Wiring issue causing my low margin?

[JoshReed84]

Hey guys, thanks for reading.

My DSL lately has been EXTREMELY frustrating. For years it was rock solid. Last couple of months, I have been connecting with a downstream margin of 6 and upload of 9! 

I'm no stranger to how all this stuff works. There's no problem at all on the inside wiring. At the NID, I am getting the same transceiver stats.

However, I noticed something strange outside of my apartment complex. There are five apartments here, each with their own NID, wired from this old pedastal looking thing (it has AT&T on it, that's old). Taking a look inside, the wires inside are a complete and utter mess. They are coated with black disgusting crud, the bare copper looks pretty oxydized. Need to know if this could be a problem from one of the pros. I attached an image for your viewing pleasure!

[Anthony_VZ · Accepted solution]

Sorry to hear about your connection troubles. I have copied your post to our private support board so we can get some more information from you. Please refer to this new thread for all correspondences.

[JoshReed84]

Can't seem to find a private board. What's the link?

[ElizabethS]

Hi JoshReed84

Click on your name, and that will take you to your profile page.  Look down the center of that page and you'll come to an area that says "My Support Case". The link to the board will be there.

[smith6612]

Oxidized copper, especially with that kind of demarc outdoors can cause noise issues. I'd get a tech out to see what they can do to clean the copper up a bit. The mess is fine as long as the contacts for it are in good shape and the techs who work on it are able to work with it without breaking another's service.

That wiring without a doubt looks a bit old though. Definitely dating back to the Bell system back when there was basically AT&T as your telephone company in most of the US. The color coding scheme is a bit different today for newer copper runs in addition to each run being twisted cable for as long as possible. Age of course, won't bother service too much unless the line is in rough shape or in major need of repair. I've seen plenty of old lines push DSL out farther and stronger than newer, less thick runs when they are maintained, repaired, and kept as they should.