the interweb adsl2+ rollercoaster

15 Mar 2008 I'm fed up with my current ADSL2+ connection. At times it will be very stable, but then it will drop out for a minute every 5 minutes or so.

I won't change providers again, because I like the idea of unlimited downloadvolume at a very low price. But I can't live with a crappy connection either, so I will try the following things:

• Use a static IP (which my internet provider assigned to me) intead of DHCP. I believe the reason why it takes so long for my connection to come up again, is because it has to wait for an IP address to be assigned every time. I hope to get rid of that waiting period and maybe TCP retransmissions will take of the rest :)
  
  But I can't do that with my current piece of junk: a Thomson SpeedTouch 516v6 ADSL2+ Gateway.
  
  I'll probably be on the lookout for a better modem...
  


• Using a different ADSL2+ modem. I've found this comparison of ADSL2+ modems that shows me the Thomson SpeedTouch modems are not top of the line at all. Perhaps a better modem will result in more signal and less noise on the line, giving me a better interweb experience.
  
  
  


• Remove phoneline extensions, or at least reduce the noise on them. If the problem is noise on the line, I suspect the noise could well leaking onto the line form inside the house. By cutting away all of the phonecord extensions and plugging the modem directly into the entrypoint of my house,it should also be possible to reduce linenoise (I hope)