text: why cant i get dsl? why is it that dsl is available in my area but only a select few people can get it. i live 3/4 of a mile from the swithing station that bellsouth said i had to be 18,000 wire feet from and there are people that live farther from the station than i do and they can get it, ive done everything i can think of to get dsl well, don't be disheartened, but it is not the physical distance between the local exchange and you that matters when dsl is provisioned. it is the laying of the line that matters. if you stay close, but the cabling has travelled several miles to reach your place, then you are unfortunate. other than that, there are a few other reasons for non provisioning of dsl. for example alarm systems on public lines, splitters (also known as pair-gains or multiplexors) that allow several home tel. numbers to be on 1 line, multiple dwelling units (height issues), et cetera. if dsl is not provisionable, i'd recommend cablenet which is capable of higher speeds thru optical fibre cables.