DSL has its roots in telephone lines
To understand how DSL works, you need to have a general understanding of how telephone lines work. Telephone lines work by sending signals through copper wires. These wires run from your home to the road. There, they are packed into a thick cable and bundled with over 100 other wires. The cable either runs directly to the phone company’s switch board or to a box on the side of the road which acts as a digital concentrator. From there, the signal can be directed anywhere in the world.
So what does this have to do with DSL?
Telephones only transmit voice signals over the copper wires. Voice frequencies typically range from 0 to 3,400 Hertz (cycles per second), however the copper wires are capable of handling much more bandwidth then is used by regular telephone lines.
This is where DSL comes in. DSL takes advantage of the extra space available on these wires. By using different frequencies (high frequency for DSL and low frequency for normal telephone) DSL is able to transmit data through the phone lines without interrupting your regular telephone service. This is achieved using a device called a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) splitter. Telephone frequencies are routed one way while the DSL frequencies are routed the other way.
Of course, historically, it makes sense for phone companies not to use this extra space because it allows them to have a higher capacity of phone lines in a smaller space. However, modern technology uses digital signals instead of analog signals so DSL can safely use much more of the telephone line’s capacity without interrupting the signal.
Advantages of DSL
Because of these advancements in technology, DSL comes with many advantages. First of all, it allows you to keep your internet connection open and talk on the phone at the same time. Before DSL, unless you had a separate phone line for the internet, you couldn’t talk on the phone at the same time you were on the internet. Additionally, the connection speed is much greater than a regular modem which allows pages to load faster and for faster download speeds.
Since DSL works directly with your existing phone lines, it doesn’t require any new wiring. Unless your house hasn’t been renovated since 1875, you can use your existing phone line to connect to the internet. Also companies that provide DSL also usually provide a modem to go with your connection as part of the installation. DSL is so easy to install that some companies will simply send you the hardware and you can install it yourself. This saves you both time and money.
By: Saleh Tousi
Posts Tagged ‘Telephone Lines’
DSL – How it Works
February 6th, 2010Is Internet Phone Service Really Advantageous?
February 4th, 2010
The invention of computers was followed by the advent of Internet services. Initially no one was able to recognize the huge potential of online service till it started being used for everything starting from marketing to shopping to sending mails in the shortest time possible to collecting information on each and everything. One of its more recent oblation is Internet phone service popularly referred to as VoIP service.
The main difference between Internet phone service and traditional channel of communication is of cables. While VoIP terminates calls via Internet, public switch telephony on the other hand transmits calls through optical fiber wires. You still make the calls the way you used to and the receiver on the other hand would still receive it in the way he would earlier. So what has changed?
Reasons For Deploying VoIP call termination service
1. Flexible – Internet phone service is a flexible technology for call transmission thereby it can easily be deployed by different sectors of the industry irrespective of their service and scale and also by residentials.
2. Cost Effective – Most common reason for migrating to IP telephony service is its cost effective feature. Since call is routed through online web interface the total cost of call is more than half of what you would pay through your regular telephone lines. So more savings!
3. Ease Of Integration – Your Internet phone service provider can assist you in integrating your old telephony system with VoIP phone service with maximum ease.
4. Mobility – You will remain connected to your friends,family, relatives or clients from across the globe with VoIP broadband phone service. Take your VoIP phone with you where ever you travel or simply use your laptop to connect to the Internet and enjoy low rate, high quality calling.
5. Low cost of operations – Internet phone service relies mainly on high speed broadband service. Besides there the cost of hardware is minimum as opposed to traditional public switch telephony network.
By: Kristen Kiya
Are Wireless Internet or Satellite Internet Providers For You?
January 28th, 2010
Even though it may be hard for some to believe, not everyone has the ability to access high speed internet as of yet. Those who live in remote areas or country settings are still in the dark, so to speak, when it comes to high speed internet and cannot opt for DSL or Cable internet. Therefore, they have to go with a different route. For some this may mean cruising through satellite internet providers and for others this may mean opting for wireless internet, which one is for you?
Well, first, you need to know what the difference between the two is. Satellite internet providers offer semi high speed internet via a satellite, much like those used for satellite cable. There are no cable systems or telephone lines to speak of, but instead a dish is used to communicate the data from your computer to a central point. When we say that satellite internet providers offer semi high speed internet, this is because it is nowhere near the speed of cable and in some cases, it is still slower than DSL, but faster than dial up.
Wireless internet requires nothing more than a wireless internet card enabled on your computer. However, in a country setting, depending on where the wireless point is, you may not have this option either. Wireless internet uses something like microwave signals to communication between a variety of points. This means that you can connect to the internet wirelessly, without cables, without, cords, and without hassles.
Which one is for you?
Well, for the most part it depends on where you live. If you in an extremely remote area, you may only have the option of choosing from satellite internet providers. You would really need to search on the internet and see what is available in your area. You may be lucky and have both wireless internet and satellite internet providers in your area and have the ability to choose.
It is important to remember that both rely on the weather in terms of signal strength. The strength of the internet signal can drop dramatically in inclement weather. Furthermore, satellite internet providers tend to charge much higher fees than any of their counterparts, which includes wireless internet providers as well. Make sure you look at all of your options, as well as your budget before you choose which one is for you.
By: Terry Price