Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a permanent, high speed connection run on a standard analogue phone line
Asymmetric means that a higher speed is available from the exchange to the user (downstream) and a slower speed from the user to the exchange (upstream).
Digital means a line able to carry data traffic in its original form, as opposed to analogue.
Subscriber Line means the line connecting the individual subscriber (eg a household) to the local exchange.
A broadband connection is bigger and faster than dial-up.
The capacity - or bandwidth - is greater, so you can do the same things as on dial-up, only faster.
Plus broadband opens up a whole new set of possibilities for how you spend your time online.
A broadband connection means:
• No more dialling up
It's always on - so you don't have to dial up each time.
• Keeping phone lines open
Broadband lets your phone and Internet connection share one line - so you can use both at the same time.
• Up to 40x faster than Dial up
Downloading in seconds, not minutes
The speed of broadband means that you can open Web pages, and download and exchange files almost instantly, with picture quality also being noticeably better. There are different broadband products, with speeds of up to 40 times faster than standard dial-up.