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 We
believe this page will give you a big kick start into
your fact finding search for information about DSL Internet
access. The various questions and answers below should
answer your pressing questions, if not, the Web-links
found throughout this page will help to answer the more
specific questions. In most cases, it will take a lot
of patience to get DSL fully operational, but the rewards
are worth it. To check current availability, please complete
our DSL
availability form. If service is available at your
location, we will have our Megapath Channel Account Executive
get in touch with you. Megapath is currently the top rated
ISP for DSL at DSL
Reports.com.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is an always-on Internet
connection that ends in a socket on your wall, that looks
much like a phone socket. At least in the US, the socket
is exactly a phone socket, and, for the popular residential
DSL, (ADSL), the same house wiring does indeed carry phone
and data! DSL is billed per month, usually for a fixed
price, and for the majority of providers, for unlimited
usage. In other words, whether you use it for e-mail once
a day, or you are a net addict and use it constantly,
your bill is always the same.
Once you have a DSL line, you can use the entire resources
of the Internet, in the same way as you did from a regular
modem connecting to an ISP like MindSpring or IBM.net,
except you can use them 24 hours a day, with no connection
delay, and usually (although not always) without a 'username'
and 'password', and without a busy signal or any connection/disconnection
process (USWest offers a economy DSL product that does
have a connection process however). The key advantage
of DSL over modem is speed. DSL is from several, to dozens,
of times faster than a modem connection. A complex web
page that could take up to a minute to finish loading,
can appear in just seconds over DSL. Connection speed,
reliability, and the 'always-on' nature of DSL, are the
main reasons it is so popular. For small businesses, DSL
is also a great way to save money compared to pay per
minute ISDN service, or expensive T1 lines. |
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Yes. AOL has a product called "Bring your own access",
which for about $10 a month (pricing as of fall/winter
1999) lets you use the familiar AOL environment, from
any Internet-connected PC, including over DSL and through
from another ISP. You will end up paying a little more
than you would if you just used the straight Internet,
and you are getting billed by two parties -- your ISP,
and AOL.. But if you wish continuity with your AOL account,
this would be the way to go. The AOL connection screen
allows you to select another connection profile that assumes
existing TCP access (a DSL connection), and does not attempt
to use the modem to dial AOL. Once you set that up, you
can change your pricing plan to move down to the bring
your own access option. AOL also is offering , AOL Plus,
which is AOL and a DSL line all in one. They are slow
to pick DSL partners, so availability of AOL Plus is limited
right now.
To check AOL Plus availability, go to Keyword:DSL and
click Sign Me Up.
Warning: AOL Plus involves an activation fee at present,
and is only available if you are prepared to pay the $21.95/month
unlimited access plan, plus the $20/month DSL plan. AOL
Plus is not currently available to Macintosh users. |
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DSL Reports ran
a poll on this recently, it can vary wildly, from
a week, in some parts of the country, to up to 2 months,
or more, depending on what kind of problems there are
between the DSL provider and the Telco
and the ISP. Obviously with time, the install process
becomes more routine, and the delay drops. In some Telco
areas with straightforward ADSL installs, the whole setup
can be done inside a week. |
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Generally, yes. If you do not get DSL from the Telco,
the Telco still has to provide the (new) copper line,
which involves terminating it at the 'de-marc' point,
then the DSL providing company (CLEC) comes to do any
necessary inside wiring. In many cases, the communication
between the Telco and the CLEC (Covad, Northpoint, etc.),
is not great, and the line cannot be found, or is not
left sufficiently close to the premise, necessitating
further visits and delays. For Telco ADSL, however, an
existing line can be converted to an ADSL line, and the
Telco may just have to visit to install a splitter or
a filter, and/or upgrade the NID (which is the phone junction
box in your premise. See this Bellsouth page for examples
of different NIDs). Bell Atlantic is experimenting with
user-installed ADSL, where no visit is necessary. For
more, see the glossary on installation. |
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You cannot FAX over a DSL connection. You can still send
and receive faxes over your regular telephone lines though.
Upgrading to DSL may add a DSL modem of some kind, but
if you keep your old modem, you can still use software
fax products like Winfax-Pro– they simply use your
telephone line as before, although you still have to plug
in a telephone line as well! This holds true whether or
not you get ADSL over your home phone or SDSL on another
line. You may also try the Internet solution, and subscribe
to a service like jfax.com or efax.com which provides
you your own dedicated fax number, and you may send faxes
using a utility, and receive fax messages (and voice messages!)
in your mail inbox. |
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Cable modems are typically faster for downloads than most
if not all DSL lines, when the cable infrastructure is
new or well maintained. However, cable has a few disadvantages
to DSL. The first disadvantage is that cable is an RF
network -- this means that it is vulnerable to transient
problems "within the network" from RF interference.
