There's a lot of talk these days about high-speed access and the Internet. Who's got the fastest service? What equipment do you need? Is it available in your area? The choices are many and, quite often, confusing. One thing you can be sure of, ADSL is the most practical technology for the future. Why?

The reasons are simple. First, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology works on the existing copper telephone line already in your house, also known as a "twisted pair". It uses sophisticated digital coding to utilize more of the existing space on the wire, without interfering with your normal phone conversations. And, it's fast... Really fast. With downloads at up to 8Mb/s. It can be up to 200 times faster than traditional analog modems.

That brings us to point number two. It's always "on". There's no dial-up as is required with conventional analog modems, and no need for a second line for phone calls while you work, or surf. Unlike cable modems, ADSL is not shared among users and so its speed and capacity are not affected by how many subscribers are using the service at the same time. The line is there for you and you alone.

And third, the infrastructure to support ADSL is already in place. Today, there are nearly 750 million existing copper lines worldwide available to support ADSL services. By comparison, no more than 12 million homes are served today by cable systems that can support two-way cable modem transmission.

When you add it up, ADSL is the clear choice for affordable high-speed remote access to the Internet, telecommuting and other advanced on-line services.