Is it possible for me to test line capability?

[Telkomhater]

Does any one know if it is possible for me to test my line's speed capability and if so how would I do it? I just don't trust Telkom saying what my line is capable of.

 

[dabouncer]

Check ur distance from the exchange and listen for noise on ur line. Not sure if its possible otherwise...

 

[GangStarr]

I dont think u can. ( I dont even think I can )
but noise and Attenuation is a sign

 

[krycor]

Only Telkom can, and even then it gives a best estimate which may or maynot be stable. yup those stats make difference.

 

[Telkomhater]

Check ur distance from the exchange.

How do I do that? Do you mean literally get in my car and drive around till I find a building marked "Telkom exchange" or how?

The reason I asked the question in the first place, is because when my house was being built, I had a temporary 512Kbs cable running from the street pole over my wall. Then Telkom came to install the permanent line which is underground. The techie said he didn't think I could have ADSL because I was too far from the echange. When I told I had a temp 512 line he changed his story and said "Oh 192 will be okay then!"

What I don't understand is how Telkom can change their minds about what I can and cannot have arbitarily.

 

[Daveogg]

Hey wait a moment here guys.

The length from the exchange is only relevant because it is an indication of your line attenuation(think line resistance). The further from the exchange the greater the resistance, so on average if your line is > 6km then your attenuation will be too great to support ADSL.

Here is the good news your modem will in all likelyhood report what the line attenuation is. If you not sure where to look google or post here. Your will also get a noise margin, thats basically inteference on the line. Here is a bit more info.
http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/linestats.htm

 

[Telkomhater]

Hey cool...after much searching...I found out how what my modem is telling me:

Noice margin:
Upload: +12.0 dB
Download: +19.6 dB

Attenuation:
Upload: +31.5 dB
Download: +63.3 dB

To interpret it:

The Results.

When determining what speed you can get the following figures may be used as a guide.
Remember you must use the downstream figures. :-

Downstream Attenuation

0-42 dB - 2Mbps
43-60 dB - 1Mbps
> 60 dB - 512kbps

If you already have adsl enabled you may be able to add an extra couple of dB on those figures e.g. 44 dB would be the limit for a 2Mb line.

Downstream SNR Margin

Should be at least 10 dB to get adsl - ideally above 12dB.
Anything less than this will see frequent disconnections and other problems.

So I suppose then I should be able to something close to a 512line.