ADSL Infrastructure Question

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Murray

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Hi All,

Living on the outskirts of town (Stellenbosch) my line is ADSL ready however when I installed ADSL the copper quality and distance from exchange was so bad that the ADSL speeds were ridiculously low. So we changed to a wireless internet provider who will not be named but who is ripping us of by selling us connections that are horribly slow! Now we want to change back to ADSL...how can we improve the infrastructure in our area?

How can I get Telkom to put in a DSLAM (Is that the right term?) closer to where I live? DO I need to get other users around me to show interest etc... who do I call etc...? Is this even possible?

Thanks a million!
Murray
 
I don't think there's much you can do that will help, short of starting your own website for this, and taking out full page adverts in the Sunday Times or your local newspapers.

Telkom just doesn't give a sh*t about one tiny little consumer who has a bad ADSL connection. You'll be wasting your time.

Sad but true.

Rather try Vodacom, MTN or iBurst (or maybe NeoHell, if you're that desperate).
 
Murray said:
So we changed to a wireless internet provider who will not be named but who is ripping us of by selling us connections that are horribly slow!
Click to expand...

Please DO name this shameless WISP, don't be afraid. The only way to change the attitudes of these companies is to expose them.

So c'mon - who is it?
 
ToxicWazte said:
Please DO name this shameless WISP, don't be afraid. The only way to change the attitudes of these companies is to expose them.

So c'mon - who is it?
Click to expand...

It's probably PaarlOnline

murray said:
Hi All,

Living on the outskirts of town (Stellenbosch) my line is ADSL ready however when I installed ADSL the copper quality and distance from exchange was so bad that the ADSL speeds were ridiculously low. So we changed to a wireless internet provider who will not be named but who is ripping us of by selling us connections that are horribly slow! Now we want to change back to ADSL...how can we improve the infrastructure in our area?

How can I get Telkom to put in a DSLAM (Is that the right term?) closer to where I live? DO I need to get other users around me to show interest etc... who do I call etc...? Is this even possible?

Thanks a million!
Murray
Click to expand...

Hi Murray, could you perhaps remember what kind of speeds you got with the ADSL line and what your LNR/SNR ratios were?

They won't install ADSL or say that your area is ADSL ready if they can't provide a minimum of 384k in your area, and if this was a while ago, I'd give the ADSL another shot now because of their constant network upgrades (that's supposedly finished now) which promised higher speeds.

It could also have been a fault on the line itself. I had one dumbass techy install the line and after several complaints got someone out that reinstalled the line and routed it via a better exchange/dslam and got me what I needed.

ADSL shouldn't be that slow!
 
AcidRaZor said:
They won't install ADSL or say that your area is ADSL ready if they can't provide a minimum of 384k in your area, and if this was a while ago, I'd give the ADSL another shot now because of their constant network upgrades (that's supposedly finished now) which promised higher speeds.

It could also have been a fault on the line itself. I had one dumbass techy install the line and after several complaints got someone out that reinstalled the line and routed it via a better exchange/dslam and got me what I needed.

ADSL shouldn't be that slow!
Click to expand...

AcidRazor makes some good points - maybe you should give it another shot.

There's lots that could go wrong, it could be any one of these issues:
- the wiring on your own house is old / faulty / rusty
- the ADSL modem could be faulty (even if it is new / fairly new, but especially if it is older)
- the copper cable running from your house to the Telkom box in your street
- the copper cable running from the Telkom box in your street to the exchange
- the port that your line is connected to on the DSLAM at the exchange.

Maybe you should try crossing out each of these as potential problems. Test the modem at someone else's place, ask Telkom to test the line, redo the wiring in your house, etc...

It all depends how much effort and time you want to commit to this. Some people just couldn't be bothered and would switch to Vodacom/MTN HSDPA or iBurst..
 
Hi everyone,

Thanks for the fantastic responses. The problem as admitted by the a number of Telkom techies is that I am at the absolute limit of how far away you can be from a DSLAM, they gave me a new modem etc.. so that isnt a problem. The major problem was very big inconsistencies in the service sometimes the line would work other times not. Our telephone line is pretty dodgy here too...that could be a big factor...but i agree that is would be worth giving them a call to see what they can do firstly about the line quality and secondly to see if they have made any further advancements in my lines proximity to a DSLAM.

Ideally a new DSLAM would be the answer in servicing the area I live in I have a list of roughly 10 people who would be interested in ADSL if it could work in my area, Telkom as tried to install ADSL on a number of neighbouring properties with the same issues.

I will give Telkom a call and keep you posted...Thanks again for the help!

Murray
 
Murray, could you maybe say where in Stellenbosch you are staying? Welgefonden by any chance?
 
Jeesh, I find it strange that the infrastructure would be SO BAD in that area, because the University can't be more than 2 km away from you and Telkom must have decent infrastructure in that area I guess :(

If you're a student at Stellenbosch University, you can have a look at SCN (www.scn.za.net), which is the Wireless User Group ran by a few people from Stellenbosch University's IT dept. They have AP's on Pappagaaiberg (5GHz only) & Helshoogte men's residence (2.4 + 5GHz). I'm currently connecting to a friend of mine via SCN and then using his ADSL :D
 
Murray said:
Hi everyone,

Thanks for the fantastic responses. The problem as admitted by the a number of Telkom techies is that I am at the absolute limit of how far away you can be from a DSLAM, they gave me a new modem etc.. so that isnt a problem. The major problem was very big inconsistencies in the service sometimes the line would work other times not. Our telephone line is pretty dodgy here too...that could be a big factor...but i agree that is would be worth giving them a call to see what they can do firstly about the line quality and secondly to see if they have made any further advancements in my lines proximity to a DSLAM.

