Digital subscriber line (DSL):

First introduced in 1989, the biggest obstacle to a digital subscriber line (DSL) is availability, which is still quite limited in many areas.

There is a growing family of DSL services, an evolving high-speed transmission technology that uses the existing UTP copper wires from the telephone company's central office to the subscriber's premises. Its main applications are Internet and video file access.

DSL technology increases the speed of the copper cabling in the local loop without adding new copper cabling or fiber to the curb or customer's location. DSL services allow voice and data to share the same copper cable. This service will help combat the often-analogue last mile of the public network, which is the main bottleneck to providing consumers and businesses with high-speed telco lines for options such as Internet access and work-at-home applications.

DSL availability will also make possible more home shopping, home banking, multiparty video gaming, interactive travelogues, remote medical diagnosis, quality music services, and interactive education. DSL is - and will continue to be - competitive with cable modems. Forms of DSL include ADSL, RADSL, IDSL , SDSL , HDSL, and VDSL.