FastADSL is powered by JetStream and provides high quality, high speed access to the Internet from the customer's premises through the Telecom Broadband Network and uses existing infrastructure. It covers both residential and business applications.
FastADSL utilises a new Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology, which takes a customer's existing copper telephone wire and "supercharges" it. This means Internet connections will be considerably faster and you can talk on the phone while being logged onto the Internet. ADSL splits the phone line into two bands: one for voice and one for data. In turn the data channel is divided into two parts: a larger one for downstream Internet data (server to user) and a smaller one for upstream Internet data (user to server).
FastADSL is an asynchronous technology - meaning the speed is not the same in both directions. The raw connection speed is between 1.5-6 Mbits/s for downloads and around 800Kbits/s for uploads. Actual download speeds vary based on a number of factors. The quality of phone lines and the distance of your location from the exchange can affect performance. Telecom's bench mark is 2Mbits/s - and there's no charge for the installation if they cannot meet this bench mark and you choose to reject the service. The Internet is only as fast as the slowest link, so if you're connecting to a busy site in the USA, you may find things are a little slower. In general though, all FastADSL users have experienced stunning speed improvements - and it sure beats downloading at 56k!