Ideally a new DSLAM would be the answer in servicing the area I live in I have a list of roughly 10 people who would be interested in ADSL if it could work in my area, Telkom as tried to install ADSL on a number of neighbouring properties with the same issues.

I will give Telkom a call and keep you posted...Thanks again for the help!

Murray
Click to expand...

Hi Murray,

Telkom Techies are like.... sometimes very stupid. Yes sure, you might be at the edge of the allowed distance from the DSLAM, but your comment about "sometimes the line would work other times not. Our telephone line is pretty dodgy here too..."

It's not a "could be a factor" situation, but "this is the cause of the issue" situation.

Like I've said, the distance only influences speed. And they won't install if they couldn't at least give you 384k. And with their ADSL2+ upgrades, they're able to give you faster speeds.

However the inconsistency with your normal phone service and the ADSL line points to a line fault. Not ADSL or the distance or anything.

One of my friends also had the same problems, his "trick" was to pick up the phone and push it up and down a bunch of times (like you get the americans do in the movies "hellooo is anyone there??!") and it would work sometimes, he said it was static.

So... long story short, eventually Telkom found a loose wire in the box connecting his phone service to the DSLAM... brilliant hey? This is after they spun the whole story about his area not being ADSL ready and then after him telling them they're liars because he has ADSL already, them saying it's because of distance.

Good luck!
 
what AcidRazor said... if the line is fine for dsl and the next minute not, then there's something wrong with the line, and chances are you could get dsl if they fixed that. Do you hear any kind of interference (scratchy noises or clicks) on your phone? Pick up the phone, leave it off-hook for about 5 minutes, then listen to the line when there's no tones. if you hear interference of any kind, that's probably why your DSL is unstable, and that CAN be fixed - whether you can get Telkom to fix it is another story, though
 
Option Z, if you are reallly really desperate ...

Order another telephone line, and then, once it's installed, do an ADSL self install on it and check if it works okay. If it does, cancel the old one.

It will involve a number change though - if it works, and if it doesn't, well then, you've wasted some R250 odd on an experiment.
 
If you listen to your line as fragtion suggested and there is noise. Report it to Telkom, tell them you find it difficult to hear conversations. Report it again and again, till you get a techy that is actually willing to help you, but don't mention ADSL. Once it's sorted, then order ADSL.

A month or two ago I had an intermittent problem on my line, disconnecting frequently, but I could hear the noise on the line. At first I reported it as an ADSL fault, they would come out, test the line, find that ADSL is working at the time and then close the fault. Also spinning me the story of I'm to far away and I shouldn't have got ADSL in the first place. To top it off, about 300m of my line still run on open copper and the techies always get a fit when they see that.

Eventually I reported it as noise on the line and that I can't conduct decant conversations, not that I actually use my phone for calls. The techy came out, climb up various poles down the line and found a rusty connection and wola, ADSL fixed.
 
Apparently a simple solution is to order 9 or 10 lines, get the installations done, and then cancel the ones you don't need :)

Might be a bit pricey, but certainly useful if you're desperate.
 
so heard noise on my phone after leaving it off hook for 5 minutes so whats next step to fixing it cause i had so many technicians here already, lost count and they claim they cant hear the noise
 
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Looks like "ADSL over Wireless" will start to become more and more popular - as these cheap/low cost & quality WiSP resell IS Business DSL which is always oversold - very frustrating

One WiSP in the GardenRoute is mentioned somewhat in the WiSP Forum - VC is too expensive and you have no choice but to go with the cheap WiSP with pathetic service.

Even if you install a 384k DSL at your mate, at least you will get 384k
 
kilos said:
Looks like "ADSL over Wireless" will start to become more and more popular - as these cheap/low cost & quality WiSP resell IS Business DSL which is always oversold - very frustrating

One WiSP in the GardenRoute is mentioned somewhat in the WiSP Forum - VC is too expensive and you have no choice but to go with the cheap WiSP with pathetic service.

Even if you install a 384k DSL at your mate, at least you will get 384k
Click to expand...

Even then, I'd recommend Telkom Wimax if you can get it. It's not blazing super fast speeds but it's only R240 per month without any kind of line hiring costs or initial cost for equipment or anything. It's month to month and you can use any ADSL account out there, so if you want to get afrihost you can, if you want to dump them for Web Africa, you can etc

But yes, there's quite a few WISPS in this area...
 
davemc said:
Option Z, if you are reallly really desperate ...

Order another telephone line, and then, once it's installed, do an ADSL self install on it and check if it works okay. If it does, cancel the old one.

It will involve a number change though - if it works, and if it doesn't, well then, you've wasted some R250 odd on an experiment.
Click to expand...

If you do plan to go this route, make sure that you order one of the Closer options, as it includes free installation. You don't want them to whack you with a R700 installation fee.

I'd try what the other's have said first, though, where you report the problem as noise on the line and you are unable to conduct a decent conversation, but you mention NOTHING about ADSL.

If that fails, then try ordering a new line.
 
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