Getting the best speed from your DSL

The best way to have your DSL wired is with twisted pair wiring (i.e. CAT3, CAT5, etc.) directly from your NID, (network interface device) which is usually a box that is placed on the outside of your premises where the phone line from the pole or ground makes a demarc point between telco responsibility and customer resposibility.

I have my DSL modem on its own jack, and I need too replace the wiring from the jack to the service box, its currently half thermostat wire (for furnaces and such) and half phone line, I understand there are different types of wire, so I am wondering which type is the best, what I currently have is the flat 4 wire stranded, instead of solid, I am told that isnt reccommended.

Ideally, the DSL service provider will install a DSL splitter module inside the NID or in a separate enclosure next to the NID and run a new cable to the DSL modem location. But many service providers will avoid the cost of sending a technician to install a splitter and instead will provide filters as part of a "self installation kit."

DSL subscribers may expect a phone company to install appropriate jacks in their household, but this is not a requirement. It's cheaper to do the wiring yourself, and it's not difficult. Phone lines consist of four-strand wires, including two transmit and two receive frequencies.

DSL is abbreviated for Digital Subscriber Line. Just like cable modems use the cable TV lines in your home, DSL modems use the telephone’s copper wiring. This is a pretty smart thing, because unlike cable modems – where you have to share your bandwidth with your entire neighborhood, DSL uses the dedicated phone lines – which means less interference, better connectivity.

A key component in wired home networks is — wires! More correctly, cables. Twisted-pair Ethernet cable is the most common type of home network wiring used today (and for the foreseeable future). Twisted-pair Ethernet cables are used to connect: DSL/cable routers or modems to computers DSL/cable routers or modems to wireless access points DSL/cable routers […]

My DSL router's connection seems to degrade over time. It gets to the point (after several months) where it can't even keep a connection to the PPP server. At that point if I cut off the phone cable ends and put new ones on it works fine again for another few months. I have CAT 5 wire running to the phone box on the side of my house.

Beware: Junk call blocking services like NoMoRobo may not work on DSL.My parents recieve several Medicaid scam calls every day because they are stuck with a Frontier DSL landline. Frontier apologizes but says they can do nothing, even though most of the calls spoof Caller ID from the same faked +1-317-999-xxxx block of numbers.

Old wiring and interference from other devices can slow your DSL connection to a crawl. Spending a bit of time and money to improve your wiring can make a huge difference.