to Wireless or not to Wireless??

[Ryles]

Hi I'm currently paying £30+ a month for a premium 8MBps line with Eclipse Internet but my area will only support up to 2 and a half MBps. The best I've ever seen my connection is 2 but lately it's been between 1.3 - 1.5 which isn't quite good enough for playing online games. I think my main problem is that I use an extension cable that goes half way round the house and I was wondering if anybody had any recommendations on how to increase my line speed.

I was thinking about getting a wirless network but I'm a complete WIFI noobie, am I correct in thinking all I need is a wireless ADSL modem and a Wireless PC card with an antenna attached and I'm all set? Do you think this will help me?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

[Removed at the request of the author]

[Ryles]

hmm well my ADSL modem dosn't have an ethernet socket. Maybe I could find a wirless modem/router that has one on the back and could try wireless first and if not switch to ethernet?

The PC in the next room gets a better connection using the same extension lead but its just a bit closer to the hard line which got me thinking it was the extension cable causing the problem.

[Anonymous]

[Removed at the request of the author]

[Aaron]

From your description, it sounds like you are using a USB ADSL modem? And the extension cable is a phoneline extension cable? What happens if you plug the modem directly into the socket on the wall, instead of going through the extension cable? Do you get a faster connection that way?

[Ryles]

yes that's correct i'm using a standard USB ADSL cable modem but it's not possible to plug the modem diredtly into the wall as it's almost 15 yards away hence why i'm using the extension cable but various ISP employees have told me this is the cause of my speed issues

basically the main phone line is in the hall at the bottom of the stairs and my room is on the second floor, if i open my door i can see it, so the signal only has to penatrate one thin door

what do you think about this....

Netgear Wireless Network Starter Kit Quickcode: #25403

I could use an ethernet cable with this as well couldn't i?

[Aaron]

Is there any way you could move the computer to try it.. Ive had speed issues before when i've used an extension cable, but its not the definite cause... I would be hesitant about forking out money on some more hardware to fix the problem, before you definitely know what the problem is!

And yeah, you could use both ethernet and wireless connections with that set up.. To be honest, if you are only getting between 1-2mb on your adsl connection, you could use wireless and be fine. The fact you are using wireless wont increase your speed as such, but moving the router closer to the telephone point may well do - but I would definitely try it with your existing set up if its at all possible!

[Ryles]

well i'd plug the wireless router directly into the phone line at the bottom of the stairs, surely it dosn't have to be in my room? the singal will only have to go up the hall and through my thin door.

think i'll just give it a go, you don't know how much hassle it would be to try and setup my pc in the hall! :P

[Aaron]

yeah, the wireless router can be anywhere you want as long as its in range of your computer! As near to the main telephone socket, the better... :)

[Sl4x0r]

Quick question - you've got an 8Mbps internet connection but you say it's running at between 1.3 and 1.5 - is that Mbps (Mega bits per second) or are you downloading at 1.3 MBps (Mega Bytes per second) - if it's 1.8MBps then you're doing pretty well!

[coiler]

I took my cable around the side of my house and in through the wall into the back bedroom, cable will always be equal to or faster than wireless.

[Mattbot2]

that netgear starter pack is awesome. Dont bother using the router setup disk. Just connect it by ethernet to your pc first, then go to IE, type in 192.168.0.1 and then click on the setup wizard, much better than the software

[jman]

The rule of thumb is always plug your ADSL router / modem into the master socket in the house and don't use an extension lead. Make sure every phone point in the house has a filter on it, turn off the voicemail thing from BT (doesn't usually affect speed but i've seen strange things...). It could just be that the copper going into your house is bad quality in which case your pretty much stuck. Also the distance you are from the exchange will affect it too.