This high-speed transmission technology could make downloading
movies and video catalogs possible; but only if our telephone
companies allow you to have it.  One of the most promising
technologies for breaking the bandwidth bottleneck is Asymmetric
Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL, sometimes called Asynchronous
Digital Subscriber Line). ADSL is one of several similar
technologies generically called xDSL. Another popular variant is
HDSL: High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Loop.  All the xDSL
technologies involve the installation of electronic boxes on the
ends of relatively standard telephone lines, which allows for
transmission speeds of as much as 1.5 megabits/sec for HDSL and
6 megabits/sec for ADSL.  ADSL is really an extension of HDSL.
It's not only the fastest of the xDSL technologies, but it also
handles packet-switched transmission technologies, such as ATM
(Asynchronous Transfer Mode). Sending data in self-addressed
packets, via routed rather than switched circuits, is a cheaper
way to send all forms of da