# New DSL is incredibly slow
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dsl-is-incredibly-slow/481746
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 17, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dsl-is-incredibly-slow/481746 "2009-01-17T15:58:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dsl-is-incredibly-slow/481746/21 "2009-01-19T23:06:01Z")
> [@Casserole](#):
>
> A telephone jack requires at least two wires to operate. The other two wire in the second line, so a two-line phone can plug into a single phone jack.
[This](http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk/WPP/Wiring/UK_telephone/uk_telephone.html) is what I’d expect in the UK and [this](http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/phone_wiring.html) in the US.
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### Author:  [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)
#### Post date: [January 21, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dsl-is-incredibly-slow/481746/22 "2009-01-21T19:51:18Z")
Just to provide an update:
Tech came yesterday and found that the line into the apartment complex was fine, but he couldn’t get in to the apartment to see if there was a wiring / modem problem. Second tech came today, looked at it, said, “Why is there a filter on there?”, removed filter, instantly fixed the problem.
“The tech support people I called told me to make sure there WAS a filter on it,” I said.
“Yeah, our help desk is pretty useless. And so are the instructions it came with,” he said.
So despite my crap-ass wiring, I’m getting 5 mbit down / 800 kbit up speeds now.
So remember: DSL + home phone service = filters. DSL without phone = NO FILTERS!
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [January 21, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dsl-is-incredibly-slow/481746/23 "2009-01-21T20:17:24Z")
A hearty “Oh brother!” for whoever said you needed a filter. You’re actually lucky that the DSL worked at all through a filter that’s designed to block the DSL signals.
Congrats on thenew speed - you’re pretty close to the practical maximum speed. About the only way to get 6 megabits is to be next door to the central office and have a new line run with no splices, duplexers, bridge taps or any of the other things that are on the average phone line.
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### Author:  [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dsl-is-incredibly-slow/481746/24 "2009-01-22T02:17:26Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#):
>
> Tech came yesterday and found that the line into the apartment complex was fine, but he couldn’t get in to the apartment to see if there was a wiring / modem problem. Second tech came today, looked at it, said, “Why is there a filter on there?”, removed filter, instantly fixed the problem.
Damn, I was gonna warn you about only putting filters on phones but then figured, “a well informed chap like this surely knows about _filters_.”
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