Short for
Point-to-Point Protocol over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). PPPoA relies on two widely accepted standards:
PPP and
ATM. It is an end-to-end asymmetric digital subscriber line (
ADSL) architecture.
IP packets travel from the PC over
Ethernet to the DSL modem, called the ADSL transceiver unit-remote (ATU-R). The ATU-R adds the PPP protocol to the IP packets and transports them to the carrier’s
Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiple (
DSLAM) via ATM. It is a technology becoming more popular with DSL providers.
See also Point-to-Point Protocol and PPPoE.