4 ms·

If your parents are 1/3 to 1/2 of a mile away from the closest box with those speeds, then it's likely the 'box' is a crossbox (wiring junction) instead of a DS

by kileywm 12y ago

If your parents are 1/3 to 1/2 of a mile away from the closest box with those speeds, then it's likely the 'box' is a crossbox (wiring junction) instead of a DSLAM (networking card). Where the DSLAM is that is feeding that crossbox... well that could be much further. If the loop length is .34-.5 miles (which is quite good) with no impedance mismatch or bridge taps or other various copper faults, then you would/should be able to sustain 10+ Mbps on an ADSL2+ connection. My guess is that the distance is further than it seems, and the line may not have been reconditioned from phone to internet purposes. Anyway I bring it up because distance is the biggest determinant of bandwidth when it comes to copper, and if the distance is great then there is little that fixing copper faults can do to improve internet speeds at your parents' place.

toast0 12y ago
I'm sure you're aware, but ADSL2+ is only offered by ATT in their U-Verse portfolio. ADSL1 would be faster at that distance too.
lanaius 12y ago
It should be a DSLAM (by now) as it was a regular junction that was replaced and added to with one of the larger white DSLAM boxes. I could be mistaken though, so that's a fair thing to point out.
- kileywm 12y ago
  If there is a DSLAM right next to the crossbox, then these are the two possibilities: [1] (Common and very likely) The DSLAM they installed there is a fiber node and feeds only VDSL over < 50 ft wire to the crossbox. ADSL also feeds into the crossbox, but not from the new DSLAM. It still travels from the CO (central office) and may still be 1-2 miles of wire away. [2] (Uncommon and less likely) The DSLAM has VDSL and ADSL cards in it. In this situation the DSLAM can support high speed VDSL to very close residents and ADSL to further residents. The CO is no longer the source of ADSL signal, and this is typically a nice reduction in loop length for people. In your shoes, I'd get in touch with the ISP and see if you're CO fed or not. If you're CO fed, there's little that can be done to improve the speeds =(. You could ask if it's possible to do pair bonding to improve your speeds. Just beware, switching to pair bonding means you'd need to lease/purchase a new modem that can do bonding and the ISP would have to roll a truck to wire up the 2nd pair. Hope that helps!

by kileywm 12y ago

toast0 12y ago

I'm sure you're aware, but ADSL2+ is only offered by ATT in their U-Verse portfolio. ADSL1 would be faster at that distance too.

lanaius 12y ago

It should be a DSLAM (by now) as it was a regular junction that was replaced and added to with one of the larger white DSLAM boxes. I could be mistaken though, so that's a fair thing to point out.

kileywm 12y ago
If there is a DSLAM right next to the crossbox, then these are the two possibilities: [1] (Common and very likely) The DSLAM they installed there is a fiber node and feeds only VDSL over < 50 ft wire to the crossbox. ADSL also feeds into the crossbox, but not from the new DSLAM. It still travels from the CO (central office) and may still be 1-2 miles of wire away. [2] (Uncommon and less likely) The DSLAM has VDSL and ADSL cards in it. In this situation the DSLAM can support high speed VDSL to very close residents and ADSL to further residents. The CO is no longer the source of ADSL signal, and this is typically a nice reduction in loop length for people. In your shoes, I'd get in touch with the ISP and see if you're CO fed or not. If you're CO fed, there's little that can be done to improve the speeds =(. You could ask if it's possible to do pair bonding to improve your speeds. Just beware, switching to pair bonding means you'd need to lease/purchase a new modem that can do bonding and the ISP would have to roll a truck to wire up the 2nd pair. Hope that helps!