ADSL .. Duh!

[Angie and Robert]

Please take this query from its very basic form.I know nothing about ADSL but am sure someone out there may be able to help.

We recently have changed to broadband (South Marche) and are having problems in sometimes accessing it, or it chucks you off mid prose.Have had Tiscali engineer out, Telecom Italia and the guy from the local computer shop. They have decided that we are the end of the line from the recever, and therefore get a very weak signal.We have also been advised to unplug our upstairs phone when wanting to use broadband as this helps.

Does anyone else have this problem, or any advice on what we can do to improve it? Or does it mean that when our neighbour goes to phone his Nonna we are thrown out of the loop?

Any comments much appreciated, but please keep them simpleish
Thanks
Angie

[tuscanhills]

There is a thing called contention ratio that looks at the number of folks connected to a phone line. The logic is that it can only carry so much data & if you're at the end of the phone loop, everyone else will "nick your space".......it's just the old water debate for the 21st century!

I can hear the old f@rts in the village now, complaining that Frederico always eaves his connection on, meaning that Walter can't get any data........pishaw!

So what can you do *if* it is a contention ratio problem?

This article is quite useful as it suggest a number of good options but I guess that your problem is not the number/nature of the other users but a poor quality service (or maybe even local 'phone exchange) and that will involve lots of calls and you could end up in a lot of buck passing......

[Marc]

A slight correction David; the contention ratio doesn't work quite the same way as a water supply, where the last person on the pipe would get the lowest pressure. The available bandwidth is shared evenly between all the users, so the speed drops if there are a lot of users in contention, but they all suffer the same reduction. We are lucky, in that we live in the country so there are very few people in contention with us (API drivers tend not to be internet junkies) so we don't suffer loss of speed at peak times of day.

I think the advice Angie has been given is good. It does sound rather as if the problem is the distance from the exchange, unless you are using a wireless router inside the house and it doesn't penetrate your walls well.

[pigro]

Firstly, they should not have been able to sell you ADSL if your location was too far from the exchange for them to offer a stable & reliable service - so that should not be an issue. Even if it were the issue, in all but the most extreme cases, the effect should just be lower speed rather than unreliable connection.

I'd ask Tiscali to confirm in writing whether your connectivity problem is because you are too far from the exchange to get reliable connection. If they confirm this, I reckon you would be able to cancel your contract on those grounds (if that's your preference).

Secondly, ask around other locals who use Tiscali & find out whether they have similar problems - the engineers will usually seek to pin the blame on your own premises to avoid doing too much work themselves, but if your neighbours also have the same problems then it's the ADSL kit at the phone exchange end of things that's at fault.

Next, while you are actually connected, do yo achieve good speeds? You can test that on various websites (eg. www.kbps.co.uk - Speed Test Home). If this reveals that even when you are connected you get a low speed for the product you have purchased, then this indicates (a) you ARE very far from the exchange or (b) you DO have some telephone wiring issue somewhere between you & the exchange. If on the other hand this shows that you get consistantly good speed while you are connected, it would point towards the Tiscali (or TI) ADSL infrastructure being suspect. Save a set of speed tests at different times of day/day of week as this would support your case for further investigation if they show consistent high speed but you still keep getting disconnected.

The advice about extension phone sockets within the house is correct - very often, a badly installed extension socket or poor quality/loose cabling may interfere with the broadband signal. Have you tried to follow their advice, & if so, does it seem to help? i.e. with the extension unplugged, is your broadband connection reliable? If so, you should re-wire the extension (or maybe remove it entirely and use a wireless phone for the bedroom?).

In general, if you have an intermittant problem, the best thing to do is to eliminate all possible contributory factors and then add them back in gradually - so, ideally you would disconnect the extension cable from the master socket (you'd need to open up the socket and have appropriate tools to do that bit) & also remove all other telephone devices from the master (except the broadband bit). If the BB is stable like that, then add things back in order of priority: so, "main" telephone first, then any answering machine, then reconnect the extension cable (without the extension phone plugged in) and finally with the extension phone plugged in. Test each configuration, and if its all consistently stable until you add one more thing, then it's that thing that's the cause of the problems.

