ADSL
acronymISP & telecomnetworking
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line: broadband over the existing telephone pair by frequency division - voice below ~4 kHz, data above, a DSLAM terminating the data side at the exchange. Asymmetric because downstream gets most of the spectrum. Its arrival made home connections always-on.
The technology that let the same copper carry the internet full-time - the beginning of POTS's end.
Also known as: asymmetric digital subscriber line