Can I sabotage my own ADSL line?

[Bandwidth]

Since moving about 18 months ago I have been having intermittent ADSL service. It goes out & needs a modem restart about once every 2 days. I pay for a 4mbps line but 2.8 is what I have asked them to sync it at, any higher and it starts to go out several times a day and can't always re-sync.

The official excuse from Telkom has always been that I am too far from the exchange.

About two months ago they dug a trench through my front yard and put a Fiber cable to the distribution box a few hundred meters from me. All those technicians told me that this would mean 20Mbps or 40Mbps VDSL for me, because the problem of copper distance to the exchange would now be gone.

So here I am, two months later, the Telkom ADSL Availability checker on their website says that there is 40Mbps (Copper) available in my area (It used to say 4Mbps until now).

Here is the support cycle I am trying to break out of.

1. Log a fault with Telkom, they don't want to hear about the problem from me, they say that they can commit to no fixing or replacing of lines until a technician comes to my house & tests my line. All they can do is log a fault for me. I specifically say the words "Please take my money" and "How much money would it take". I don't say these words because I have tons of money but because offering money to fix a problem is the universal language of business, especially when there is no chance at forming a friendship or relationship. If they told me it would take R5000 to fix the problem, at least then I can know that I have a 2Mbps line because I can't afford to fix it, but as it stands currently, I just have a 2Mbps line because they refuse to sell me more because they don't care.

2. Technician comes out, they test the line, say that it works quite well at 2Mbps, which is well within the promised speed for a 4Mbps line. They say they are not authorized to try an fix or replace a line that is working as it is supposed to, so they leave & probably tells headquarters that all is well. So I go back to step 1.

Could I possibly break out of this cycle by unplugging everything from my phone line & wiring it up to the 220 volts in my house and sending 220 volts through it from my side?

I don't want to fry some big expensive switch on the other side, and I certainly don't want to damage a neighbour's equipment or give someone a shock while talking on the phone. I just want to blow a fuse or something so that what are probably corroded & poorly connected copper connections on the other side can get re-wired & re-connected in the trouble shooting process, which might give me some hope of getting this fixed.

Will someone who knows enough about how the distribution box is set up to know if I could possibly have any success with this lend some insight.

And no I didn't ask if this would be right or wrong, if you have insights to contribute about the ethics of this, please start a separate thread, link it here, and I would be happy to chime in.

 

[Sonic2k]

Connect your line to the mains... I did that once...

 

[Bandwidth]

Any results?

 

[Sonic2k]

Any results?

Yeah it destroyed the copper pair... but then they refused to fix it, so I stopped paying Telkom for that line...

Had a new line put in... problem solved

 

[Bandwidth]

Yeah it destroyed the copper pair... but then they refused to fix it, so I stopped paying Telkom for that line...

Had a new line put in... problem solved

That sounds reasonable. Maybe I should just start with the second line though. When I asked about a second line I was told I would have the exact same problems, but I guess it is more than plausible that they didn't know what they were talking about.

 

[Napalm2880]

The lengths one has to go to in order to get service in this country. :wtf:

 

[MickZA]

So here I am, two months later, the Telkom ADSL Availability checker on their website says that there is 40Mbps (Copper) available in my area (It used to say 4Mbps until now).

I'd think twice before proceeding with your plan. Even though they trenched cable past your house it doesn't mean that the infrastructure exists to connect you to VDSL so frying your line would probably mean you'd have no internet while they repair it

 

[FNfal]

Distance can not be changed until they connect you to an MSAN.
Are they installing an MSAN on the end of that fibre you mentioned ?

 

[Bandwidth]

Distance can not be changed until they connect you to an MSAN.
Are they installing an MSAN on the end of that fibre you mentioned ?

I did not know what an MSAN was until I looked it up just now so I didn't ask. Last year a technician told me there were plans for Fiber to the DB but that they were waiting for Eskom to bring power to the DB, does that mean they were needing to power a MSAN? There was a date they gave for when everything would be switched over to the Fiber (I forgot if it was 1 June or 1 July). On that day around 5pm there were two Telkom bakkies parked at the distribution box. They told me that everything was already switched over to Fiber but that the geeks in the office (my words, positive meaning of geek) was just configuring the last of it and they were waiting around just in case anything needed to be done manually.

Even if the upgraded technology for VDSL was not installed, I was explicitly told that the connection from the DB to the Exchange is now running on Fiber. On top of that the Telkom ADSL Speed checker now switched to saying there is 40Mbps available in my area. So something changed, if distance to the exchange really was the problem, then I would expect to now get a stable 4Mbps or 10Mbps connection.

 

[Bandwidth]

I'd think twice before proceeding with your plan. Even though they trenched cable past your house it doesn't mean that the infrastructure exists to connect you to VDSL so frying your line would probably mean you'd have no internet while they repair it

Right, sitting without any ADSL for a month would probably cost me enough in 3G data to seriously regret my decision.