Your neighbours use of their own phones (OR broadband) should have no impact on your broadband stability. At worst, it may slow your surfing down if everyone is using their broadband at the same time, but it shouldn't disconnect you or prevent connection.

Finally - I'm assuming that you DON'T have a wireless router in the house that is, you only have broadband connected directly to one computer & you can't surf on a laptop anywhere else in the house? If you DO have wireless, that may often have a whole different set of problems (from thick walls to interferance by fairy lights, other peoples wireless BB, your cordles telephone, microwave oven etc etc). I'm sure though the guys who've ben to your house would have mentioned that if it were applicable?

Good luck!

[annec]

Pigro
Liked the speed test thingy - but not sure I understood the results! My stretch always exceeds my reach (is that the right aphorism? - what is an aphorism??)where IT is concerned.

A&R
I am awaiting telephone line and ADSL provision by Alice. Since I'm near you I'll let you know how we get on once installed. Amazingly enough Telecom Italia have already been out to check on the work that needs doing and emailed me telling me it'll be an extra E188. At this rate I'll be telephonically connected in record time. What's gone wrong??

[pigro]

Originally Posted by annec

Pigro
Liked the speed test thingy - but not sure I understood the results! My stretch always exceeds my reach (is that the right aphorism? - what is an aphorism??)where IT is concerned.

as long as you know the speed of the ADSL product you have bought (usually either 512KBit/s, 2MBit/s or "upto 8MBit/s" these days, at least in UK urban areas) just scroll down the results to the bar graph. There is a green bar beside each product name that shows its theoretical download speed (data that you get from the internet). There is then one of two red bars showing upload speed (data that you send to the internet). All DSL products except for the upto 8MB/s ADSLMax normally have the same upload speed; while the 8MB/s has a higher (but variable) speed. Most domestic broadband products offer much faster download then upload speeds.

The pair of blue bar graphs at the bottom are your own results just measured by the website. You just compare them to the appropriate green/red ones to see how close you are getting to the theorertical max. Anywhere close to 10% of theoretical max is pretty good as ther are always overheads. Run the tests a few times (make sure you aren't surfing in other windos at the same time) to see how your speed varies at different times of day. THat will show you if eg. all your neighbours come home from work at 7pm and jump onto the net - your speed would drop noticably at such times.

Hope that helps, if you have specific questions, pst them & I'll help if I can.

[Italiargh]

I had problems both in the UK and in Italy with unstable connections. In the UK, it was because my ISP provided me with a Speedtouch 330 USB modem (which most seem to do). I didn't think much at the time, but when i wanted to go online with my video games console, i had to buy a router. Instantly, my connection problems were solved and i later found out that it was because the Speedtouch is very sensitive, to minor issues with lines.

Now in Italy, we got given a router, by our old ISP (i presume this is what they keep trying to charge us for, but of course they don't mention it!). Anyway, we kept losing connection here and it turned out to be one of the filters that you plug into the phone socket, to split the phone up, from the ADSL connection. It might be worth buying one from an electrical shop, as they are very cheap and might save you from paying for an engineers visit.

[pigro]

good points by Italiargh - and 'd always reccomend a router over a modem if you have the choice. They are much more flexible and reliable ...

whether it's a modem or router, it's also well worth visiting the manufacturer's website and downloading the latest firmware for it - there are often bugs which affect speed/stablility which a firmware upgrade will fix. I realise that we're probably getting out with A&R's techie comfort zone here, but I'm sure someone local would be able to help out if required ...

also don't forget that you need a splitter (sometimes called micro filter) for any extension sockets in the house too.

[Angie and Robert]

Thanks very much to everyone who has replied, and thank you Pigro for your very detailed advice. ADSL a bit naughty this morning but now working OK, must be Monday!
A