Line Stats
Your DSL modem continueously monitors the quality of your DSL service. You can obtain line stat information from your modem to assess the quality of your line and service.
Bell is responsible for the quality of your line (most of your monthly payment to NCF goes to Bell to provide DSL on your line).
How to obtain line stats from your DSL modem
- Log into the web interface of your modem (how to log in
- In the left column, click on 'Broadband Connection'
- In the left column, click on 'DSL Connection'
- In the top-right area, click on 'Details'
Depending on your modem model and configuration, numbers may be displayed with comma and periods in reverse of what is normal for you, eg., 1,000.12 for 'one thousand deciamal 12' may be displayed '1.000,12'.
How to interpret line stats
There may be a temptation to
Bandwidth
It's normal and good for bandwidth up to be about tens times bandwidth down.
You can confirm this number by doing a speed test.
Line Attenuation
Attenuation is a measure of strong the signal is from the Bell office ('DSLAM'). Lower is better (less attentuation).
| 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)
Signal-to-Noise is a measure of noise on your line. Too much noise can obscure the DSL signal. Higher is better (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 contains an error. This is related to line noise. The error counts are cumulative since the time DSL sync was last obtained (so 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 they may be misleading.