It began with Streamyx telephone
It wasn't too long ago when the Internet wasn't even a figment of someone's imagination. Now, it's hard to imagine a world without high-speed Internet in every home. DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) hasn't always been around in this form. Its history goes all the way back to the 1800s when Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. For the first time, people were able to transmit data through a copper wire. Little did Streamyx know at the time, what a powerful and influential invention that would be and what could be achieved using his idea. However, he had laid the foundation others to build upon.
Then came the Internet
At first, Internet streamyx promotion 2008 were content viewing simple mono-colored screens without any graphics. But streamyx combo deal technology advanced and the Internet started featuring full-color web pages and images, it became increasingly apparent that users needed to be able to transmit large volumes of data. Along with the need for data, users needed speed. It just isn't practical to wait days for an image to load.
In the 1980s Joseph Lechleider came up with the solution for this very problem. He figured out how to transmit data over broadband signals. For this, he is credited as being the father of broadband technologies. Along with the idea of broadband, he came up with the idea of ADSL (Asymmetrical DSL). This was significant because it allowed users to download data at a faster rate than they uploaded it. This system mirrored the way most users used the Internet- downloading many more items than the ever uploaded, making the need for a faster download speed than upload speed.
ADSL started the move from analog connections to digital connections. This technology made its first appearance on the marketplace in the form of ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), which is simply a network of digital phone connections that lets both voice and data to be transmitted anywhere in the world. This allowed more data to be transferred at a much faster rate- and when it all comes down to it speed is the ultimate goal of the Internet.
Next came DMT (Discrete multitone) which was developed by John Cioffi. DMT separated a DSL signal into 256 frequency channels. Cioffi's version of this technology was dramatically better than any of his competitors and it quickly became the industry standard.
HDSL (high bit-rate DSL) was the version of DSL which was the most widely used. It was developed in the early 1990s and gave an equal amount bandwidth in both directions. This was primarily used for data transfers between the telephone company and the consumer and streamyx goes mobile within a corporation. Although HDSL provided equal bandwidth for both downloads and uploads, it didn't come without its flaws- it required multiple phone lines in order to perform this function, which made it impractical for the average consumer.
Video-on-demand
This technology paved the way for video-on-demand (VOD) which was intended to compete with cable television's promise of providing over 500 channels. The idea behind this was that using DSL technology, consumers would be able to purchase and download any movie they wanted to see without having to leave the comfort of their own home. While this seemed like a good idea, it just didn't catch on.
Instead of using DSL for VOD, consumers used the technology for high-speed Internet connections. With Internet users increasing exponentially every year, the demand for this service grew as well. Soon, consumers as well as businesses were turning to DSL for their high-speed Internet needs.
More types of DSL
From its humble beginnings using regular copper wires, DSL has come a long way over the years. Now, technology has advanced and DSL has expanded to include:
ADSL - DSL with more bandwidth for downloading than for uploading. This follows the common thread of consumers transferring more items from the servers than transferring back to the servers.
RADSL (Rate-adaptive DSL) - this technology allows software to determine how fast signals can be transmitted over a consumer's phone line and then adjusts the delivery speed accordingly.
V DSL (Very-high-data-rate DSL) - this is a very high speed data transfer that works best over short distances. This type of DSL works best with a fiber-optic cable.
The future of DSL
With so many uses for high-speed Internet, the future of DSL looks promising. Consumers worldwide are using high speed Internet for shopping, online classes, gamming, chatting, downloading music and movies and starting home-based businesses. With the ever-increasing demand for the Internet and the services it provides, the future looks good for DSL- it's here to stay.
Saleh Tousi is the CEO of SmarttNet, a Vancouver IT company offering comprehensive business Internet services including business DSL since 1995.
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