Broadband connections in the UK are available from many different providers and come in various types, depending on where you live. The costs will vary depending on the type of broadband connection you choose as well as the provider. Some broadband connections are available at various speeds, and as the speed rises, so generally does the price – although good broadband deals are available on a pretty regular basis. But the two primary forms of broadband that are available most commonly in the UK are ADSL and SDSL. We’ll do a broadband comparison based on these two types.
ADSL, or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, is the most commonly available form of broadband in the UK, with approximately 80% of the population having access to it. This broadband connection is delivered through your existing BT telephone line, which means there are no new holes to drill or wires to thread through your home. However, because ADSL uses your existing phone line, a special filter needs to be attached to all your telephone sockets. This microfilter, as it’s more correctly called, filters out the noise from the data streaming through your phone line. Without the filters, the sound quality of your voice calls would be seriously degraded by the data. The data transfer could also be dropped by the sound of peoples’ voices on the line. ADSL connections can download data from the internet (in other words, bring it in to your home) faster than they can upload it (or send it from your home to the internet).
SDSL, or Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line, is similar to ADSL in that it uses a phone line, but that’s where the big difference ends. SDSL requires a separate phone line, which may involve installation costs. Where SDSL shines is in upload speeds, which are equal in transmission speed to downloads. So businesses that do a lot of work via the web and need to upload large files, or perhaps graphics or videos, would do well to look into SDSL as an option to ADSL.