 

[MickeyD]

I did not know what an MSAN was until I looked it up just now so I didn't ask. Last year a technician told me there were plans for Fiber to the DB but that they were waiting for Eskom to bring power to the DB, does that mean they were needing to power a MSAN? There was a date they gave for when everything would be switched over to the Fiber (I forgot if it was 1 June or 1 July). On that day around 5pm there were two Telkom bakkies parked at the distribution box. They told me that everything was already switched over to Fiber but that the geeks in the office (my words, positive meaning of geek) was just configuring the last of it and they were waiting around just in case anything needed to be done manually.

Even if the upgraded technology for VDSL was not installed, I was explicitly told that the connection from the DB to the Exchange is now running on Fiber. On top of that the Telkom ADSL Speed checker now switched to saying there is 40Mbps available in my area. So something changed, if distance to the exchange really was the problem, then I would expect to now get a stable 4Mbps or 10Mbps connection.

DB = ?

That was most probably an SDC that now has a MSAN next to it. How far are you from it?

 

[Bandwidth]

DB = ?

That was most probably an SDC that now has a MSAN next to it. How far are you from it?

DB = Distribution Box. That's what the technicians call it. White cabinet roughly the size of a single bed & about as tall as a man.

I am less than 350 meters away, following the road & using he Google Earth ruler (I assume it's accurate for small distances, I've used it for estimating ethernet cable runs in large buildings with reasonable accuracy).

I can't see how the limit in my speed still comes from something other than my connection to the DB, but I am considering to heed the advice of just getting a second line installed before I try destroying my only internet connection.

 

[MickeyD]

DB = Distribution Box. That's what the technicians call it. White cabinet roughly the size of a single bed & about as tall as a man.

I am less than 350 meters away, following the road & using he Google Earth ruler (I assume it's accurate for small distances, I've used it for estimating ethernet cable runs in large buildings with reasonable accuracy).

I can't see how the limit in my speed still comes from something other than my connection to the DB, but I am considering to heed the advice of just getting a second line installed before I try destroying my only internet connection.

Definitely not a DB. The only time Telkom refers to a DB is for power distribution.

Sounds like an ISAM or MSAN (depending on where you are).

If you look at the diagram below, this depicts a network where the MSAN is in the exchange building. However, in order to reduce the copper distance Telkom will install the MSAN at one of the SDC sites on a pavement and connect it to the exchange with fibre.

So you will be connected to a DP and then to a MSAN.

 

[MickeyD]

It will look something like this:

 

[Bandwidth]

Definitely not a DB. The only time Telkom refers to a DB is for power distribution.

Sounds like an ISAM or MSAN (depending on where you are).

If you look at the diagram below, this depicts a network where the MSAN is in the exchange building. However, in order to reduce the copper distance Telkom will install the MSAN at one of the SDC sites on a pavement and connect it to the exchange with fibre.

So you will be connected to a DP and then to a MSAN.

View attachment 237676

Wow, thank you very much for taking the time to educate me on this. Yes that picture in your last post is exactly what it looks like.

So if I understand you right, then assuming there is Fiber to the MSAN, my bad connection is somewhere between my copper connection to the DP (Distribution Point) or the copper connection from the DP to the MSAN.

 

[MickeyD]

Wow, thank you very much for taking the time to educate me on this. Yes that picture in your last post is exactly what it looks like.

So if I understand you right, then assuming there is Fiber to the MSAN, my bad connection is somewhere between my copper connection to the DP (Distribution Point) or the copper connection from the DP to the MSAN.

100% correct.

That is assuming that your POTS filter at home is OK...

 

[image132]

I don't know what your line stats look like or what you are willing to pay but maybe you could upgrade to 10mb. So then if your line stays at 2mb you've got a genuine fault and they'd replace your line. That is if Telkom will let you upgrade.

Just another suggestion.

 

[mpdjhb]

Same position for me. I have had a string of technicians out here who do not have a clue what "intermittent" issues means. If the line comes on at some point in their visit they crow "distance from exchange" and close the call.

Won't be long before Telkom is nothing but a footnote in the history books.

 

[Bandwidth]

Just to set the record straight, there are some good techies at Telkom who still care. 2 of them just showed up at my house today and fixed the problem. It probably did help that the internet was completely out when they arrived. They just decided that "This isn't good enough" and didn't stop until they found it.

I also used every sales technique in the book. I went out to the street to meet them, learned their names & used it several times, offered them tea, coffee or water, asked about their families and if they miss them while working on a Saturday. Everyone wants to feel important, give them some respect and they might just feel motivated to do more for you than what is the norm.

It turns out that a past techie just twisted some wires together by hand at a junction outside the house, and that connection became corroded & stopped working. They stripped off some wire & put a thing on there that crimps onto two wires by squeezing it with pliers, I trust it to make a decent connection. If it happens again I'll try to just tackle it with a soldering iron myself.

Afrihost got Telkom to upgrade the line same day, so currently I am syncing at 15Mbps ADSL2+ now I just need to get the line switched to VDSL.

 

[MickeyD]

Good to hear!