Q: What is the fastest speed that DSL connections are capable of?

A: There are a lot of variables to consider with answering this question.

Typical residential offerings usually have a maximum of 1.5Mbps (1.5 megabits per second), but special connections for home and office can be obtained to go well above that. Keep in mind that you will not normally see 1.5 megabits in a speed test ... due to overhead the more commonly seen speed with this type of connection is in the neighborhood of 1200-1250.

There are two limiting factors that are in place for most connections: the modem and the wiring used to transfer the signal from the modem to the computer. Most home use DSL modems are limited to 10Mbps on the user (LAN) side. The wiring from the modem to the computers is normally Category 5 wiring, or thin ethernet, and that is limited to 100Mbps speed.

Many DSL users are now connected at speeds equal or less than 3000/768, whether they are on ADSL or SDSL.

From DSL Reports

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