DSL Services


DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is an inexpensive broadband data connection typically used for internet access by small offices, residential and multi-location retail store users.  DSL for business locations is usually significantly more expensive than residential users because of FCC tarriffs and carrier pricing geared towards business users vs. residential.  AB&T only offers business DSL services.  DSL installation times for business users ranges from 2-weeks to 6 weeks and our standard install quote time is one month from date of order.  DSL does have a tendancy to reach more locations than any other type of land line broadband service.  DSL is superior to cable in one important respect whereby the user can order a guaranteed bandwidth versus  cable bandwidth that is more dependent on the number of subscribers actually using the local switch at any given moment.  DSL does have a primary drawback in that it is only available within a certain range of the carrier Central Office (CO) where the DSL switch resides.  This distance limitation is typically 18,000 feet, or approximately 5 miles unless other special equipment is installed closer to the user location.  The further the user is located from the central office, the lower the total amount of bandwidth available becomes.  This could mean the difference between a 256k line and 1.5MB line being available.