Line stats

I am considering moving to a max adsl product from my current 2mb fixed connection provided by IDNet. I live 4.73km from my local exchange (straight line distance) and the line stats from my router are provided below:

Any thoughts?


Downstream Upstream

Data Rate (Kbps) 2272 288

Noise Margin (dB) 7 21

Attenuation (dB) 62 31

With that attenuation I think I'd stick to 2Mb as long as it's stable.

Max is an adaptive service and BT's systems are pessimistic. Any sign of instability and the exchange slows your line down to try and achieve stability. As I understand it a fixed 2Mb line will just resync at 2Mb after every drop. As long as the drops don't interefere with your usage and as long as the line resyncs immediately that's fine. A Max service will start to slow down in a form of 'self defense' until stability is achieved.

However your noise margin at 7db is good and suggests you have a clean line. You might find that you can get a higher sync with max despite the line length. In theory 3Mb sounds achievable.

Unfortunately BT's profile system might make any increase a moot point. End-user speed increases go in step increments and I'm not sure if your line would sync high enough to see a speed increase. You would have to sync at 2.3Mb or better to even get an equivalent profile to what you currently have. That's possible but 'doing very well'. To see a speed increase your line would have to sync at 2.9Mb which is pushing it for your attenuation.

Tbh I think the risks outwheigh the advantages. Better the devil you know.

Edited by Andrue (Thu 26-Feb-09 21:54:27)

I would tend to agree with Andrue, although the techie side of me would want to plug the router into the test socket, just to see if the noise margin increases by much.

How did you ever get 2Mb with those stats?? You don't know how lucky you are!!

Thanks guys -- After hearing your comments I think i'll stick to fixed 2mb

a bit late but people saying stick to 2mb is very good with your stats

Hi , i am on a 63.0 db line and sync at between 1500 and 1900k bit/s and occasionally lose sync due to noise on my long line. The only benefit you would gain would be the increase in upstream speed , but the down side is you may, as said before end up on a lower downstream sync speed and potential noise problems.

Edited by deleted (Sat 28-Feb-09 08:53:01)

In reply to a post by dizzy4528:

but the down side is you may, as said before end up on a lower downstream sync speed and potential noise problems.

Most definitely!
Long lines will almost always, due to noise issues, end up with a 15dB target margin, which will result in a much lower downstream connection speed.
This is more likely with fixed speed lines which hover close to 6dB anyway, or suffer random drop-outs.
Although......You will get close to double the upstream speed (but will probably half your downstream speed in the process).

The main problem Myrk may have in the near future, is the loss of such fixed rate connections. As I have read on these forums recently of someone who happened to check, and notice that their sync rate had gone up, even though they too had been on fixed rate. They hadn't even been notified by their isp that they were getting 'upgraded'.

Then if Myrk does have issues with Max adsl, and gets put on a 'fixed profile', it's very unlikely he would even get a 1Mb sync speed with his current stats, which is partly why I suggested to connect to the test socket, just to see if his stats improve much, if at all.