Is DSL service available in my neck of the woods?

While DSL technology and availability has gone through significant growth and improvements over the past two years, one of the limitations to DSL service that continues to hold back more substantial penetration to the residential population is that DSL technology works over a limited physical distance. In order to receive DSL the user must be within 18,000 feet (about 3.5 miles) from the nearest telephone exchange. In addition, the users phone-line quality must "qualify" as well.

 As Mentioned above DSL has gone through a great deal of growth over the last one to two years. However, DSL service is still not available in all cities and states across the country. If DSL service is still not available where you live, there are other high-speed internet options might be available to you that fit your needs.

Factors that may disqualify your home from DSL availability: 1) Bridge Taps - extensions, between you and the central office, that extend service to other customers.) 2) Fiber-optic cables - DSL signals can't pass through the conversion from analog to digital and back to analog that occurs if a portion of your telephone circuit comes through fiber-optic cables. 3) Distance, as mentioned above.