asymmetric digital subscriber line (ASDL)

A technology for transmitting digital information at a high bandwidth on existing phone lines to homes and businesses. ADSL provides a continuously available connection. ADSL is asymmetric in that it uses the majority\ of the channel to transmit downstream to the user and only a small part of the channel to receive information from the user. ADSL simultaneously accommodates analog and digital information on the same line. ADSL is generally offered at downstream data rates from 512 Kbps to about 6 Mbps. A form of ADSL, known as universal ADSL or G.lite, has been approved as a standard by the ITU-TS.