For ADSL access to your home or business you need a ADSL filter installed into your building. This separates the voice frequencies that are low from the ADSL frequencies that are very high.

The adsl modem sits in a free PCI slot directly into your machine. It converts the adsl data to data your computer can understand.

A ADSL Router will connect to your LAN thru a hub or switch. It converts all the Network data sent to it so that the ADSL connection can understand it.

Telecom have installed devices called splitters to separate the Voice from the ADSL data. The voice travels over telecoms standard voice network. The DSLAMs are installed into most metropolitan exchanges. The ADSL DATA from the DSLAM is put into the fast ATM data network that telecom has built using fibre optics.