How High Speed Internet Works

The data transfer speeds were not so high when the internet was first made available to the common man. The internet was generally accessed by users through the plain old telephone cables using a dial up connection even after a few years post introduction. The modems used during those days were different and even the connections were very slow because of the natural signal carrying capabilities of copper cables.

Another problem during those days was of the data signals of the internet clashing with the voice signals of the telephone and they used to create problems for each other, often leading to data loss or even loss of connection. This apart, one could not use the telephone while they were using the internet. However, later on, with the advent of modern technology and advances in the principles of modem technology these problems were circumvented, as we shall soon find out.

The fastest speeds available during those days were a measly 56kbps. One can find connections where the transfer rate is as high as 1gbps in an era where one generally accepts speeds slower than 1mbps as very slow. The broadband internet connection that we get nowadays comes to us either through the cable by which we receive our TV signals or they are supplied to us through a separate cable by our internet service provider.

This technology is known as DSL or direct subscriber line. For the DSL system to work the subscriber needs to have an ethernet card on their PC and they also need to install a DSL modem. Subscribers can receive and send data and also browse the internet at high speeds over the plain old telephone line with DSL technology. Nowadays the voice signal of the telephone is transmitted on a different frequency and the data signals of the internet are transmitted on yet another frequency.

A splitter at the user’s end splits the incoming signals into two parts and sends the voice signals to the telephone and the data signals to the computer. The high speed internet employs a different type of modem. One should also know that there are two different technologies employed by high speed internet. They are known as SDSL (symmetric digital subscriber line) and ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line). Whereas the upload speed of the latter is lower than the download speed, the former provides both upload and download at equal speeds.

Baxter Owens is a freelance writer and enjoys writing on a wide range of topics including comcast internet and high speed internet providers.

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