Digital Subscriber Line is a high-speed data communications technology that runs over telephone lines. Using network interface hardware and a DSL modem, digital signals travel from your computer to the local Central Office where they are routed through a DSLAM (roughly equivalent to a modem) to the appropriate places on the Internet. DSL utilizes the unused bandwidth available on your home phone line to achieve higher data transfer rates. Because both DSL and your phone service use separate portions of your phone line, it's possible to talk on the phone and surf the Internet at the same time.