"Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer" is what it stands for. Internet service providers (ISPs) use DSLAMs, which are networking devices, to direct the DSL links of their customers to the Internet. It joins, or "multiplexes," various users' individual links into a single collective connection.

Individual phone lines connect DSL devices in a single community (or other local loop) to the nearby DSLAM. Their data is combined by the DSLAM and forwarded over a greater speed Internet backbone link. Additionally, it prioritizes data and, if required, restricts capacity to specific Broadband lines.

Although ISPs may also place DSLAMs on-premises where there are numerous DSL lines, such as an office complex, motel, or residential building, they are typically found in an ISP's telephone exchange office. Because each DSLAM can only support a certain amount of users, Carriers install and set up numerous DSLAMs to distribute data as effectively as feasible.