HOW TO SPEED UP YOUR BROADBAND DSL

A COMPUTE MAGAZINE SPECIAL REPORT

COMPUTE MAGAZINE
ISSUE 15756 COPYRIGHT 2008 BY COMPUTE MAGAZINE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

COMPUTE MAGAZINE

SPECIAL REPORT

HOW TO SPEED UP YOUR BROADBAND DSL

Copyright 2008 by Compute Magazine. All rights reserved.

Twenty-eight million homes in the United States subscribe to broadband DSL. A substantial number of people are paying for higher speeds than they actually get. You should receive about eighty to ninety percent of the data rate offered under your DSL service plan. There are three building blocks for broadband DSL. First, there are the Telephone Lines that carry the broadband DSL to your home. Second, there are the Interface Devices in your home that connect to your broadband DSL line. Third, there is the Home Network you use to access broadband from your computers, game consoles and

other devices. To get the most from your broadband provider, all three of building blocks must operate properly. Many people have doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled their broadband DSL speed without paying more in service fees. To find out whether you might improve your broadband DSL speed, run a speed test and print the results. Next, using your area code and prefix, find the address of the local exchange that provides DSL service to your home. Using both addresses, print a map and calculate the approximate distance from the local exchange to your home.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Your DSL service is delivered over copper pairs that are owned by your local telephone company. Figure 2 shows how the DSL signal passes between the local exchange and your home. The farther the signal must travel from the exchange the weaker it gets. After about 18,000 feet there is usually not enough of a signal for broadband DSL service at all. If you calculated how far the local exchange is from your home, compare Figure 2 to the results of the speed test on your DSL line. DSL is very susceptible to attenuation and signal loss. If the distance from the exchange to your home creates excessive attenuation, your DSL service provider must lower your DSL speed to prevent signal loss on your line.

While you cannot eliminate all attenuation on your DSL line, you might be able to reduce it substantially by installing a splitter where the copper pair enters your home or garage. With a splitter there to help reduce attenuation, the DSL signal can synchronize better at the modems on both ends of the line. The telephone company knows that DSL signals are susceptible to attenuation. If there is a problem with your broadband DSL line, the telephone company can dispatch a repair technician. Sometimes a line problem is solved by substituting a different copper pair from the cross connect box to your home. The technician will decide what to do depending on the situation. The bottom line is that the telephone company is supposed to de-

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SPECIAL REPORT

liver a clean DSL signal to the NID in located your home or garage. In summary, your DSL provider configures the speed of your DSL service according to the quality of the signal on your DSL line. Although the telephone company has many tools to troubleshoot problems with their DSL lines and equipment, they cannot help you much with your interface devices or the wiring of your home network. Attenuation inside your home can be caused by long wire lengths, poor wiring, multiple wires, multiple connectors, improper grounding and other variables. Your DSL connection performs better if you eliminate these issues. As you can imagine, the small DSL signal that carries your Internet data is very sensitive to interference on the line. So where do you start? There is nothing you can do about the distance from the local exchange to

your home. However, once the DSL signal reaches the NID in your home or garage, there is no reason to extend the telephone line any further than necessary, or to connect it to any additional devices except your splitter. To reduce attenuation and noise, you should keep the DSL connection on your side of the NID as short and uncluttered as possible. In particular, you dont want the DSL line winding through your home like the dotted line in Figure 3. The excess line length, the phone jacks and the additional phone equipment in your home all contribute to noise and attenuation of the DSL signal. What you want is the shortest and cleanest possible connection between the telephone company exchange modem and the DSL modem in your home. To achieve the shortest, cleanest connection, you should put your DSL modem as close as possible to the NID as shown in Figure 4. You also need to install a new splitter between the NID

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and your DSL modem. With a splitter at the NID, your broadband DSL provider might be able to raise your broadband speed. Remember, the NID is owned by the telephone company but it is located somewhere in your home or garage. Your actual NID may look different than the illustration. Dont confuse the NID with your electrical panel. If you have any doubts, ask the telephone company to send a technician to show you the location of the NID. The telephone company can monitor the condition of the DSL line from the modem in the local exchange to the modem in your home. If the line condition is poor, they set your bandwidth lower so that less data is lost. Conversely, if you have good line condition, the telephone company can set your bandwidth at a higher rate - up to the maximum provided by your service plan. If you

keep your home telephone wiring out of the DSL signal path, your line condition is likely to be improved, sometimes substantially. Lets review some frequently asked questions: Q1. Why didnt the telephone company install the splitter this way in the first place? A1. It may take half a day to send a truck and a technician to a home to install a splitter at the NID. By comparison, customers can install pigtail splitters inside the home by themselves. Q2. Does it always help to put the splitter next to the NID? A2. If your home is too far from the local exchange, or if the telephone wiring in your home isnt perfect, a splitter at the NID is superior to a pigtail splitter elsewhere in the home. Q3. With the router by the NID in the garage, how

