Does high 56k speed show that you may have a good line for DSL?

BigEejit

I have read posts from several people saying things like "I failed the ADSL test even though I can get 45kb/s on my 56K modem" and I wonder is there any real basis for comparison ... personally I know that my old no-name 56K modem never ever got better than 42kb/s but my swanky new 3Com US Robotics almost constantly gets 49 and even 50 kb/s.. (same ISP and phone lines / serial cable) ...
Now I'm in Cork and so I am not going to hold my breath about when xDSL might get rolled out here but I for one dont consider my 56K connection speeds as having any bearing on whether my phone line is up to par for xDSL ... or am I wrong in this assumption??
Just for the record, I havent bothered to ask the monopoly if my line is up to par, for the simple reason that there is no xDSL enabled exchange here AFAIK...

<edit>Making stupid spelling mistakes, too late, brain dont work well, need sleep</edit>

Bard

Does high 56k speed show that you may have a good line for DSL?

I think you've just answered your own question. ... and that answer is 'no'.

Ya Big Eejit

the Guru

You can never tell if you can get DSL or not Until the line test is done and even then I wouldnt hold my breath its got to do with line quality if you are on a carrier and the distance from the exchange .............

a general rule of thumb is you cant get DSL until it is installed in your premises.

spongebob

In short the answer is

Ya have a better chance than most.

There IS a correlation between

Good Line
Close To Exchange (within 2 miles)
Pass ADSL Test

as there is a correlation between

Crap Line (OR)
More than 2 Miles from Exchange
Fail ADSL TEST

but as The Guru said it is not absolute and I know of unusual failures, see the ' eircom line test ' thread in the past week.

I think that the Bards ' No ' refers to your chances of getting Eircom to improve the quality of the line for which you pay as much rental as those who DID pass the test if it happens that you fail it.

M

saik

Now I'm in Cork and so I am not going to hold my breath about xDSL

thing is you don't need to hold your breath if you live within TEH REQUIRED DISTANCE of one of the three upgraded exchanges in cork city. ring esat TODAY, you might get lucky.

segadreamcast

Hey Big Eejit (niiice...)

I live within one mile of the exchange and get connection speeds of between 48k (average lowest) to 53k (average highest) so in general I suppose my average would also be around 50 or 51k...

However, despite meeting these conditions, my line has consistently failed for ADSL.

On the other hand though, I know a few people who have had 30-40k lines and have passed... so don't give up all hope .

Give Esat a ring - may the IOFFL force be with you .

conZ

Just like to say that if you fail the line test, try get a new phone jack on the wall.
I was watching the guy test my line and it was v.v.v bad!
Looked inside the jack and saw a few of the bronze strips were bent so i got a new jack and got DSL :{P~

Samba

I had an amazing 56k connection, could connect at 52666 bps get 5.2k dl rates, 105-140 Ping in cs.

And guess what, Yep I failed the eircom on two seperate lines in my house.

segadreamcast

*nods* Yeah Samba, we're on the same level.

ConZ - my whole phone network is basically new inside the house, we moved in about 22 months ago and eircom had to entirely rewire the place due to renovation...

spongebob

bar one bog standard no display (meaning line powered) phone in the first point in the house while the line is being tested, unplug ll the other devices

M

Connor112

Originally posted by Bard
I think you've just answered your own question. ... and that answer is 'no'.

Ya Big Eejit

There is a relatively strong relationship between 56k performance and ADSL test passing for a given DSL speed. Obviously one has to use the same brand of modem to perform a comparison between two loop installations.

Passing the DSL line test is a matter of a) network fiddling by telcos who don't want their subscribers to sign up for DSL - ie they set very high thresholds and b) the required DSL line speed. If you are prepared to put up with 128k or 64k DSL speeds, you could live in the "wilds of Connemara" to quote Pat Kenny and still get DSL (eg using DSL lite). And no they don't have to upgrade your line to achieve this.

Connor

spongebob

...the wilds of Monkstown are worse, much of the copper is 50 years old or more.

Connemara lines are normally no more than 25 years old and have that plashtic schtuff on them.....not waxed paper.

M

Bard

Originally posted by Muck

I think that the Bards ' No ' refers to your chances of getting Eircom to improve the quality of the line for which you pay as much rental as those who DID pass the test if it happens that you fail it.

Don't assume! That's not what I meant.

The original question was: "Does high 56k speed show that you may have a good line for DSL?"

My answer was: "No."

spongebob

The thread states

Does high 56k speed show that you may have a good line for DSL?

Is the NO! from Bard

No you may

OR

No you may not

OR

No that has nothing to do with it.

M

Dustaz

No, the fact that you have high 56k speeds does not gaurentee your line will qualify for dsl.

Clearly, its better than having a pisspoor line and it indicates that there is no DACS on your line, but its no better than saying "my local councillors usually pass planning applications, does this mean i can build 3 flats in my back garden".

The question has been answered before this anyway.....

Bard

Christ Muck... it's simple really.

The question was pretty straightforward & clearly put. My black-and-white answer was "NO".

To expand on my answer, take the original question and make it a negative statement.

i.e.: No, high speed on a 56k modem dialup connection does not necessarily show that you may have a good line for a DSL connection.

geddit now? :rolleyes:

spongebob

but necessarily wasn't in the origianl question!

Its an Ulster NO! so

/croppy hides beyond the 3 mile limit

M

LoBo

I was just talking to an eircom droid about DSL for our business when we move, and he said that "only one in twenty people pass the line test". 1/20 chance of DSL (the exchange for the new location IS dsl enabled) doesn't look good for us, but interesting factoid for ye lot.

Bard

Originally posted by LoBo
"only one in twenty people pass the line test".

That's a pretty poor reflection on their own infrastructure to be honest if only one in 20 of the lines they've installed will pass their own DSL test... :rolleyes:

spongebob

€ircon maintain that 800,000 people have access to DSL, based roughly on the number of lines services by exchanges that are enabled.

If they KNOW that only one in 20 can pass then is it not fair to say that only 40,000 people have access to broadband....and that they know it.

Over to the Bard for deconstructive analysis ....I am afeared to assume anything by now.

M