Do You Have to Have a Home Phone Line for DSL?

When you purchase DSL service, your provider will hook up a dedicated Internet circuit to your home. The digital information you access online travels over your standard phone line, using the sound frequencies humans don't use in conversation. Even if you aren't using your phone line for conversations, as is the case if you don't pay for dial-tone service, you can still use the line for Internet information.

Your DSL provider will send you a modem for you to install in your home. You will need to first connect the modem to a power source near your computer. Second, connect a telephone cord from your modem to a wall jack. Usually, you will also need to connect filters on each telephone in your home to keep the DSL signal from interfering with your standard dial-tone line; however, if you don't have standard dial-tone service, you won't need to install the filters.

While you do need phone lines connected to your home to get DSL service, you don't need home phone service. Your phone company must have physical phone wires connected to your home, usually entering through a Network Interface Device that's attached outside of your house. Wires usually connect from this device to the phone jacks in your home, whether you pay for phone service or not. Provided you have this physical connection to the phone company, you can get Internet service from your phone company, as long as your residence is within the DSL service range.

A dry-loop DSL connection is an Internet connection using your phone lines but without home phone service. It's also known as a naked or unbundled connection. Your DSL provider will use the phone lines you already have connected to your home to send the Internet signal. If you don't have phone jacks within your home, you may need to run a line directly from the NID to your modem. If this is necessary, check with your DSL provider when you're signing up for the service to see if it can run the line for you.