Do You Need a Working Phone Line for High Speed Internet?

DSL uses a building's landline wiring to connect a computer to an Internet service provider. Standard DSL works by splitting the phone line into two data streams, one used for phone calls and the other used for Internet. This type of service does require a working phone line. Some companies also offer freestanding DSL, which also uses the phone wires in a building but does not require the phone line to be active.

Cable modems connect a computer to the Internet via the coaxial cables that transmit data to the building's televisions. Like DSL, cable service uses wiring already present in the building, provided the building is set up for cable television. Unlike DSL, it does not use the landline phone wires at all. Just as using DSL does not prevent a person from making phone calls, using cable Internet does not prevent a person from watching cable television.

Fiber optic high-speed Internet service also uses wires, but unlike cable and DSL, it does not use wires already present in a building. When a company installs fiber optic service, it runs special wires made of glass fibers the width of human hairs either into the building or to a node nearby. Data travels down the fibers as light, providing a high-speed Internet connection. Fiber optic Internet does not require a working phone line.

In some rural areas, the only high-speed Internet service available is satellite. This also does not require a phone line. The service provider installs a small satellite dish in the user's yard, which transmits and receives data wirelessly. Satellite Internet is almost as fast as DSL and cable, but access is less reliable than with other forms of high-speed Internet, because strong weather or other obstructions to the data flow between the dish and the satellite can interrupt the transmission.