ALCATEL PCI ADSL BROADBAND INTERNAL DSL MODEM - Any good?

My dad has ADSL through Newnet and currently uses one of those standard USB
Modems; a Speedtouch 330 as it happens.

Now, he's having some issues with his line which means he's getting a max of
4mb on his "up to 8mb" service but can't get BT to admit there's a fault.
That, however, is not the point of this message.

I've been advising him to get a Modem/Router thing (like the Netgear DG834
for example) as, according to what I have read elsewhere, this has a better
chance of increasing his existing (if faulty) line-speed.

However, he's now seen one of these on eBay and has asked me my opinion.
(He's a silver surfer but not particularly tech savvy!)

I told him that this is pretty-much going to be the same sort of thing as
his current USB modem, only internal instead of external so won't help with
any speed issues as much as changing to a hardware Modem/Router box; which
at least also has a hardware firewall in it!

Was I right or wrong?

All (constructive) comments appreciated.

Thanks.

--
Carl Waring
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Carl Waring wrote:
> Now, he's having some issues with his line which means he's getting a max of
> 4mb on his "up to 8mb" service but can't get BT to admit there's a fault.
> That, however, is not the point of this message.

Whilst you say this is not the point of the message, are you sure that
you should be expecting faster speeds? Can you post the downstream sync
rate and SNR margin, and perhaps the IP Profile if you know it?

Paul Cupis wrote:
> Carl Waring wrote:
>> Now, he's having some issues with his line which means he's getting
>> a max of 4mb on his "up to 8mb" service but can't get BT to admit
>> there's a fault. That, however, is not the point of this message.
>
> Whilst you say this is not the point of the message, are you sure that
> you should be expecting faster speeds? Can you post the downstream
> sync rate and SNR margin, and perhaps the IP Profile if you know it?

Well, according to a recent speedtest (sure I used BT but can't find it
now!) he should be able to get 8mb. This is on an non-LLUd exchange, from
which he's only a couple of hundred metres, if that.

I would post that info for your but don't have it to hand.

The point I was trying to make is, whether or not he's getting the fastest
speed possible, would a modem/router get him *more* speed than a standard
USB modem or this internal one.

--
Carl Waring
DigiGuide: http://getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=1495
DGLite: http://getdigiguide.com/?p=4&r=1495 - FREE!!!
http://www.snap-seo.co.uk/web-hostin...g-packages.php
Packages ranging from FREE to UNLIMITED!

Carl Waring, in article <Q4Tai.21840$zL6.182@newsfe7-
gui.ntli.net>, says...

>The point I was trying to make is, whether or not he's getting the fastest
>speed possible, would a modem/router get him *more* speed than a standard
>USB modem or this internal one.

Probably not, assuming the modem is of recent design.
However, I find modem/routers are better at handling noise on
lines due to their inbuilt, better error handling software.
They are also better at protecting the average user's PC from
the Internet, but that isn't your problem - yet...

You should look for other factors that impact speed. For
example, what type of filters are used and where they are
located. The best installation will have only one filter
replacing the Master socket's faceplate, thereby isolating the
ADSL signals from any noise that could be being picked up over
the house wiring.
--
JohnW.
Replace the obvious with co.uk in 2 places to mail me.

Carl Waring wrote:
> The point I was trying to make is, whether or not he's getting the fastest
> speed possible, would a modem/router get him *more* speed than a standard
> USB modem or this internal one.

The only answer to that is "maybe". You shouldn't get a lower speed
unless it is a poor router.

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>
at 15:40:24 on Sun, 10 Jun 2007, JohnW <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote
>>The point I was trying to make is, whether or not he's getting the fastest
>>speed possible, would a modem/router get him *more* speed than a standard
>>USB modem or this internal one.
>
>Probably not, assuming the modem is of recent design.
>However, I find modem/routers are better at handling noise on
>lines due to their inbuilt, better error handling software.
>They are also better at protecting the average user's PC from
>the Internet, but that isn't your problem - yet...
>
You could try tweaking the MTU and RWIN settings. I got a remarkable
speedtest.net increase when I did mine

And to answer the subject line, I started off with one of these and
couldn't fault it at all. A nice bit of kit for only a tenner
--
Mike News

Carl Waring wrote:
> Paul Cupis wrote:
>> Carl Waring wrote:
>>> Now, he's having some issues with his line which means he's getting
>>> a max of 4mb on his "up to 8mb" service but can't get BT to admit
>>> there's a fault. That, however, is not the point of this message.
>> Whilst you say this is not the point of the message, are you sure that
>> you should be expecting faster speeds? Can you post the downstream
>> sync rate and SNR margin, and perhaps the IP Profile if you know it?
>
> Well, according to a recent speedtest (sure I used BT but can't find it
> now!) he should be able to get 8mb. This is on an non-LLUd exchange, from
> which he's only a couple of hundred metres, if that.
>
> I would post that info for your but don't have it to hand.
>
> The point I was trying to make is, whether or not he's getting the fastest
> speed possible, would a modem/router get him *more* speed than a standard
> USB modem or this internal one.
>

When I tried connecting an old USB modem, it sync'd at a
much lower speed than my router (even though it was
connected to the master socket). I didn't try repeating the
exercise in case my line profile got pushed back.

Of course, as other posters stated, there could be other
issues. When I had a line fault recently, it affected the
upstream much more than the downstream (as well as voice),
so you should check that is as expected (448kbps). Upstream
uses lower frequencies and may be more susceptible to some
types of line fault.