AT&T DSL Specs

The communications holding company AT&T offers DSL Internet service to its customers, via phone lines that already exist. The company's plans vary based on connection speed but all include online storage, Wi-Fi access and email accounts.

AT&T offers DSL plans with pricing based on connection speed. For example, the slowest plan offers consumers a download speed of 768 Kb per second, the lowest speed that is considered broadband. Other options include the plans with speeds up to 1.5 Mbps, 3.0 Mbps and a 6Mbps DSL plan.

Although casual Internet users who sign on to check e-mail or news, instant message or shop may not need the fastest AT&T DSL plan, individuals who upload or download media may especially benefit from speeds of 3Mbps or more.

For example, a movie download of 512MB will take over an hour on the lowest plan while the fastest connection will download the same file in less than fifteen minutes.

Consumers should note that the advertised specifications refer to downloading speed; AT&T states the upload speeds for the two fastest plans are 768Kbps. Lastly, factors including the number of users, the type of network and distance from AT&T's hub can reduce the performance of the DSL connection.