What is DSL?

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is the most common broadband connection used in homes today. DSL connects you to the internet through copper wires within your telephone lines, which then hook up to a gateway modem. Because DSL works on a different frequency than home phone service, it doesn’t interfere, which means you can be on your phone and internet at the same time.  

Types of DSL

There are a number of different types of DSL service. CenturyLink broadband services vary by location, and can include ADSL, ADSL2+, VDSL2 and G.fast technologies. Read on to learn more about each of these.

ADSL: Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line

ADSL is called asymmetrical because it provides faster download speeds than upload. Dowload speeds can be up to 8 Mbps, and upload speeds are 800 Kbps.

ADSL2+ is a newer version of ADSL that connects at higher frequencies, which increases both download and upload speeds. ADSL2+ can provide download speeds of up to 28 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 1.4 Mbps.

VDSL: Very-high-speed Digital Subscriber Line

VDSL (also sometimes known as "very-high-bit-rate") connects at even higher frequencies than ADSL2+, providing download speeds of up to 52 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 16 Mbps.

VDSL2 uses the highest frequencies of any of the DSL connections and can provide speeds of up to 100 Mbps for both download and upload.

G.fast: Access to fiber technology

G.fast technology can connect existing copper lines to new fiber lines for up to the last 500 feet from the network to the premises. This enhancement to DSL service can provide speeds up to 940 Mbps, and is currently available in limited locations.

Pair bonding

Pair bonding is a DSL option that roughly doubles the bandwidth of single-line DSL service. With standard DSL service, one pair of copper wires (two wires) deliver the internet service. With pair bonding, two pairs of copper wires (four wires) are used. With pair bonding, speeds can reach up to 200 Mbps. Pair bonding services are availabile only in selection areas of the CenturyLink network.

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