What is ADSL?

Your Service Providers's ADSL service operates over a normal telephone line. This means that an existing standard telephone line can be used at the same time to send and receive high-speed digital data and make a normal phone call.

ADSL transforms the twisted copper pairs of wires between the local telephone exchange and your telephone socket into a high-speed digital line. It is called "asymmetric" because it moves data more quickly from the exchange to you than vice versa. This makes it ideal for applications where you would typically receive more data than you transmit, such as use of the World Wide Web and reception of digital audio/visual material. ADSL is the first generation of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology.

Think of ADSL in this way when you download a web site page onto your browser. The request you send the system to download the page is much smaller than the page itself, so the system is designed to make the most of available bandwidth to fit in with the way you typically use the Internet.

The high speed Internet signal is carried by two modems - one at the user end and one in the local exchange. These modems are designed to exploit the physical transmission capabilities of the copper line to achieve higher data rates over the line than ever before.

A 'splitter' or Microfilter (which is basically a filter), one at the user end and one at the exchange end, separates the telephony signal from the high speed Internet signal. This means that telephone calls can be made at the same time that data is being sent or received (i.e. a customer can surf the Internet and still make telephone calls), removing the need for customers to purchase a second line solely for Internet use, thereby saving money.

What is ADSL MAX?

ADSL MAX is a BT ADSL service that allows ADSL users to get an up to 8Mb* Broadband connection when previously a connection at this speed would have been impossible. ADSL Max should provide you with a faster download speed and the ability to use multiple services more efficiently across your Internet connection. 8Mb broadband (8Mbits/s) is approximately 160 times faster than standard dial-up internet (0.05Mbit/s), and up to 4 times faster than the previous fastest broadband service (2Mbit/s).

The main benefit of a faster broadband connection is its ability to maintain greater quality when running multiple tasks simultaneously and to support 'new wave' internet services like BT Broadband Talk (making cheap voice calls over the internet), BT Fusion and BT Vision, BT's forthcoming digital television service.

* Up to 8 MB BT Total Broadband is subject to various factors including local availability, distance from exchange and line test. Up to 8Mb' refers to maximum download speeds only (upload speeds are slower). If your line won't support up to 8 Mb your ISP will offer the best speed available on your line.

Unless otherwise stated the following Voyager ADSL routers have been tested for performance on and are compatible with BT Wholesale's 8Mbps ADSL service.

Note: The bit rates shown are ATM layer rates and indicate the capability of the product at the physical layer. The actual IP data throughput you experience will vary according to the DSL line conditions, congestion on the Internet and the computer's specification.

¹ Also known as Voyager 50 or Voyager Classic.

² This product has not been specifically tested in the BT Wholesale round of testing of May/June 06. It has however been tested by the BT Voyager Helpdesk and achieved the indicated speeds. To achieve best IP data throughput, ensure that the Voyager modem is the only USB device connected to the computer.

³ To achieve best IP data throughput, ensure that the Voyager modem is the only USB device connected to the computer.

⁴ To achieve best IP data throughput, use the Ethernet connection (or Wireless where available) instead of USB. Where USB connection cannot be avoided, ensure that the Voyager router is the only USB device connected to the computer

* This product has not been specifically tested in the BT Wholesale round of testing of May/June 06. It has however been tested by One IT on behalf of BT Retail as part of the DSL Max trial. In addition, the product shares the same ADSL hardware and software as the Voyager 2091 which was part of BT Wholesale's testing.