Digital Subscriber Line often referred as DSL first became operational in 1990 and since then it has maintained its status of serving the highest speed internet. The major reason for delivery of internet at such a high speed is that DSL uses the existing telephone wiring which is capable of handling more than just voice calls. Telephone wiring is very efficient at handling higher bandwidth or you can say range of frequencies. Hence DSL technology exploits the extra capacity of the telephone wiring and delivers higher internet speed.

DSL has its own advantages and disadvantages, so let’s evaluate it on the basis of few points to know if the DSL technology is worth it.

1. High bandwidth: The telephone wiring can be packed with lots of wires without occupying much space. Hence there is no interferences between the lines and utilizing this aspect the DSL can deliver high speed internet as compared to cable or other form of broadband Internet.

2. Economical line offered by telephone companies: This is the biggest benefit of DSL as the telephone companies need not to add additional wiring to provide internet access to its customers.

3. Not Easy to Hack: It is very hard for hackers to break in because in DSL technology the configuration for each subscriber can be done separately so hackers don’t stand a chance to find a loophole to break in.

4. It is Ideal for Offices: To keep the employees connected in an office network DSL is the best option.

5. Variety of plans: The customer has the convenience to choose between different pricing and Internet speed plans from the service provider.

6. The customer can use Internet and telephone line at the same time: This seamless working of DSL is possible because the digital signals are transferred to other frequency and the voice is transferred to others.

Disadvantages of Digital Subscriber Line:

1. The service is efficient only for a limited physical distance. It is not available in regions where there is no telephone infrastructure present. So the farther the customer is from the central office the weaker signal strength he will receive. So customers who are near the central office tend to enjoy the benefit of higher Internet speed than the one who is situated farther. This makes the DSL service somewhat biased.

2. DSL service is known to be quick for receiving data but when it comes to sending data over the Internet it is quite inefficient. So the customer whose work involves sending data over the Internet experience slow Internet service.

3. Other factors that makes DSL service inefficient is the quality of wiring and the service provider. There are many DSL service providers who often provide inferior quality wiring which directly hampers the Internet experience of the customer. Beside this there are many technical factors that makes it a not so preferred Internet service for the customers.

4. DSL service doesn’t perform as fast when compared to fiber Internet service. Beside this there are other high-speed wireless options available that deliver lightening quick speed than DSL service.

Overall it can be concluded that DSL service was a breakthrough technology when it first arrived but gradually due to the rise of other better alternatives its worth directly depends on the customer requirement and experience.

Author's Bio: 

Author, Freelance writer