What Does DSL Stand For?

The acronym DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line. This type of service uses different digital coding methods to allow phone lines to provide a great deal more bandwidth than would normally be possible. This broadband Internet access is for the most part “always on” and provides upload speeds from 128 Kbps to 768 Kbps and download speeds from 768 Kbps to 6 Mbps. Speeds differ due to several variables including service provider, equipment, and location.

There are many different varieties of DSL, each with their own specific properties and acronyms. Some are faster than others, and some are more stable than others. The following list of DSL services are currently in use:

VDSL - Very high bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line
SDSL - Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line
G.SHDSL - Single-pair High-speed Digital Subscriber Line
RADSL - Rate-adaptive Digital Subscriber Line
IDSL - ISDN over Digital Subscriber Line
HDSL - High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

All of the above services are considered DSL and will be sold as such. The most common residential DSL service is ADSL. This is identified by the differing speeds when uploading and downloading.

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For more information about ADSL / SDSL connections, or to compare various ISPs that offer DSL service, check our listing of DSL Internet Providers to see what is available.