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Much has changed with DSL providers in the past decade. They now offer two faster forms of high speed Internet connections - ADSL2+ and fiber optics. Some ADSL2+ plans reach speeds of up to 15 Mbps downstream. In areas with fiber optics, DSL Internet providers are able to achieve downstream broadband speeds of up to 50 Mbps or even faster.

The three largest DSL providers - AT&T, Verizon, and CenturyLink - are now in the fiber optic television business. If fiber optics are available in your area, you really should look into bundling your high speed Internet service with your home phone and television. These fiber optic TV bundles - AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, and CenturyLink Prism - are only available in areas where copper phone lines have been replaced with modern fiber optic lines.

Call 1-877-476-0648 To Bundle TV, Phone & DSL Internet Service

Even if you are not in an area that offers fiber optic Internet service, you can still bundle your phone and DSL Internet with satellite television. Both DIRECTV and the DISH Network have partnered with the major DSL Internet providers. Bundling phone, Internet, and TV is a great money-saving option, so don't forget to ask about it when signing up for DSL.

Your Current Choices For DSL Internet Service

Although there are many small, regional DSL providers beyond those listed below, the majority of American households are serviced by 5 major DSL providers that handle about 98% of all DSL service within the United States.

AT&T DSL & U-Verse - In 2007, AT&T merged with BellSouth to become the largest Internet service provider in America. That title was recently lost to Comcast in 2010, but still, AT&T remains the 2nd largest broadband ISP in the U.S., and it is the largest DSL provider by far, with over 16.3 million DSL customers. AT&T offers DSL plans (copper line) with speeds up to 6 Mbps or U-Verse Internet (fiber optic line) with speeds up to 24 Mbps.

Verizon DSL & FiOS - In recent years, Verizon has been divesting itself of older copper-based lines, most recently by ceding land-line operations in 13 states to Frontier Communications. This has reduced Verizon's total DSL subscribers to just over 8.3 million. In late 2010, the company increased the maximum download speeds of their DSL plans up to 15 Mbps in some areas. Most customers will still be in areas where the fastest DSL speeds are up to 7.1 Mbps. Verizon also pioneered a fiber optic Internet service, Verizon FiOS, that offers speeds up to 50 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream.

CenturyLink - Mergers have been the name of the game in the telecom industry as of late, and nowhere is this more evident then with the creation of CenturyLink. First, the company known as CenturyTel merged with Embarq, and now in 2011, it has also merged with Qwest to become CenturyLink. The new company serves close to 5.5 million DSL subscribers. Right now, 10 Mbps is the maximum download speeds of Internet plans from CenturyLink. However, in areas where they've installed fiber optics, customers can get up to 40 Mbps downstream / 20 Mbps upstream.

Frontier - Rural Americans hoping for broadband in their area might want to look to Frontier. The company recently acquired over a million customers from Verizon in 14 states. With over 1.5 million total DSL customers, Frontier is now the largest provider of rural DSL Internet connections in the country. Their Internet service is mainly composed of copper-line DSL plans with maximum download speeds of up to 7.1 Mbps and some fiber optic customers (mostly FiOS connections acquired from Verizon).

Windstream - The fifth remaining major DSL provider is Windstream. They currently have about 1.3 million active DSL accounts across 23 states. The company was created in 2006 as a spin-off from Alltel, and since that time they have acquired at least 5 other small telecoms to reach their current size. Windstream offers their customers Internet plans with maximum speeds of up to 12 Mbps downstream and even faster fiber connections in some areas.

The Move From DSL To Fiber Optics

Referring to these companies as "DSL providers" has become somewhat misleading. Most telecom companies are now partially copper-based (DSL) and partially fiber optic. You actually don't get a choice between either DSL or fiber. It's one or the other. That is going to be determined by whether your residence is wired with older copper lines or more modern fiber optic lines.

If your neighborhood is lucky enough to have been upgraded to fiber optics, you'll get the faster fiber optic plans. However, if the houses in your area still have copper phone lines, you'll be limited to DSL Internet service. The good news is that ADSL2+ (a new DSL technology) has pushed the upper limits of DSL from 7.1 Mbps up to 15 Mbps downstream. Check directly with your DSL provider to find out if your neighborhood is scheduled to be upgraded to either fiber optic Internet or the newer versions of DSL Internet (ADSL2 or VDSL2).

How Fast Is DSL Internet?

The main speed most people are going to care about is download speeds (the rate of speed by which data is sent to your computer). Current statistics are:

• Slowest DSL download speeds: Up to 768 Kbps*
• Fastest DSL download speeds: Up to 12 to 15 Mbps*

The other rate of transfer that affects your connection is upload speeds, which is how fast information is sent from your computer to places on the Web:

• Slowest DSL upload speeds: Up to 128 Kbps*
• Fastest DSL upload speeds: Up to 1 Mbps*

* Remember that "up to" represents the maximum speed that a plan provides, but it is not guaranteed.

Right now, the fastest plans that are available range from up to 12 to 15 Mbps, and these are in areas where telecom networks have been upgraded with ADSL2 or ADSL2+. The fastest DSL plans are going to cost more, typically between $40 to 60 per month, about what cable Internet costs. For comparison, the cheapest DSL plans, with up to 768 Kbps or 1 Mbps downloads, cost about $15 to $25 per month.

Cable companies have been increasing the minimum upload speeds on most of their plans and this competition has forced DSL providers to do the same. Although the slowest DSL Internet plans still offer only 128 Kbps upload speeds, most have increased minimum upload speeds up to at least 256 to 384 Kbps.

How Fast Is DSL Compared To Other Forms Of Broadband?

According to Ookla / NetIndex.com's speed testing source data, these are the national averages for the United States as of April 18th, 2011:

• Average downstream: 10.90 Mbps
• Average upstream: 2.53 Mbps

And if you compare the national average broadband speeds to the averages of specific DSL / Fiber Optic providers on the same date, you can see that most are slower:

** Data for this chart taken from Ookla's Internet speed test results obtained between Feb 18th, 2011 and Apr 18th, 2011. Subject to constantly change over time.

Verizon is the stand out DSL provider that is faster than the national broadband averages. This is due to their fiber optic rollouts (FiOS) and recent improvements to their copper DSL lines. Speeds in the Bell South areas (now AT&T) are lagging because AT&T hasn't had all that much time to roll out fiber (U-Verse) in that region or upgrade the copper lines.

Check my DSL vs Cable article for more detailed information.

The main point to take away from this info is not whether DSL is faster or not, but rather, which DSL provider services your area because that will be the average speed you get.

Again, there is a great variance in speeds from provider to provider, state to state, even neighborhood to neighborhood. It is best to take an Internet Speed Test (or several) and then compare your current connection to the averages.

Please return to our home page to compare DSL with other forms of High Speed Internet or to view the information we have on broadband-related topics.