ADSL ADSL, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, is a technology that enables transmission of large amounts of data to be sent over existing (copper)telephone lines.
ADSL is asymmetric: it targets the one-way nature of typical multimedia and Internet communication, supporting data rates as high as 1,5-9 Mbps for downstream traffic (received by the user) while a more modest 16-640 Kbps for upstream traffic (sent by the user).
A big advantage of ADSL is that it enables a continuously available ("always-on") Internet connection.
ADSL is essentially a point-to-point connection. Unlike with cable modems, the available bandwidth will not have to be shared with everyone else in one´s neighbourhood. However, one may still have to contend for bandwith from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) onward towards the Internet. The latter will depend of the quality of service offered by one´s ISP.
