broadband ADSL access

what do we mean?
ADSL technology is used to transfer digital data at high speeds (at least 512 kbps) using a pair of copper wires. This technique can be used for telephone and broadband access: Internet, Multimedia, IP Television, Video On Demand (VOD), and High Definition Voice over IP.
Analog telephone communication and digital data are transmitted on different frequency bands and are separated at subscriber access nodes. ADSL flows are concentrated by multiplexers or DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers), which give access to the IP network.

In cases where France Telecom supplies partial unbundling, as in France and Poland, voice communications (low frequencies) are transferred on the Group’s network, while digital data (high frequencies) pass via the third party operator’s DSLAM. The DSLAM is thus the first piece of equipment that is managed separately by each access provider. It marks the boundary between the shared copper wires and the network belonging to each third-party operator.

what’s the coverage?
The fixed broadband access via ADSL was available in 2010 in France and Poland with a coverage rate close to 100% on the incumbent local loop. It was also available in different AMEA countries (Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, Jordan, Kenya, and Senegal).
In the UK, Spain and Belgium, France Telecom-Orange provides fixed broadband access using these countries’ incumbent operator’s local loop, either through unbundling or through bitstream offers.