What DSL Modem do you have?

Roads.zx

Member
Dec 13, 2009
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Speedstream 5100
Actiontec GT701D
D-Link DSL-2540B

Had a Speedstream 5100 for years, just decided to switch. (Was having some internet problems and seemed like it was time) Wanted a D-Link DSL-2540B but bought an Actiontec GT701D because I wanted it that day.

I wish I could find a legitimate site that would evaluate the pros and cons / performance comparison of available DSL modems. Seems lack of information gives the impression that one DSL modem is the same as another. (I'm speaking specifically to the modem portion itself)
 

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
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Variety of stand Westell modem only, and few Modem/Router combo Westell that Verizon gives when you install.

Contract is for 8Mb/sec.

I get between 7.2 Mb/sec. to 7.8 Mb/sec., it dependents on the location.

Which modem I use does not make any difference.


.
 

SithAce_I

Junior Member
May 29, 2011
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My DSL modem is Verizon's Westell 6100G. My service tier is 1Mb/sec to 3Mb/sec. Its the highest I can get in this area from Verizon. No Fios has been run around here yet. My best download speed in 2.88Mb/sec. My best upload speed is .7Mb/sec.

I agree with Jack thought, it does not matter what router you use. Your location of how far you are from the sever base and line quality the ISP uses will vary greatly in your personal down/up speeds you will get. Not the type or quality of modem used.

DSL's major drawback is:
Location of your house/modem in relation to the ISP host servers location. I.E. the farther you are away from host the slower your connection will be. Because DSL runs along telephone wires there is degradation (electrical bleeding of signal strength) the farther away you are from the host, less the closer you are from the host.

Cable's major drawback is:
The more people sharing the cable line the slower your connection speed will be. Cable has x amount of bandwidth and as it it is used by more and more people the slower it becomes.

Satellite's major drawback is:
Well no other way to say it...Weather i.e. clouds, rain, or snow blocking your satellites signal. And of course PRICE! Still has not really come down enough in price to be competitive with DSL or cable ISP's.

This is to say is how "I" understand the differences between the different ISP's way of transmitting the internet to us the users. I may be wrong about the above information but that is what I was taught how it goes.

Later, J.
 

Nohr

Diamond Member
Jan 6, 2001
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www.flickr.com
I have a Motorola 2210 which I got from AT&T. I'm happy with it's reliability & performance. Plus it's quite a bit smaller than the cable modem I switched from.

Pic with a cassette shown for size comparison:
 

cmetz

Platinum Member
Nov 13, 2001
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I have in the past used two different Verizon Westell modems. Westell is well regarded in terms of ADSL signal performance as having one of the best chipsets out there (everything else about them is uninteresting). The newer modem delivered noticeably better signal performance than the older modem.

Please note the difference between signal performance and end-user visible throughput. If you have enough signal headroom -- that is, your actual SNR/BER/etc. signal performance is significantly greater than what is required to reliably recover a signal at your provisioned data rate -- then what modem you have doesn't affect your delivered IP throughput, you get exactly the same result. Where it matters is when you have less headroom (you're close to the limits of what your physical line/plant can deliver), or when you have intermittent or flaky conditions (e.g., weather changes the performance of the lines for the worse). If a better chipset can eke out, say, 1-2dB of better signal, that can be the difference between visible loss or delay, and smooth sailing. A little bit of end-user visible loss, or even delay due to retransmission, can cause very end-user visible throughput problems and web-page loading problems.

Telcos *usually* are quite conservative about what data rate they will provision on a DSL line, so that under normal circumstances you'll have enough headroom, period. So basically, the conditions under which the modem's signal performance matters should be rare. But it's exactly those intermittent, rare cases that are also really hard to diagnose and fix, and if a better modem chipset can just make that problem go away, it's totally worth it!
 

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
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For the sake of knowledge I tried 6 different modem of different makes and age on my DSL line.

I did not find any difference in performance between them.

I do not have Verizon propriety instrument to measure the Quality of the signal on my line.

Giving that my contract calls for 8Mb/sec. and I get an average of 7.5Mb/sec can indicate that my line is about average. I.e., Not bad but also not a "shining star" either.

Is it possible that some lines have certain "Kinks" that might be handle by one type of Modem "chipset", rather than another? Yes.

What that means that every thing said in the thread is useless and the answer is to get 4 Modems (number is arbitrary) with 6 different chipsets and try them all.

There is no way for us to know what "kinks" (if any) plagues the OP (or anybody else) line.



