Advice needed on broadband phone cable

[OwlHoot]

My Internet connection is playing up, with network disconnects every few minutes. (This will probably end up being posted two or three times, after failed attempts!)

I've ordered a nice new Linksys Wireless-N WRVS4400N Router, which looks the dog's bollox and is reassuringly expensive, to replace my Linksys Wireless-G.

But the culprit is much more likely to be the ancient cabling in my flat to the phone junction box outside that serves the whole building. As well as being a normal phone cable, it is worn looking and buckled in places and curled up in a vile looking rat's nest by the front door, where it is regularly trodden on. So I plan to get someone from BT round to replace the lot.

Anyway, in brief, should I let them install a standard phone cable, or is there some thicker cable more suitable for 7 Mbyte/sec broadband (and maybe faster in the future)? I'd rather pay a bit more, or even quite a lot more, for peace of mind and optimal performance.

Also, do BT have to install it, or could any electrician?

[mcquiggd]

Personally I would recommend the Thomson Speedtouch 585 (wireless, ADSL and ADSL2+) , in conjunction with the DMT - tool http://dmt.mhilfe.de

Try locating your master BT socket, take off the face place, and connect your router directly into the internal Test Socket - which basically looks like another standard BT socket inside the master, but bypasses all extensions which might have dodgy wiring and is the cleanest 'route'. If you have a router supported by DMT, you can use it to tweak your connection / examine noise statistics etc, and find the optimal mix of synch speed versus reliability / errors. With My Speedtouch 585, my 16 Mbit Bulldog (now owned by Pipex) connection synchs at 20 Mbit and regularly maxes out that connection from fast sites / p2p.


As for BT sockets, my understanding is that BT maintains ownership... I dont know if that only applies to the master socket but not extensions, but best to check that out before messing with wiring, as BT might use it as an excuse to charge you. If you can prove there is a fault (report one after testing the above I mentioned), they should fix it for free..

[DaveB]

BT maintain ownership of everything up to and including the primary socket in the property. Anything after that counts as an extension and is nothing to do with BT. BT will fix faults on the master socket for free but problems with or caused by faults on extension lines and sockets become chargable.

Depending on how old your installation is you may or may not have a test socket behind the faceplate of your master socket and in any case this is BT property and you mess with it at your own risk.


If you can connect your router directly to the master socket and you still ge the problems you've described then call BT and tell them you have a fault. If the problems dissapears then it's a problem with your internal wiring beyond the BT box. In either case BT can fix it. The first sceanrio will be free, the second they will charge for.

[mcquiggd]

Connecting to the Master Socket alone does not guarantee the problem is with the BT line, connecting to the Test Socket eliminates line noise / issues with extensions, and does.... that's why BT engineers use them....

[Lowery]

Anyway, in brief, should I let them install a standard phone cable, or is there some thicker cable more suitable for 7 Mbyte/sec broadband (and maybe faster in the future)? I'd rather pay a bit more, or even quite a lot more, for peace of mind and optimal performance.

There's no such thing as a thicker phone line but a standard phone cable will easy handle all the speed you want. Another option is to look at fibre but it will depend on whether it is available in your area.

I have never used ntl:telewest but they offer fibre to the home packages.

[sparklelard]

I went through a period when my broadband kept dropping out.

It turned out to be the DSL card at the local exchange.