Broadband Guide

SDSL broadband

Updated: Tuesday 04 January, 2011

By Editorial - news@consumerchoices.co.uk

SDSL broadband is a high speed internet service, offering downloads and uploads at the same speed. SDLS is ideal for businesses that need to be able to upload information quickly and efficiently.

While it might sound complicated, an SDSL - or Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line - is basically the same as a standard internet connection but offers fast uploads as well as download speeds.

Why get SDSL broadband?

Normal copper-wire broadband, or ADSL, offers asymmetric broadband speeds - giving you a fast download speed but a much slower upload speed. A typical connection may offer download speeds of up to 8Mb or even 20Mb broadband but upload speeds at only 448kb - with a maximum of around 2.5Mb on high-end packages.

SDSL is not subject to these limitations - your download and upload speed will be the same, giving you 2Mb uploads as well as downloads, for example. This makes SDSL ideal for home offices and business users that need to transfer a lot of data without being restricted by slow upload speeds.

Low contention ratios

Another common criticism of ADSL is the high contention ratios, with a standard package coming with a contention ratio of around 50:1. This means that you could be sharing your connection with as many as 49 other people on your road, which can really slow you down at peak times when lots of other people are also online.

SDSL offers a much more attractive contention ratio ranging from 10:1 to 1:1, so you could have a dedicated line to yourself.

Is SDSL broadband for me?

If you need a broadband package that can handle heavy uploads, then an SDSL package might be the right solution for you.

Unfortunately SDSL broadband isn't cheap - standard packages start from around £100. Most SDSL packages are designed for businesses and are available from BT Broadband (www.BT.com), Eclipse Internet (www.Eclipse.net.uk) and Zen Internet (www.Zen.co.uk).

Alternatively, most homes and small businesses can function perfectly well on one of the many ADSL broadband packages that come with a far cheaper headline rate. You can get business broadband from as little £10 a month from Opal Broadband (www.Opal.co.uk) - the business arm of TalkTalk Broadband (www.Talktalk.co.uk).

Home broadband packages

Or if you're looking for a superfast home broadband package, Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com), O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) and Plusnet Broadband (www.Plus.net) are all great options.