:cool:
 

Gryz

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2010
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And I am noticing *significant* different behaviour between 2 different ADLS routers.

I am about 3.5km from my DSLAM. My max downloadspeed with ADSL1 should be something like 6-7Mbps.

For 2 years I had used a THOMSON Speedtouch 780ST. Ran at 6Mpbs without problems. Hardly ever saw a reset. Last December I switched services. I stayed with the same ISP (xs4all.nl). But I got on a service where xs4all.nl manages the whole connection. No more KPN (our old national PTT, like your Baby Bells). I also switched to VoIP. With the new service came a new ADSL-router. A Fritzbox 7340 by AVM. The Frtizboxes are well-known for their excellent software features.

However, since I'm using the Fritzbox, I'm getting frequent resyncs. About 10 per week on average. Sometimes 10 per day even. The Fritzbox can be configured to be more conservative when negotiating speeds with the DSL. When I enable that, the connection syncs at 4 Mbps. But still have frequent disconnects. This is terrible. Especially since my voice connection is now over the DSL part of my copperwire, and not old POTS anymore.

Last week I put back my old Speedtouch 780. Not a single resync in a full week. Tried the Fritzbox again, immediately I saw resyncs again. Note, it's not a broken router, I had my Fritzbox replaced already.

Another difference is that when the Speedtouch loses sync, it takes 10-30 seconds to resync. The Fritzbox takes 2-3 minutes. It's appalling.

I'm gonna work with my ISP this week to see if we can find a fix for the Fritzbox. They say they have custom software images from AVM that should solve the problems. I can't believe that, and I can't believe why they haven't incorporated those fixes/changes/improvements/features into their regular software images.

So yes, different ADSL-routers can behave differently and give different performance. Even if you're only looking for speed, you can look at it from that perspective. My ISP wants to switch my line back to less than 4 Mbps with their Fritzbox. While the Speedtouch is cable of operarting at 6 Mbps (and maybe more).
 

degibson

Golden Member
Mar 21, 2008
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ADSL modems are like other low-end networking gear; there are lemons mixed in with the diamonds. For my personal use, I'm running a cute little Actiontec GT701D with the PPPoE run by my trusty Linksys BEFSR81.

I've purchased the same devices for others and ended up with lemons, too, so I cannot whole-heartedly recommend either brand, per se.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
39,391
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I've been with Pacbell DSL (now AT&T) for over a decade but am about to make the leap to Sonic.net Fusion. It's about the same price (~$50/month), but includes free domestic long distance. Pacbell supplied me with an Alcatel 1000 ADSL modem, and I'm still using it. Talking to a Sonic.net technician about switching he said I'm 6100 feet from the central office where Sonic.net has their own equipment and I should expect speeds close to 7 mbps using my Alcatel 1000 but 12-15 mbps if I get an ADSL 2+ modem. His perspective was that my first priority on another modem is just to make sure it's ADSL 2+ and go for the cheapest one I can get (e.g. "$20 off craigslist" if I encounter that). He said for ~$53 I can get a modem directly from Sonic.net, a ZTE281 IIRC.

I did some searching online and see that some people say that the ADSL 2+ modems may require a better filter than the ADSL modems. What I believe I have with my Alcatel 1000 is an unorthodox arrangement. An installing technician, when I had problems after installation, put a second filter in next to the box outside the building so that the incoming signal was filtered twice!

Posts suggest that most ADSL 2+ modems I will buy come without a filter, and I heard that the ones supplied by Sonic.net come with a filter. Posts I saw from when the ZTE281 came out (around the beginning of 2010?) suggest that there were some problems at the time. Not seeing any posts more recent, though. So, the question is, should I get that ZTE281 from Sonic.net? I do see modems quite a bit cheaper here and there.
 
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robmurphy

Senior member
Feb 16, 2007
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I'm in the UK so this my experience is with UK DSL providers.

ADSL line stability can depend greatly on how well the chipset in the modem works with the type of exchange equipment.

For instance the Thomson TG585V7 does not work well with the Globe Span exchange equipment. We had these on customer sites on were getting frequent line drops, and poor voice quality on VoIP. Changed them for Netgear DG834V4, and the line stays up for weeks/months without a rsync. On the TG585V7 it was often 6 or 7 times a day.

The TG585V7 did get better line speeds, as much as 100 to 200 Kbs better on the uplink, but the line would drop.

One chipset I keep hearing good things about is Broadcom.

Rob.