DSL and DSL Speed Tests

What is DSL?

DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line and is a type of a broadband Internet connection. A DSL broadband connection is a group of technologies that use a traditional phone line to create a digital connection to the Internet Service Provider's (ISP) network.

In order to be able to connect through DSL, a computer must be equipped with a DSL modem and sometimes a NIC or Network Interface Card. Sometimes DSL modems do not need NICs since they directly plug into the computer's USB or serial port.

Consumer type DSL is usually of the ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) type of connection. Typically, ADSL has a faster downstream channel compared to its upstream one. This means that an ADSL connection has faster download speeds compared to its upload speed.

Testing Your DSL Connection

Internet Service Providers or ISPs typically charge their subscribers based on their bandwidth or Internet connection speed. Bandwidth refers to how much data can be transmitted in a given time. The bigger the bandwidth, the more data can be carried, the faster the connection.

Internet connection speed is measured in bits or kilobits per second (bps or kbps). A bit is the smallest amount of data in computers. A thousand bits is equivalent to 1kilobit. Broadband connections like DSL usually have bandwidths ranging from 128 kbps to several megabits per second (mbps).

Testing your DSL connection has many practical uses, the most practical one is knowing if you get your money's worth. For example, your ISP claims that your Internet connection speed or bandwidth is at 256 kilobits per second, running a Internet Speed test will prove if your ISP is telling the truth.

There are two basic ways to test your connection's speed. Both of them are very easy to do. The first one is by downloading a file or program from the Internet. Visit any website and download a file. It must be at at least a few megabytes in its file size. While downloading the file, check its file transfer rate. Usually, a transfer rate is expressed in kilobytes per second (KBps or KB/s). The figure that you will get is your transfer rate. To get your bandwidth, all you have to do is multiply that number by eight. If your transfer rate is about 30 KB/s then 30 x 8 is 240. The result is 240, meaning your bandwith is at 240 kilobits per second (kbps).

Another way is to use Internet speed or bandwidth testing websites. These websites offer this type of services usually for free. There are a lot of these websites on the Internet finding one will be easy using a search engine. Using this type of service is easy. Just go to that website and click the test button. There will be two types of tests that will take place. A download and upload test. Both of these tests will measure your connection's speed. You will be presented with your bandwidth.