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Can old phone lines reduce internet speed?

I live in a very old neighbor where the phone lines between poles and the one bringing the landline into my home are probably 30 years old. I currently have ATT HSI Express which says my plan provides "up to 1.5Mbps". According to several speedtest.net tests, my download speed is between .07 & .19 Mbps and my upload .32. I'm also frequently thrown off line. I have four phone extensions and one new desktop computer using the line coming into the house, nothing else. Could the age of the phone lines and/or the number of phone extensions affect my speed?

My current modem is a Seimens speedstream 4100 ADSL. Yesterday an ATT chat rep had me do a "power cycle" but there was no improvement. I also talked to a U-Verse rep who said if I got U-Verse all I would have to do is plug in my 2 existing cords from the back of my current modem into my new modem that they would supply. If old cables are the problem, wouldn't that slow U-Verse also? Would I have to get a technician out to run new lines into the house? Any info/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm a senior with VERY LITTLE computer knowledge. All I want is to get the speed and reliability I'm paying for.

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ATT_James

Former Moderator

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773 Messages

11 years ago

@Nikki520 wrote:

I live in a very old neighbor where the phone lines between poles and the one bringing the landline into my home are probably 30 years old. I currently have ATT HSI Express which says my plan provides "up to 1.5Mbps". According to several speedtest.net tests, my download speed is between .07 & .19 Mbps and my upload .32. I'm also frequently thrown off line. I have four phone extensions and one new desktop computer using the line coming into the house, nothing else. Could the age of the phone lines and/or the number of phone extensions affect my speed?

My current modem is a Seimens speedstream 4100 ADSL. Yesterday an ATT chat rep had me do a "power cycle" but there was no improvement. I also talked to a U-Verse rep who said if I got U-Verse all I would have to do is plug in my 2 existing cords from the back of my current modem into my new modem that they would supply. If old cables are the problem, wouldn't that slow U-Verse also? Would I have to get a technician out to run new lines into the house? Any info/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm a senior with VERY LITTLE computer knowledge. All I want is to get the speed and reliability I'm paying for.

Nikki520,

Welcome to the forum, I have a few things you can try.

Start by unplugging all phones and electric plugs to each phone if they have one, make sure you disconnect at jack plate. Keep the line to your computer plugged in and try to do a speed test then, If you suddenly get higher speeds one of your units can be causing interference. Also see if you have any electronics plugged in close to your modem.

Have you ever had a technician come to your house, if the trouble is on the outside there is no charge for a repair, that would include new drops, if it is determined that the trouble is indeed on the inside that is when you will be charged.

Here is a link for trouble shooting slow speeds, please click on the link and it will take you to that page and information.

Troubleshoot slow speeds

James

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fuller5823

Tutor

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6 Messages

10 years ago

if you have cat 3 in your wall sockets to your home run/splitter then yes but only if your package is more then 10mbps download speed

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agembry

Contributor

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3 Messages

10 years ago

For any DSL service to run optimally there needs to be a dedicated pair to the modem location. This means from the demarc location the phone signal would be routed to the existing jacks and a splitter installed to rout the DSL to the modem location with no splices or taps in between. This usually can be done on existing lines in a home which has only one phone number. This is assuming that the inside wire is 2 pair jkt or newer. Typically jkt wiring has 2 pairs: red/green and black/yellow. The best option would be a new cat5 twisted pair line which is not expensive to have installed.

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Nikki520

Can old phone lines reduce internet speed?

ATT_James

fuller5823

agembry

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