Is DSL affected by rain???

[donnaval]

We live in a rural area, and for years had a satellite internet connection (only option other than very slow dial-up). Recently our phone company made some improvements and offered DSL to us. Since we were not entirely happy with the satellite we jumped at the DSL...and now we're wondering if we made the right decision.

Our major gripe with the satellite was how it would slow down or go out entirely during rainy or extremely cloudy weather. Also, it was never as fast as we had been led to believe it would be.

When we first installed the DSL it was great. Then we got hit with rainy weather and find that our signal goes out -- worse than the satellite! The phone company has checked our lines, filters and connections and says nothing is wrong on their end, that if there is a problem it is ours.

Should DSL be affected to this extent by weather? Or are we perhaps too far from the main station thingie? Our phone man muttered something to that effect when he was here today.

Is there any kind of signal booster or something we can get? I really do love the DSL when it works!

 

[Kagehitokiri]

thats odd it can become worse than satellite..

hopefully cable or fiber will soon be available in your area

 

[Icarus]

You may have a problem with your wiring, or it could be the phone company wiring to your house. Do they check it on rainy days when you are having the problem? The should be able to check your signal integrity from their office when you are having the problem. If you have inside wiring coverage, have them come out and hardwire a new line to your dsl modem.

Your dsl service should not be affected by rain.

Stay with this until they fix the problem.

-David

 

[Art4th]

It could absolutely be in the cable (and probably is). Your DSL is on Fiber Optic cable from the Central Office to the main "crossbox" that services your area. From the crossbox to your house is probably copper cable that's been there forever. These cables get worn, chewed on by squirrels, etc. If the bare copper is exposed (which is highly likely), when it rains, the copper gets wet and it will cause many problems in the cable (static, etc.). I've been with Verizon (Bell Atlantic, Nynex, NY Telephone) for over 28 years. Don't let them tell you it's your problem...it's likely that it's not.

Art

 

[LUVourMarriotts]

Try using the various tools on dslreports to see if they can narrow down your problem. Here's the link: http://www.dslreports.com/tools

You mentioned that the local DSL company made some upgrades. Maybe they started offering what is known to some as "long range" DSL. That allows the signal quality to remain up to ~24,000 ft. Your tech also said that you may be too far out. It's possible that the marketing arm of your telco is not working with the tech arm of your telco, and you were sold something that is not built out to your local CO (Central Office) yet.

I agree with Icarus. Keep nagging them until they fix the problem.

 

[donnaval]

Thanks for all the info. So far so good--maybe the phone guy yesterday really did fix something. He also replaced the modem. Today, even though it was raining, we were zipping right along! I'll keep all the info and start nagging if we have trouble again. Thanks!