DSL: The fast track to the Internet

As more customers venture online, digital subscriber line (DSL) is fast becoming the hottest technology for telephone companies seeking high-speed voice, video, or data connections for their customers. Although DSL technology has been around for the better part of a decade, it started generating serious interest only recently, due to the explosion of the Internet. Computer manufacturers and the large telecommunications companies have teamed up to develop industry standards for a particular type of xDSL called ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line). While ADSL is poised to become a major xDSL transmission technology, it still needs to work out some wrinkles before it reaches its full potential.