The copper wires that service your phone have the capability to carry much more than your phone conversations -- they are capable of handling a much greater frequency range than what voice demands (300-3300 cycles), and DSL uses this "extra capacity" to carry information on the wire without interfering with the line's ability to carry conversations.

This is sometimes referred to as Data-over-Voice technology. Modern equipment that sends digital rather than analog data can safely use much more of the telephone line's capacity. DSL does just that, so you can have high-speed data access at the same time that you are talking on the phone - without interference.

While some DSL systems have problems because of distance limitations, because EvCo Hi Speed is locating the hardware to separate the DSL signal from the phone signal (DSLAM) in your local Qwest crossconnect box, no user is very far from the hardware, and we can offer unusually high upload and download speeds.

EvCo Hi Speed uses a DSL technology called discrete multitone, or DMT . This essentially provides 247 channels (frequencies) on each DSL line, which are constantly monitored for quality by the hardware (your DSL modem and the DSLAM). If the hardware detects a quality issue with one channel, it automatically switches your data to another channel. You can think of this as your having 247 modems connecting you to the internet - some for upstream and some for downstream traffic. The hardware decides which modems have the best connections and uses however many of these channels that it needs to give you the specified service that you selected when you signed up.