Naked DSL

A naked DSL (a.k.a. standalone or dry DSL) is a digital subscriber line (DSL) without a PSTN (analogue telephony) service—or the associated dial tone. In other words, only a standalone DSL Internet service is provided on the local loop.

Comparison of Regular and Naked DSL

In regular DSL, a wire is run from the telephone switch to a piece of equipment called a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) splitter. The POTS splitter separates the DSL and voice bands and then a wire carrying both services runs from the splitter to the cable head, where it continues on to the customer on outside plant.

In naked DSL the portion of cable from the switch to the splitter is removed, therefore removing dial tone from the line. It is possible that the customer would have dial tone through a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) instead of the local telco (ILEC), or that they use cellular service or VOIP exclusively in place of a traditional land line.

Naked DSL and the FCC

On March 25, 2005, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled 3-2 against utilities commissions in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana who sought to force BellSouth to unbundle their DSL service from their local phone service. Qwest Communications currently provides naked DSL service voluntarily, and Verizon Communications has announced plans to follow suit, and already provides it in some areas.