Everything you need to know about ADSL, ADSL2+ and RE-ADSL

Most internet users will already know the term ADSL and possibly that it means Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. This term is synonymous with high speed internet access, but there is less known about its successor, ADSL2+ and the new upgrades that will soon take place, RE-ADSL.

In this tutorial you will learn the significance of these terms, the speeds that they offer and the limitations that come with this technology. The most important factor is the distance separating your house and the closest telephone exchange. This is the point where the speed of your line is determined.

First of all we will look at the theoretical possibilities of each of these technologies.

Speed

• ADSL: 8Mbps / 1Mbps (theoretic speeds relating to the reception and transmission)
• ADSL2+: 25Mbps / 2Mbps
• RE-ADSL: 1Mbps / -
  

In distances (note that the speed will reduce as the distance grows):

• ADSL: approximately 4 km
• ADSL2+: approximately 4.5 km
• RE-ADSL: approximately 8 km
  

You should be aware that these numbers are theoretical and therefore vary in practice depending on different settings:

• The distance that separate you from the central ADSL (the further you are, the slower the speed)
• The quality of the phone line (some lines are more recent then others and have different properties, e.g. the diameter of the copper wires are greater in the more recent lines (6/10 instead of 4/10) which allow greater speeds)
• The quality of your installation (for example, the presence of an extension can dramatically reduce the quality of your reception. Something that shouldn’t be overlooked!)

As you can see, the theoretic speeds offered by ADSL2+ are quite high, with download speeds that are up to three times higher then those offered with ADSL, and emission speeds  that are twice as fast.

As to RE-ADSL, I will come back to this later as this technology is designed for certain people, mostly those that live further away from their telephone exchanges – up to 8 km.

Of course, these available speeds will not see any great improvements for normal internet users, although it will make it possible for many Net surfers to finally have an unlimited connection instead of using those “old” 56 kbps modems. Simply, it is good news for all those that were previously excluded from ADSL.