Whats the difference between adsl broadband and normal broadband?

Question

i am wanting to buy a wireless router.

Answer 1

Lots of misinformation being touted in the responses to this question whcih reflects general consumer misunderstanding.

Here is the truth.

Broadband is a general term referring to any technology which delivers a speed greater than 250k.

DSL (digital subscriber line) and cable are two different means of delivering broadband.

DSL is a technology for delivering broadband through ordinary telephone lines.

There are various different ypes of DSL (ADSL, SDSL, VSDL etc), but the only one you need worry about is ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) which is the technology used for home broadband connections using a phone line. (Its asynchronous because download and upload speeds are different).

Cable is entirely different. Cable IS NOT DSL, but is an alternative means of delivering broadband.

So, in answer to your question, you need to know if your broadband comes via your telephone line, or from a cable company (either NTL or Telewest). If it comes via your telephone it is ADSL. If it comes from NTL/Telewest it is cable.

If its cable, you'll need a cable modem/router. If its via your phone line you'll need an ADSL modem/router.

Answer 2

ADSL means Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines.
What this means is that the downstream speed is faster than the upstream.
If you are buying a wireless router in the UK then all broadband will be ADSL...if the box just says "broadband" rather than ADSL broadband, it's just because there is no real need to say it is ADSL because it assumes that you know this.

PS...just read the next answer..if this is correct about cable companies then I stand corrected & apologise.

Answer 3

The response from joe b is absolutely wrong.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is the service that your receive from BT.

If you receive your service via a cable company, you require a cable modem. The two are not interchangeable ... meaning that if your service provider is BT, you must have an ADSL router. If your service provider is one of the cable companies, you'll need a cable router.

Normal broadband means any service that gives you 250KB (kilobits)/sec transfer rate. This could be through either cable or ADSL.

Answer 4

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a form of DSL, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. It does this by utilizing frequencies that are not used by a voice telephone call.[1] A splitter - or microfilter - allows a single telephone connection to be used for both ADSL service and voice calls at the same time. ADSL can generally only be distributed over short distances from the central office, typically less than 4 kilometres (2 mi),[2] but has been known to exceed 8 kilometres (5 mi) if the originally-laid wire gauge allows for farther distribution. DSL or xDSL, is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop, although in recent years, the term digital subscriber line has been widely adopted as a more marketing-friendly term for ADSL, which is the most popular version of consumer-ready DSL. DSL can be used at the same time and on the same telephone line with regular telephone, as it uses high frequency, while regular telephone uses low frequency. Typically, the download speed of consumer DSL services ranges from 256 kilobits per second (kbit/s) to 24,000 kbit/s, depending on DSL technology, line conditions and service level implemented. Typically, upload speed is lower than download speed for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) and equal to download speed for the rarer Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL).

Answer 5

First off you need to amend the question slightly if I may say so,

I say this because you are comparing apples to oranges slightly.

ADSL is a type of broadband. Others include high speed cable and satellite. You dont get ADSL or broadband.

ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. It's "Asymmetric" because it transfers data more quickly from your telephone exchange to you, than it does from you to the exchange. This is ideal for everyday (non-business) use because you typically receive more data than you send when you're surfing the Net or downloading files

Answer 6

if you get your broadband through a bt phone line you have adsl, and if you get it through a cable company you have dsl, normally adsl routers have a modem built in and dsl dont, also they are not interchangeable ie if you have a cable connection you cannot use an adsl router and if you have your connection through a bt line you cannot use a dsl router. I hope this helps you out