Forum Discussion
Replacing old home telephone wire?
I have VDSL internet on a 50 Mbps plan and I'm only getting 38 Mbps. After checking with my ISP and doing all the testing of my line and modem over the course of a week, I'm pretty convinced my slow ...
Yeah, I have contacted a couple of electricians and they both said I should call Telus. So I don't know who to contact now.
When my ISP sent a Telus tech out to check the line at the demarc, the tech said it was getting 56 Mbps. So, there's something slowing it down between the demarc and my modem. And it's not the distance.
An electrician absolutely should do that. They’re just being lazy as it’s a small job and don’t want to bother.
My attainable rate is 160 on bonded technically but am at 130-140 most days. Which is all i can muster out of a bonded 150 service: There is nothing I can do to squeak out a few more MBps.
I still haven't found anymore electricians to help me. I noticed today that the NIB box on the back of the house is locked. So I am guess any change of the demarc wire would require access to that box.
- Nighthawk
Community Power User
The NIB/Demarc usually is locked. Electricians won't touch it since it's usually Telus' property along with the wire coming in. Running a new wire from that box to the inside of the house would usually have a cost associated with it and while an electrician may be cheaper, they likely won't touch it. Even then, there is no absolute guarantee that will solve the issue either since it's such a short run. Do you have anything else besides the modem plugged into any other phone jack in the house? Alarm system included, even if not monitored.
One thing you didn't mention is whether or not you were connected wirelessly. If you are and the modem is in a bathroom (first time I've ever heard of that), the more walls and floors the wifi signal has to travel through, the more it can slow down.
What modem do you actually have? I'm guessing it isn't one of the Telus ones.
My modem is a TP Link TD W-9980. It's rated for 100 Mbps, and is only about 5 or 6 years old. I've never had a problem with it, and like I said, I tried moving the modem really close to the wall outlet and connected a short 3 feet cable, but it didn't make any difference to the speed.
There is a whole mess of wires and cables in the ceiling of the laundry/boiler room, so I am not sure which one would be the telephone line. I was thinking there might be a way of replacing the old telephone wire without ripping out the drywall. The wall plate could be removed, and the inside telephone line behind the wall plate unconnected from the terminals. Then attach a new line to the very end of the old line, and then pull both wires through from the laundry/boiler room side. Once the new wire is pulled all the way through, it can then be hooked up to the NIB box. The only problem is, if the old telephone line happens to be stapled to a stud somewhere, you wouldn't be able to pull it through (unless it's really loosely stapled, I guess).
The only other solution I can see is to move the modem into the laundry/boiler room and connect it right up to the demarc. Then run a long ethernet cable from the modem to my PC in the living room. However, this means running the ethernet cable through the laundry/boiler room doorway. I would have to drill a hole for the ethernet cable in the header near the ceiling. Not something I want to do except as a last resort.
