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ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line; it is a type of broadband internet connection that is becoming more popular across Australia as the broadband type of choice, the other type being Cable broadband. ADSL is more popular as it is able to use your current phone line to use the internet, all you need is an ADSL modem and you connect it to your phone socket just like you would your normally telephone, the best thing about it is that it will not interfere when someone is talking on the phone even though it is using the same phone line, unlike the old dial up internet connection where you will disconnect any internet users if you pick up the telephone or somebody tries to call your house. ADSL is more popular because most houses and apartments do have a phone line connection but not all have a cable connection available in Australia so there is no need to install anything extra.
How fast can ADSL download? The speed at which an ADSL connection can download usually depends on the internet plan you have purchased from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). The speeds can range from 256 kilobytes per second (256kbps) up to eight megabytes per second (8 mbps). What does this mean? Well to get an idea of how fast you can do things on the internet it best to consider what you will be using the internet for.
When you see ADSL plans advertised they will advertise them with the typical speeds display: 256 kbps plan, 512 kbps plan. Be aware that this actually doesn't mean you will be download from the internet at 256 kbps or 512 kbps how you determine the real speed is to divide these numbers by 8, so a 256 kbps ADSL plan will mean you can download at a maximum speed of 32 kilobytes per second. Is 32 kilobytes per second fast enough for you? Well we'll explain what this can do for you.
If you use the internet only for browsing and reading information then the cheapest ADSL plan would best suit you, any broadband plan is more than enough for someone who only reads web pages and email, so a 256 kbps plan is more than enough. Where as someone who likes to download music then the speed will be more important, the file size of a typical song is around 5 megabytes so since 1 megabyte = 1000 kilobytes and if you have the 256 kbps plan then you will be downloading the song at 256 / 8 = 32 kilobytes per second, so you can potentially grab the song in 5000 / 32 = 156 seconds which is under 3 minutes, will this be quick enough for you? Otherwise you may want to go with an ADSL 2+ connection which is a 2 megabyte per second connection; this means you can potentially download at 256 kilobytes per second so you will get the song in 19 seconds!
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