DSL without a dial tone?
 

Just curious...

Had my phone disconnected last week (going wireless) but was surprised to see that my DSL is still working. I suppose they just haven't gotten around to disconnecting that part yet, but I didn't know DSL could even work without a dial tone?

Dig

DSL are handled by a piece of central office hardware called a DSLAM - I can't remember what the long-form of the name is, though. Each line that has a DSL signal over it, has its own DSLAM. Since the DSL service is handled by a different piece of hardware, just because your phone goes dead doesn't mean there isn't a DSL signal. :)

Thanks for the explanation!

For some reason I thought (incorrectly) that the DSL signal piggybacked the voice signal, so if you lost dial tone you'd lose your DSL. Good to know how it really works now. Since my DSL still works I didn't even realize my phone had been disconnected till after a few days of not getting any phone calls. LoL. Then I picked up the phone and discovered it was dead. I guess I'm in the DSL 'bonus' round now. :)

Dig

Haha. You're very welcome. :)
Having a dad who used to be a phone line repairman comes in handy, every now and then.

What's more, the fact that your DSL service still works also signifies that you have something called a "home run" setup on your NID - that little box on the side of your house that the phone lines go into. A lot of homes come with them nowadays; it's essentially two lines running to your house - one for phone, one for DSL.

Just had my phone disconnected too, had DSL, and it was still running for about 3 months. Just plugged it back in the other day, and it still worked. Got new phone service, and now the DSL and the phone are on two seperate lines. They call it a Dry Loop, when you have no dial tone.

And there are DSL technologies that only work on a dry loop (like G.SHDSL) because it uses the full spectrum of the line, including the 4k normally reserved for voice.

Thanks everyone. All very good information. :)