DSL over here runs on the old 2 copper wire phone system. Voice for the phone uses approx up to 20kHz (hearing range). The DSL communication runs above 20kz. That way DSL can co-exist on the same wires and the infrastructure doesnt have to be replaced.
When varmits such as squirrels, rodents, whatever, chew for fun on the line somewhere. moisture gets in. That moisture can eventually lead to small shorts between the 2 wires. I usually end up calling the phone company every couple years. I dont like phone company induced lag when EA does a fine job on their own.
When that happens (especially when it rains), you can hear popping and scratchy static sounds. Sometime a little and sometimes alot. Even louder than normal humming. On the voice end of the spectrum, us humans are more forgiving to noise. On the upper data faster end of the spectrum, it is alot less forgiving and cause data loss. It can even cause the DSL modem to stop and have to resynchronize. Not overly scientific, but any noise on the line is going to cause problem with the DSL modem at some level. Which causes problems for real time games.
I dont know if your DSL works the same way over there.
I have 2 phone lines here plus an old non-AC powered phone. I can plug it (old phone) in, dial a single number (any except 0) to remove dial tone. It should be dead silent. One line here is dead silent and the other (with the dsl) occasionally scratches and has a loud hum.
In our area, the phone company has a grey box on the outside of the house that they are responsible up to. It allows unplugging the house and plugging my old phone directly in so I know its not the house wiring. And they dont seem to want to address the DSL issue unless I complain about static noise on the line. Then they clean it up.
TS down!
Moderator: Executive
Re: TS down!
Just want to add:
Basically, the phone repair guys here roll their eyes when you mention Internet issues. No matter how tech you get with them unless you hook up your own line testing equipment. They pull up any old web page and say it works.
But if you say you hear noise, they start to take interest.
Also using DOS command tracert. You can see your first IP hop after your modem to your provider (any Internet feed). Then you can DOS command Ping -t xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (IP of their modem). Watch for any timeouts, you should never get a time out to that hop as its your first hop. That means your modem, the line, or their modem has the problem. Not automatically them. Thats the key, you want a clean no timeout, low ping, between you and your first contact with your ISP.
A normal constant low ping from me to my ISP use to be 30ms. Currently its 50ms which isnt that bad, but its still almost double what it use to be.
Basically, the phone repair guys here roll their eyes when you mention Internet issues. No matter how tech you get with them unless you hook up your own line testing equipment. They pull up any old web page and say it works.
But if you say you hear noise, they start to take interest.
Also using DOS command tracert. You can see your first IP hop after your modem to your provider (any Internet feed). Then you can DOS command Ping -t xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (IP of their modem). Watch for any timeouts, you should never get a time out to that hop as its your first hop. That means your modem, the line, or their modem has the problem. Not automatically them. Thats the key, you want a clean no timeout, low ping, between you and your first contact with your ISP.
A normal constant low ping from me to my ISP use to be 30ms. Currently its 50ms which isnt that bad, but its still almost double what it use to be.