Digital subscriber line: leading technology revolutionizing accessto the information highway

摘要

Digital subscriber line (DSL), a new modem technology currentlyundergoing mass deployment in North America and parts of Europe,utilizes existing telephone lines, and with over 750 million telephonelines worldwide, copper wires appear to be the infrastructure technologybest suited for creating global access to infocommunications services.Copper telephone lines connect libraries, schools, homes, businesses,health care facilities, research centers and museums worldwide,providing near-universal access in developed countries. With DSLtechnology, the bandwidth capability of those 750 million coppertelephone lines is increased to as much as 9 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbpsupstream. This paper describes DSL, its capabilities, and the crucialrole it will play over the next decade as telephone companies enter newmarkets for delivering information in video and multimedia formats