| Wednesday, 2008-08-20 | Voice: 843.770.1000 |
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| DSL INFORMATION |
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DSL, which stands for Digital Subscriber Line, provides high-speed Internet Access using regular telephone lines. It has the ability to move data over the phone lines at speeds up to 3Mb/s...about 140 times quicker than the fastest analog modems available today (56k bits per second). |
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What is DSL? DSL, which stands for Digital Subscriber Line, is a broadband communication technology designed for use on regular phone lines. It has the ability to move data over the phone lines at speeds up to 140 times speedier than the fastest analog modems available today. What are the benefits? In addition to their very high speed, DSL modems have many benefits over analog modems. Unlike the dial-up connections required for analog modems, your DSL connection is always on. That means no more logging on and off, no more busy signals and no more waiting for the connection to happen - it's always there. Another benefit is the ability to use the phone at the same time the data connection is on; you don't have to choose between the two. How fast is it? The DSL modem can download data at speeds ranging from 512 Kilobits per second up to 3 Megabits per second. How can it be so much faster than a modem when it uses the same phone line? Analog modems send their signals through the public switched telephone network, the same one that connects ordinary telephones. DSL modems "piggyback" their signals on top of the voice signal. On the phone company's premises, the line gets split - the voice calls are sent to the public switched telephone network, and the data transmission goes to the Internet. This method moves data off the phone companies' lines and instead uses connections optimized for carrying Internet traffic. Will it constantly connect near the maximum speed, or will it be like my 56K modem that almost never connects at 56K? At DSL speeds, the limitations are much more the performance of the Internet server you're trying to reach and the amount of traffic on the Internet. The Internet is a loosely coupled network of computers that are transmitting data by different methods through different computers at different speeds, so the speed you receive data with an DSL modem is limited by these factors. How does it work? DSL works by splitting the phone line into two frequency ranges. The frequencies below 4 kHz are reserved for voice, and the range above that is used for data. This makes it possible to use the line for phone calls and data network access at the same time. It is called "asymmetric" because more bandwidth is reserved for receiving data than for sending data. Download speeds range from 256 Kilobits per second up to 8 Megabits per second, and upload speeds range from 16 to 640 Kilobits per second. This is useful because many users of the Internet receive much more data than they send. DSL modems follow the data rate multiples established by North American and European standards. In general, the maximum range for DSL is 5.5 km (18,000 feet). As distance decreases toward the telephone company office, the data rate increases. Another factor is the gauge of the copper wire. The heavier 24 gauge wire carries the same data rate farther than 26 gauge wire. If you live beyond the 5.5 kilometer range, you may still be able to have DSL if your phone company has extended the local loop with optical fiber cable. Will it work with my computer? Yes, and the newer the computer the better the performance. There are two types of DSL modems, internal and external. Internal modems are cards that are installed inside your computer via a PCI plug-in card. External modems can be connected to your computer via a USB, 10BaseT, or other networking interface. If your computer is already configured to operate on a local area network (LAN), it will have an interface that can connect to an external modem. If you do not have an internal modem or a network interface, you will need to get one. How much does it cost? Prices start at $39.95 per month for service. Residential and business customers have different needs and are priced differently. All pricing information can be found by clicking the Residential or Buisiness Pricing links at the top of the page. A $25.00 sign-up fee is required on all accounts. Also, although most customers can simply plug the DSL modem in and connect to the Internet immediately, some locations may require additional work, such as rewiring substandard phone facilities, phone splitter installation, etc., and may require additional fees beyond the normal activation fee. How will DSL affect my regular phone calls? In most cases, DSL will not interfere with your phone calls and vice-versa. In some cases when you are using the same phone line for both DSL and POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service), you will need to add a simple filter between your phone and the wall jack. What about my e-mail? Will I have to change my e-mail address? That depends on whether ISLC is currently providing your e-mail account. If you already have an ISLC email address you can continue to use it. If you have an email account with another ISP you will have to contact them for information on maintaining your email account with them. Web-based e-mail clients, like Netscape's Webmail or Hotmail, will not be affected by a change to DSL service. What is the difference between DSL and cable modems? DSL provides always-on high-speed Internet access over a single dedicated telephone line; cable modems offer always-on high-speed Internet access over a shared cable television line. While cable modems have greater downstream (from the Internet into the home) bandwidth capabilities, that bandwidth is shared among all users in a neighborhood, and will therefore vary, perhaps dramatically, as more users in a neighborhood get online at the same time. Cable modem upstream (from the home to the Internet) traffic will in many cases be slower than DSL, either because the particular cable modem is inherently slower, or because too many people in a neighborhood are trying to send or receive data at the same time. The big difference between DSL and cable modems, however, is the number of lines available to each. There are no more than 12 million homes today that can support two-way cable modem transmissions, and while the figure is growing steadily, it will not catch up with telephone lines for many years. Only about 20 percent of homes are ready for cable modems now, compared to 50 to 60 percent of homes that are ready for DSL service. Additionally, many of the older cable networks are not capable of offering a return channel; consequently, such networks will need significant upgrading before they can offer high bandwidth services. Another significant difference is customers can still use a dialup account when on vacation or away from home. Remote dialup access is rarely offered with cable access. We also provide coast-to-coast roaming at no charge** in over 1600 cities including most major metropolitan areas. *Penalties will apply for accounts terminated prior to anniversary date. DSL Modem remains the property of ISLC and must be returned to ISLC if DSL service is terminated either by customer or ISLC. $199.95 will be charged to you if you fail to return the DSL modem to ISLC within 10 days of termination date. If a router or LAN integration services are needed, additional charges will apply depending on requirements of the network. **Up to 50 hours of roaming usage per month. There's a $.20 per hour charge for usage over 50 hours. |
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Email:support@islc.net |