Speed limit: 4Mbps

I've been subsisting on 512kbps ADSL for years (sad, I know). I was just too lazy to upgrade and didn't really see much need for it. But with TMNet's 'Blockbuster' promotions, I decided to take the plunge and visited the TMPoint in Bangsar. A week later, a technician called and he came to the house yesterday to check the line quality.

The minimum line quality for the speed I requested is >20dB of SNR and <40dB of Line attenuation (you can look this up in the ADSL statistics page of your modem settings page). So the tech sees my line quality: 11dB SNR and 41dB attenuation.

Heartbreak.

Undaunted, the valiant technician suggests testing at the source: the wall socket. Whipping out the free modem supplied with the package, we set up the connection on a laptop and wait. Several agonizing seconds later we are greeted with 24dB SNR and 39dB attenuation.

Joy.

Not satisfied with merely knowing the speed, the dedicated technician suggests multiple scenario testing to find the cause of the change in line quality. Phone cable quality is suspected. I was using a 60ft cable from the wall socket to my old modem. Using a new 100ft cable, we get 19dB SNR and 39.5dB attenuation. Ah, so cable length significantly impacts SNR! The solution was simple if not convenient: install the modem near the wall socket, then run Ethernet cables to each of the computers in the house. With this in mind, we activate the package and it was decided to temporarily reconnect to my old modem before I bought the network cables. The engineer in me demanded one final test: use the new modem in the place of my old modem, preserving my current wiring scheme. So we power up and connect the new modem and opening the statistics page, we are greeted with.... 23dB SNR and 39.5dB attenuation!

Eureka!

So it seems my trusty old modem, a D-link DSL-2540T, was quite ill indeed. The spanking new modem, a D-link DSL-2640B, being a younger model extracted the signal with ease where the old one stuttered. So now it sits where the old one used to, happily blinking away as the bits travel through the tubes. Goodbye old modem, you've done well. Now rest.
 
I bid the technician goodbye, thanking him for his kind service, with the assurance that the new speed would be activated within 24 hours. This morning, I disconnected the modem and hoped for the best for tonight. After a long day battling deadlines, I came home and ran a speed test.

Success!



Here's what it was before:



Now that's an improvement :)

And so the story ends well. Here's to many years of speedy viewing of dumb videos on youtube.