1. Your phone company is not the only provider of DSL service.
2. Your phone company does not tell you about DSL service available from other companies.
3. Just because you are near your CO, and it is a DSL equipped CO, does not mean you can get DSL.
4. A DSL order can be accepted, then may be canceled, because the phone company finds a problem.
5. The phone company is under no obligation to provide DSL capable lines, or DSL, to everyone.
6. From DSL order to install takes at least 5 days, but unforseen circumstances can impede this time frame.
7. If you are behind an AML, do not expect DSL service for a year, or more.
8. In ordering DSL, if you research wisely, you get what you pay for.
9. In ordering the cheapest DSL available, you cannot expect much attention from humans.

DSL is the next generation of internet access technology. A house or business with DSL has a data socket, that looks like a phone socket. DSL is a direct connection to the internet, always on. To connect, a "DSL modem" is needed (ATU-R); DSL modems are starting to be available on the open market, but they are normally supplied by the DSL provider you choose, since DSL standards are varied, and the modem must be compatible with the equipment favored by the provider. (When talking to your provider, you may ask if they allow you to source your own equipment, for example, second-hand).

DSL modems are of three basic types: external, internal or USB. For external modems, on the back is a socket, usually marked LAN. A cable (ethernet cable) connects this to your computer, which needs an ethernet card, (known as a Network Interface Card, or NIC), such cards are available from dozens of vendors at prices as low as $20, and for this purpose, they all work the same way and are all compatible.

Many current computers, such as the iMac, come with a NIC, and socket, built-in, simplifying things still further. Unlike advanced graphics boards or other specialized hardware, even the oldest computer can accept a NIC card, as long as it has a spare slot. For internal DSL modems, or USB modems, the equipment is plugged in, and some driver software must be loaded into your computer before it can be used.