While ISPs often advertise ADSL2+ and ADSL services as having maximum downlink connection speeds of 24 Mbps and 8 Mbps, respectively, very few broadband users can expect to achieve such speeds. As shown in the figure below, a broadband signal generally has to travel considerable distances along the copper cable from the exchange to the street cabinet (the so-called ‘E-side’), and then along another cable from the street cabinet to the nearby residential and business premises (the so-called ‘D-side’).