ADSL Modems
What is an ADSL Modem?
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) modems enable broadband access to the internet. With ADSL technology you can download with bit-rates of up to 8Mbps. Today (2005), the most common ADSL connections have download rate of 0.5-2Mbps, which is 9-36 times faster than the traditional dial-up modems (dial-up modems enable maximal download rate of 56kbps). Upload rates are up to 640 Kbps. The "Asymmetric" comes from this difference between the download and upload rates.
ADSL works by splitting your regular telephone line into two: one for regular voice phone calls, and the other for data. By doing that, ADSL is literally transforming the existing public telephone network from one limited to voice, text and low resolution graphics to a powerful system capable of bringing multimedia, including full motion video, to everyone's home.
ADSL Modems
What is an ADSL modem?
Network Architecture and Physical Connectivity