The Five Most Important Things to Know to Make Your DSL Run Better

After years in the field working on DSL I have found that my DSL customers have made a lot of very basic mistakes that make their DSL not work as good as it should. I have boiled them down to five very easy things that most DSL users need to know.

1 You have to know how DSL works. DSL is a high frequency signal that is put on top of your phone line. It 's just like when you go on a ski trip and put that thingy on top of your car to hold your ski's. Once you do this, your car now becomes a people transporter and a ski transporter. The same thing happens to your phone line when you buy DSL from your phone company. They add DSL to your phone line and your line can now carry phone conversations and your internet data at the same time. That's why you can talk on your phone and be on line at the same time.

2 The Filter stuff: The DSL signal that makes your DSL modem work loves to go only to your DSL modem. It hates to go to all the other wiring and equipment that you have connected to your phone line over the years. This is why in the box with your modem, the modem company included filters to connect to your phone equipment. The filters remove the DSL signal from the device you plug into them. This filter stops the DSL signal from going to places it should not, like your phone, fax machine, old dial up modem you have in your computer, the old phone you have in your garage or basement that you never use but still have plugged into a phone jack, or every satellite cable box you have plugged into your phone line, they all need to be filtered also. It's always a good idea when installing DSL to take some time to think about all the stuff you have connected to your phone line and where it plugs into a jack. If you are doing the installation yourself you are going to have to get a filter installed on all your existing phone equipment.
The most important rule is next. It will always be true and is the number one thing that you must know when you set up your DSL.