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Internet access in rural areas

Making the most of inadequate phone lines

Telecom’s had a lot of bad press about its rural telephone services.

It’s not surprising, when 54 per cent of rural users surveyed by MAF say they have telephone line problems. For those living more than 30 km from town, the figure grows to 82 per cent.

Modern data transmission systems are particularly sensitive to line noise. Unlike the human ear, which is able to select the speech signal from any background noise, data systems such as computers and faxes detect line noises as errors, either slowing down the data speed or completely disrupting a call.

Around 35,000 New Zealand phone lines currently do not have basic internet access. However, the Government is using its ‘Kiwi Share’ to make sure Telecom upgrades its data service so that 99 per cent of residential lines will have a basic internet service with a data transfer rate of 9.6 kilobits per second. The 22,000 lines that will get much better internet access are mostly in rural areas. This will leave 13,500 lines without this service.

Telecom is also going to remove the last 200 party lines and make its network 100 per cent digital.

Sources of interference

Major sources of telephone interference come from electric fences, electrical wiring and appliances.

Electric fences

If you have clicking on your phone …

Don’t run energised wires or fences closer than 10 metres to telephone lines or cables for long distances
If possible, arrange your fence so the power source is at the end furthest from any telephone cables
If you think there are underground phone cables running through your farm, dial 124 and ask Telecom's Cable Location Service to send you a free plan or aerial photograph showing their location
Use joint clamps or figure eight knots when joining wires and keep wires clear of vegetation and other sources of ‘shorts’
Use porcelain or Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) insulators. Polythene pipe insulators don't last long
Use a modern electric fence energiser complying with AS/NZS 1044. Units made before 1988 are more likely to cause interference problems
Earth in moist soil or, in droughty soils, include an earth return wire in the fence
Ensure electrical earths are at least 10 m away from electric fence earths
Check your energiser is not faulty. If you get bad interference, try it with the earth and fence leads disconnected. If that doesn’t help, plug it into another power point and try again. Still no luck? Send the energiser in for servicing
If nothing seems to fix the interference, convert your premises wiring to Telecom's 2-wire standard. This offers improved performance in the presence of electrical noise
Talk nicely with your neighbours and ask them to go through the same process

Electrical wiring

Do not …

Run electric fences parallel to power lines or cables for long distances
Run phone lines and power cables in a single conduit (to the woolshed, for instance). They should be at least a metre apart

If you have had internet connection/disconnection problems in the past, try the following before logging on …

Disconnect any cordless phone units from the same circuit
Disable call waiting
Slow your modem speed – 56 K is too high for most rural phone lines. You can go as low as 9 K without seriously affecting internet use. General modem advice can be found on Telecom's Xtra Help pages, at http://help.xtra.co.nz/help/0,1324,Help:Modems:,00.html particularly the articles on ‘Adding an initialisation (init) string in Windows 95/98’ and ‘How to force a modem to connect at 9600bps’
Turn-off mobile phones and CD radios, or keep them well away from your phone wiring
Check the jackpoint and your phone lead for green corrosion. They don’t last forever, especially in damp or humid rooms
Get an internet-compatible phone lead to plug into your computer from your computer supplier or Dick Smith Electronics. The one off your phone may not be suitable
Ring your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for advice
If all else fails, try changing your ISP. Some appear much easier to connect with than others

Other interference

If you have ‘noise’ (other than electric fence clicks) on your phone …

Your appliances (fridges, freezers, electric jugs etc) may be faulty. Disconnect them one by one, to see if it makes a difference
Your house wiring may be faulty. Try turning off lighting and heating circuits by disabling fuses one by one
Avoid long extension leads
It might be your hot water ripple switch (bursts of static from faulty ripple switches are enough to disconnect an internet session)
Check your phone. How old is it? Look for a ‘green tick’ Telepermit sticker on the bottom

If you have problems with fax transmissions, try sending a fax to Telecom’s self-testing fax checking service. Tel 0800 108 208. It will diagnose your machine and let you know of any adjustments you need to make.