promotion	Available only in big cities, ILEC installation issues
DirecTV DSL	Transitioning from Hughes electronics to EchoStar	Wide Availability, $39.99/month for 1st 3 months special	Long installation times

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