Digital Subscriber Line or DSL as popularly called is a new digital technology that brings high bandwidth to homes and small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) over the ordinary copper
phone lines presently installed in your homes or offices. DSL technology is available in various flavors, collectively referred to as xDSL. It allows voice, video and data to be
transmitted at very fast speeds, 20 or more times faster than an ordinary connection and many times faster than ISDN.
DSL provides fast Internet access, high bandwidth and speed, reliability, "always on" service and increased security. It comes into your house over phone lines.
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Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access via telephone lines.[1] The user's computer or router uses an attached modem connected to a telephone line to dial into an Internet service provider's (ISP) node to establish a modem-to-modem link, which is then used to route Internet Protocol packets between the user's equipment and hosts on the Internet.
The term was coined during the early days of computer telecommunications when modems were needed to connect dumb terminals or computers running terminal emulator software to mainframes, minicomputers, online services and bulletin board systems via a telephone line.
One of the major advantages of DSL services are that you have a constant connection that is “always on”. No more dialing up. Plus you won’t tie up a phone line and you don’t have to
get an expensive second line, or choose between using the phone or being on the computer.
To turn a telephone line into a DSL connection takes a little work. It may require special jacks and connections, or changes to your inside wiring. Your service provider may need to install new
wire depending on the type of DSL flavor you choose. A DSL modem and an Ethernet card are also required for installation. Your service provider usually installs these components. However,
you may be able to install these components yourself. Check with your service provider (ISP) in Pennsylvania.