Since cable is a shared media, there is a possibility
that performance may degrade over time as additional households
plug in, connect additional devices (videos, game machines)
to the TV lines. A cable company may react slowly to decreases
in performance, as they never sell access by speed, or
promise consistent speed or latency. One of the largest
disadvantages of cable over DSL is the upstream (return
path). Cable companies are using a very narrow band for
return signaling, below all the space allocated for TV
channels. This band is prone to RF interference and is
very limited in capacity. Upstream transmissions may therefore
compete with others in the area, get delayed (suffer high
latency) due to noise fighting techniques, and cable Terms
Of Service typically prohibit any kind of constant upstream
use. Internet use is shifting away from central servers
broadcasting to many individuals and some interesting
peer to peer applications are appearing (games, voice
and video applications, communal libraries). These applications
need a strong upstream channel.
In summary, cable modems are currently good value and
strong competition for residential casual use, often available
more cheaply and far faster than their ADSL competition.
However, DSL is probably the more future-proof system,
offering digital direct from the Internet infrastructure..
If your DSL ISP is on the ball, your performance in either
direction will not be different from peak hour to early
morning, and DSL lines are available for a wide variety
of purposes, both business and residential. |
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The DSL service operates at a different set of frequencies.
Voice at the lower frequencies and your DSL at the higher
frequencies. For the most common DSL (ADSL), the two can
coexist on the same wire. You are unable to hear the high
frequencies even if your telephone was able to play them
as sounds. The DSL signal should not be disturbed by the
lower voice frequencies you use when talking on the phone. |
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Some DSL installations require your PC have a network
card. If you have to provide this yourself, you are looking
for a 10/100mbps auto-sensing PCI network card for a PC.
You are looking for something with a brand you are comfortable
with, for instance 3com or Intel. Price range is currently
from $20-$60. Don't waste your money on cards with features
such as wake-up packet and LAN management, since you are
buying for home use.
Several other connection options exist. Residential DSL
is often provided with a combined DSL modem and card,
that is added to your PC. This card is all you need. These
cards are known as PCI DSL modems, and are designed for
Intel PCs. Another connection option is a USB DSL modem.
These are newer and more likely to suffer from incompatibilities
with your PC or operating system, but they have the advantage
of working on Macintosh, and possibly USB capable laptops
as well. For small business, you are likely to already
have network cards, as you would almost certainly have
an existing local area network. |
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DSL modems can be taken out by thunderstorms so you do
need a surge protector if they are frequent in your area.
Unfortunately, surge protectors have also been reported
to reduce download speed, so you would be advised to test
your speed before and after installation to make sure
that it adds no problems to your line. |
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You can determine the location of your Qwest CO (Central
Office) by visiting the ICONN
Web site:
- For the State enter the 2 digit code for your state
- NPA is your area code
- NXX is your phone number prefix (3 digits)
- Once you have located your CO click the Switch
Code hyperlink
- The street address, and other information about
your Central Office, will be displayed
- Once you have the physical location, you can go
to Mapquest
and find the approximate distance to the CO. In most
cases the phone lines follow the roads, so the distance
you get from Mapquest won't be far off
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You can never have enough! The same advice people give
for PC processor speed can be given for bandwidth: buy
as much as you can reasonably afford, since nobody ever
has "too much" bandwidth. One of the main deciding
factors though, is price. For some reason, SDSL lines
are considerably more expensive than ADSL lines, so unless
you have a specific need for upload capacity, concentrate
on the best value for money in ADSL services, then pay
more for more speed if you can afford it. If you insist
on some rules of thumb: a small office can be reasonably
happy with even a 144k IDSL line, if they are just "using
the net" as a reference tool .. more than two people
are unlikely to be dragging down web pages at the same
instant. On the other hand, a single user who is addicted
to mp3s or large game demos, or swaps video streams, would
fill a connection ten times that IDSL capacity. |
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Your DSL line is a guaranteed . Where as cable is a shared
line between people located on your node with no guarantee
of speed. |
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If you have heard even something about DSL, you will have
heard about distance. Your phone lines normally terminate
at a Telco office, usually nearby. This distance, (the
length of your line between your location and the Telco
office), is a very important factor in whether or not
you can get DSL, and what speed you can get. Here are
some rules of thumb for distance ranges. Please be aware
that especially with non Telco ADSL lines, distance limits
for speeds can vary widely from company to company. There
are cases where it is policy for "residential"
DSL lines not to be offered as far out as functionally
identical "business" products! The subject of
distance and DSL is so important, we've added a special
page for it, check this for detailed distance information
per DSL network : Distance
charts.
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| If
you should have any further questions concerning equipment,
line sharing, troubleshooting, security, home wiring,
and terminology, we recommend using DSL
Reports for all your answers. |
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| Granite Web
Design offers DSL broadband services for residential
and business applications. |
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