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do I get broadband to my computer? A3. You can use a wireless router or HomePlug device. Q4. Why isnt a HomePlug network affected by attenuation too? A4. HomePlug devices operate using the electrical wiring inside your home, not over long distances like DSL where attenuation is a major problem. Q5. Besides the splitter, what else should I replace? A5. Newer DSL modems including combination modem / routers work better and are less expensive today. Obsolete modems and routers should be replaced. Q6. Can I use a wireless router instead of a HomePlug at the NID? A6. You can, but your wireless router might not reach all parts of your home. HomePlug devices are more reliable.

Figure 5 illustrates the recommended home network configuration. As shown, you connect your Ethernet router [A] into HomePlug [B] near the NID. Then you plug another HomePlug device in any room [C] into an electrical outlet near your computer. It is then simple to connect the computer to the HomePlug device using an Ethernet cable. You can also add HomePlug wireless Ethernet extenders [D] using the electrical outlet in any room to extend wireless broadband to every part of your home using HomePlug devices. Installing HomePlug devices is really the second step though. First, you need to get the other building blocks working optimally. So, you should install a new splitter at the NID as shown in Figure 6 before reconfiguring your home network.

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It doesnt take much more than a screwdriver to install a splitter at your NID. Be careful to use the correct wires from the telephone company. They should be marked well enough for you to follow the instructions that come with your new splitter. You need to choose a splitter to purchase and install at the NID. You can use a block splitter mounted inside the NID as shown by [A] below, or you can use a wall mount splitter [B] (strongly recommended). Along with installing the new splitter, you should remove any pigtail splitters used as shown in Figure 3 inside your home. With your new splitter next to the NID and your DSL modem connected to the splitter, it is much

easier for the telephone company to troubleshoot your broadband DSL line, since the DSL signal is not passing through your home telephone wiring anymore. Its going right into the DSL modem at the NID. If there are any problems with the copper pairs from the exchange to your home, your DSL provider should be able to identify them. After you have installed the new splitter and connected your modem and router, run a speed test again. Next call your DSL support center and ask a telephone company technician whether your DSL line can now operate at higher speed. They can usually perform some quick line tests and raise your bandwidth to the level your broadband connection now supports.

RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Check the speed of your current DSL service and compare your bandwidth to the level offered in your plan. Your speed should be about eighty to ninety percent of your plan offering. 2. Replace the pigtail splitters around your home with a single new splitter at your NID. 3. Move your other interface devices like the DSL modem and your Ethernet router near the NID. If you have an old modem and Ethernet router, replace them. There are combination DSL modems and Ethernet routers available today. 4. Create an Ethernet network using HomePlug devices over your home electrical system. HomePlug devices offer more options, including wireless connectivity. HomePlug devices are fast, simple to install, reliable to use, and can be more costeffective and secure than wireless routers.

SAFETY PRECAUTION 1. If you wear a pacemaker, do not work on your telephone equipment. 2. Use the proper tools, including tools with electrically insulated handles. 3. Never work on your telephone wiring during an electrical storm. 4. Do not route telephone wiring through any electrical conduit. 5. Do not tamper with any grounding or surge protectors installed by the telephone company. 6. Lock your NID for child safety and to discourage intruders. 7. If you have doubts about how to proceed, ask a professional.

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2008, Compute Magazine. All rights reserved. Compute Magazine Special Reports are provided by license for the personal use of the licensee only. Additional reproduction is strictly prohibited. For corporate and enterprise reproduction license information contact sales@computemag.com. Information contained is based on best available research. Recommendations made are subject to change. To purchase volume copies of this document please email sales@computemag.com or visit www.computemagazine.com.

COMPUTE MAGAZINE
ISSUE 15756 COPYRIGHT 2008 BY COMPUTE MAGAZINE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED