Line Stats

Your DSL modem continuously monitors the quality of your DSL service. You can obtain line statistical information from your modem to assess the quality of your line and service.

Bell is responsible for the quality of your line and it is worth noting that most of your monthly payment to NCF goes to Bell to provide DSL service on your line.

How to obtain the line stats from your modem

SpeedTouch 585 or 516v6

Line stats displayed on a SpeedTouch 585v6 modem interface (Speedtouch 516v6 is similar)

1. Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in)
2. In the left column, click on 'Broadband Connection'
3. In the left column, click on 'DSL Connection'
4. In the top-right area, click on 'Details'

Depending on your modem model and configuration, the numbers may be displayed with commas and periods in the European manner, which is the reverse of what is common in North America. For example: 1,000.12 for 'one thousand decimal 12' may be displayed as '1.000,12'.

SpeedTouch 516v5

Line stats displayed on a SpeedTouch 516v5 modem interface

1. Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in)
2. In the left column, click 'Advanced'
3. Below that click 'Diagnostics'
4. Above click the + sign beside 'Expand All'
5. Scroll down to the section 'Wan' ... 'Dsl'

TP-Link 8816, 8901G or 8951ND

Line stats displayed on a TP-Link 8901G modem (8816 and 8951ND are similar)

These models of TP-Link modems all have similar interfaces:

1. Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in)
2. Click on 'Status'
3. Click on 'Device Info'

TP-Link 8950ND

Line stats displayed on a TP-Link 8950ND modem

1. Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in)
2. Click on 'Statistics'
3. Click on 'ADSL'

How to interpret the line stats

Bandwidth

It is normal and good for bandwidth down to be about tens times the bandwidth up. You can confirm this number by doing a speed test.

Line Attenuation

Attenuation is a measure of how strong the signal is from the Bell office ('DSLAM'). Note that Lower is better as it indicates less attenuation.

Attenuation (dB)	Rating
0 to 40 dB	Excellent
40 to 50 dB	Good
50 to 60 dB	Fair
> 60 db	Poor

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR or SN Margin)

Signal-to-Noise is a measure of noise on your line. Too much noise can obscure the DSL signal. Higher is better as it means you have more signal than noise.

Signal-to-Noise (dB)	Rating
> 20 dB	Excellent
10 to 20 dB	Good
6 to 10 dB	Fair
0 to 6 db	Poor

Errors

The error figures are an indication of how many packets had to be retransmitted because they contained an error and is caused by line noise. The error counts are cumulative since the time DSL sync was last obtained. To reset the error counts, do a software restart of your modem, or power cycle your modem, or disconnect your DSL line for a minute or two.

The significance of error counts is unclear and may not be significant. Some modems may misreport errors and even with errors, your service may be fine.