What is xDSL?
xDSL is a generic abbreviation for the many flavors of DSL or Digital Subscriber Line technology. xDSL is the newest breakthrough in high-speed Internet access. It is used to connect a customer and the telephone company over the same existing copper wiring that is used by current home and office telephone service.
xDSL is the general term or family name for all DSL products. This encompasses products such as ADSL, SDSL, IDSL, and many more. DSL technologies use high-end modulation processes to pack data, voice and video onto copper wires. The difference between the various products is in the rate of information transfer, which is based on your distance from the serving central office (also known as the DSLAM), line frequencies and technology protocols. ADSL is a transport that allows faster flow of information (data, voice and video) downstream than upstream. SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line) supports one speed regardless of information flow. EMBARQ® High-Speed Internet product utilizes ADSL technology in that it provides for greater downstream data speeds than upstream data speeds.
Digital Subscriber Line refers to a collection of communication technologies that deliver high-speed data transfers over a normal copper telephone line. It is currently the most common form of broadband in the UK. xDSL is the generic term used to refer to all of the different DSL protocols. The two main types are symmetric (SDSL) and asymmetric (ADSL) in nature.