The DSL problems *might* be manageable with the right hardware (Thomson SpeedTouch brand modems) and the right line profiles.

The trick is to first use the Thomson modem to find out what the line quality is (detailed info from DMT tool or from the web menu of the modem itself).

And then convince the ISP / telco to set a correct DSL line profile based on that info. Otherwise, it will be set too fast, and will lose sync over and over, perhaps never stabilizing.

For example, our 5.2km DSL link here was set up with a 3008/800 kpbs ADSL line profile originally. Couldn't hold sync for more than a few minutes to an hour at a time, even as it automatically downshifted to slower and slower speeds.

Attenuation is 61dB downstream and 31dB upstream. S/N fluctuated between 3 and 10db, both up and down.

We got them to force the line profile to 2496/640 kbps, and to switch it from "fast mode" to "interleaved". This stabilized it, and it regularly lost sync perhaps once every day or three, rather than hourly. Big difference!

Now, it's even better, of course, and hasn't lost sync over the past seven days since the noisy adjacent line got disconnected. I might even ask for a faster line profile if this continues to hold steady.

A related idea is to physically position the modems as close as possible to where the wires enter the building, to reduce self-inflicted line noise.

Cheers