Ontario’s Internet Providers Serve Up Reliable, Consistent Connections

Remember those days when the most that internet providers in Ontario could possibly give you was a 56 kbps dial-up connection? It was a time when a two-minute video might take hours to load, downloading songs was a nightmare, and even just browsing from one page to another was sluggish. If you don’t remember, you’re either in your very early twenties or younger, or have chosen willingly to block out the memories of that dark and terrible era. But there was a time before high-speed internet access, and if you’re one of those unlucky few still using dial-up (they’re really out there) or you’re looking for a more reliable connection than what you currently have, you might be wondering what DSL internet can offer you.

How It Works

DSL, or Digital Subscriber Line, transmits data over the traditional telephone lines—but that doesn’t mean it’s locked in the past. See, on POTS (plain old telephone service—yes, it really is called that) lines, voice calls are transmitted on the 300-3400 Hz (hertz, a measurement of frequency) range, which is optimal for carrying the human voice. Dial-up used the same range, hence its slow speeds and its inability to be used simultaneously to your home phone. But DSL uses previously-untouched higher frequencies available on the same line, in the ballpark of 10-100 kHz (kilohertz; 1,000 hertz). These high frequencies mean faster connections, and they don’t interfere with your POTS line at all.

Consistent and Reliable

Ontario internet providers offer two main types of service: DSL and cable. Cable uses the same lines as cable television, and tends to advertise higher speeds. While it is true that cable has a higher speed potential than DSL, it is unreliable. When you use a cable connection, you share a certain amount of speed with your entire neighbourhood. So during peak periods—for example, from when you get home from work until you go to bed—the speed is divided across dozens of households, reducing it significantly.
Alternatively, DSL internet may advertise a lower speed, but that speed is consistent because your connection is yours, and yours alone. You don’t have to wait until the middle of the night or skip a day of work to get a good speed—it’s always available, and always on. And the typical DSL speed is generally faster than the bottlenecked pace of a busy cable connection, too.

Less Expensive

DSL internet is a very cost-effective method for service providers to deliver; because it uses previously-untapped frequencies that already existed in the telephone service infrastructure, no additional infrastructure is needed, and companies are able to provide this consistent, reliable connection inexpensively and with ease. Compare that to the emerging fiber optic option, which while incredibly powerful is having difficulty getting off the ground because so much additional infrastructure is needed.
If you want to experience the full benefit of what DSL internet can do for you, then talk to your internet provider in Ontario now to find out if making the switch is right for you.