| What is DSL? DSL stands
for "Digital Subscriber Line" and is a technology that lets you
use an ordinary copper phone line for your high-speed Internet
connection. In the Verizon areas, brightDSL uses a type of
DSL called ADSL, which travels over its own phone line to the
Internet. Your phone and Internet service will reside on the
same phone line, but with the use of a splitter that Verizon will
install, you can surf the Web and talk on the phone at the same
time.
Exactly how fast is a DSL connection?
In the Verizon areas, downloads can be as fast as 3.0
mps, or up to 100 times faster than a 28K modem dial-up
connection. Most pages will appear in a flash, and a large file
that used to take minutes to download over dial-up will arrive
in seconds. Upload speed, which is what you do when you send
email, is as fast as 512 Kbps. The exact speed depends on the
distance from your home to the DSL equipment in Verizon's central
office; shorter distances yield a faster connection. The state
of phone line wires (their age, gauge, or the presence of
devices that boosts voice signals), and the quality of wiring in
your home can affect speed, too.
Is DSL available to all homes and businesses?
Chances are, service is available to your home. If service
isn't available, it's either because service hasn’t been rolled
out to your area, or your phone system doesn't support DSL. In
particular, DSL isn't available if:
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Verizon hasn't
installed DSL equipment in the local facility that serves
your home (also called the CO or central office).
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Your home is too far
from the central office. It must be within 15,000 to
18,000 feet or roughly 3 miles, traveling not a straight
line, but along the length of the wire. |
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Your phone company
has installed equipment such as load coils on your line
that boost voice signals but distort the DSL signal.
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You have fiber optic
wiring to your phone, rather than the copper wires
required by DSL. |
If your home doesn't qualify now, don't worry, there's hope!
Phone companies are quickly working to install new equipment and
increase the range limit, and new zones are rolling out every
week, so you could get service sooner than you think.
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