ADSL basics: information to get you started

If you’re in the market for a piece of the broadband pie, you’ll have noticed the term ADSL being thrown around. The following guide gives you the basics about ADSL in the Australian market: what it is, how it differs, what you can gain from it, and the pros and cons of ADSL.

ADSL basics

The short story is that getting connected to an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) will allow a much faster transmission of data than that provided by regular phone lines and a voice modem. ADSL supports more bandwidth in the downstream direction (from your Internet service provider (ISP) to you) and less in the upstream direction (from you to the ISP). (Bandwidth is the amount of information that can be carried.) For this reason ADSL is well suited to home use.

The good 

• You only need the one line for broadband Internet and telephone calls – without worrying that receiving a phone call will cut off your Internet connection.

• ADSL is “always on”, allowing you to leave the downloading of larger files to continue without you.

• Speed. As the most accessible way to receive broadband Internet, ADSL leaves dial-up Internet for dust. While dial-up Internet generally runs at 256kbps (kilobytes per second), ADSL, depending on the deal you opt for, can reach download speeds up to 2Mbps.

The not-so-fab

• ADSL signals cannot travel far from the ISP and so rural customers may have difficulty subscribing to the service.

• The speeds quoted to you are maximums. In other words, if all of your neighbours are online with the same ISP at the same time, you are sharing the bandwidth with them, meaning it may be much slower than you expect. Avoiding surfing or downloading large amounts at peak time (in the early evening) can help this.

• Uploading can be much slower, so do a little more research on what sort of deal you need if you are planning on uploading a great deal of data to the Internet.

How do I get ADSL?

There are literally dozens of ISPs (Internet service providers) operating in Australia today, including many small-scale operators that only offer services in big cities. They often undercut big players such as BigPond and Optus in terms of price. Whether you want a wireless network (LAN – Local Area Network) in your home with multiple computers accessing the one connection, or a simple cable set-up with limited amounts of downloading and a slower speed, your ISP can provide the modem, router (transmitter in your home) and whatever else you need. Finally, deals start from as little as $20 per month.