Broadband services are a wonderful innovation of our time, using multiple frequency bands (hence the name) to carry signals over wires (usually copper, sometimes aluminium). One of the key aspects of the technology is its ability to adapt to the length and characteristics of the line on which it is deployed.
We have seen faults on broadband circuits that manifest as the system adapting to much lower speeds, this is a key factor as a service can work, but unusually slowly, over very bad lines.
It has always been said that ADSL will work over a bit of wet string.
Well one of our techies (www.aa.net.uk) took it upon himself to try it today at the office, and well done.
He got some proper string, and made it wet...
It turns out he needed salty water to get anywhere.
A 2m length...
And the result - it works!!! Not even that slow (3½Mb/s down) though slow uplink. Don't dare touch the string though...
So, there you go, ADSL over 2m of literal "wet string". Well done all for testing this. It shows the importance of handling faults that seem to just be "low speed".
As a bonus, fit tin cans to both ends and you get voice as well as broadband on the same wet string!