Junction Box to BT Master Socket Cable

[#1]

The external BT cable to our property connects into a Junction Box. A telephone cable runs from the Junction Box to to the Master Socket.
My question is, do I need to contact BT to get this cable replaced?  I've read that all wiring before the BT Master Socket is BT's property.
The cable is in a poor condition. The outer cable is worn though in a place (about 5 inches), probably due to poor positioning under the carpet underlay, and I'm wondering whether this is affecting my broadband speed, and it's ability to maintain a constant connection. There is no noise or crackling on the telephone dial tone though.
My speeds recently dropped to around 0.6meg, but after raising a ticket, they are today back to 4.8meg.

[#2]

Technically, you need to contact your line rental provider but unless you have a confirmed fault OpenReach will no doubt make it chargeable, and it will cost. Unless you can see bare wire, and especially if you can't hear audible noise, it's unlikely to be affecting your broadband. If you post your full modem/router ADSL stats we'll have a better idea of how your line should be performing.
But here is the silly question, why is the cable under the carpet, did BT install it there?

[#3]

Thanks Anotherone.
The cable was fitted before we bought the property, so I have no idea whether it was BT that fitted it. Should it be sunk into the floorboards?
So the exposed wires are unlikely to be causing a problem with broadband if there's no noise on the dial tone! That's good news.  Would we still have to pay if it the cable deteriorated to the point where it was affecting the telephone line quality? Any idea what kind of cost we're talking about. We're with Talk Talk.
Is it illegal for me to replace the cable myself?

[#4]

Try out the BT quiet line test by dialling 17070 and option 2, see if there's any noise.

[#5]

Thanks RPMozley
Just tried that. If I put my Panasonic DECT phone on Handsfree and Max volume, and put the speaker to my ear, yes there is quite a bit of noise, but I'm not sure if that's the sensitivity of the phone.
If I just listen through the earpiece, there's some faint crackle.
Anotherone,
I've just managed to login to my Thomson router. Where would I find the ADSL stats?
Off to bed now.

[#6]

To get your Thomson stats click on the View more under DSL connection.
Using a cordless phone at max volume hands-free is not the best for listening for noise, as they can generate noise themselves. Using a corded phone is best and at normal level the line should be silent, you might be able to detect a very quiet "shhhh" which is often generated by the phone itself. Crackling noises are usually very evident if you have a bad line connection, and can be intermittent.
Yes, replacing it yourself is technically illegal, and OpenReach could get nasty if a subsequent fault was related to this or the work was sub-standard.  The bill could be in excess of £100 (a fine to cover all their costs) and at worst they have the power to cut you off.  Is there a more sensible route the cable could take not under a carpet?
You'll have to look at your own provider's pages to see what cost they may charge (it can be less or more than the charge OpenReach pass the your provider). Look for the cost to "replace a MasterSocket" will give you the best idea.
When you have a genuine line fault and the engineer visits, they will usually replace older sockets with a modern NTE5.
Now, that said, if you are a competent DIYer it MAY be something you could contemplate yourself BUT there are a number of "depends" !
To start, where is the "Junction Box" and what type is it? - if you have a digital camera and can take a picture and attach to a post using the Additional Options button below the Reply window (or visible when you click Preview if using quick reply).
Is the Maser socket an NTE5 - one of these - a genuine one will have BT or OpenReach on the top LH corner or is it an older LJU seen here?
What type of cable is the incoming BT cable is it round with a black sheath (about 5.3mm in diameter) or is it an older type? - see just over half way down the kitz page under Block Terminal Connectors - the top RH picture, where it looks like a large flat twin black flex.

[#7]

Quote from: paul12pn

Just tried that. If I put my Panasonic DECT phone on Handsfree and Max volume, and put the speaker to my ear, yes there is quite a bit of noise, but I'm not sure if that's the sensitivity of the phone.

The recommendation is to use an analogue corded phone rather than a DECT.
One of our friends will explain.

[#8]

err umm, I just had!

[#9]

Back to year one at the Infants school for me, then!

[#10]

100 lines then (that's written lines not phone lines), you know what it's got to say   

[#11]

Thanks for your comprehensive answer Anotherone 
Here are the lines stats;
DSL Connection
Link Information
Uptime: 1 day, 1:06:40
DSL Type: G.992.5 annex A
Maximum Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 1,084 / 7,164
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 444 / 6,712
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 36.97 / 245.97
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.5 / 19.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 24.0 / 41.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 24.0 / 5.5
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / IFTN
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 65,613 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 131,073 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 262,141 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 110,272 / 19,176,449
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 33 / 390
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 6 / NA
The Junction Box is on the interior of the front house wall. The incoming BT cable is 5mm round black sheathed. The Master Socket is an NTE5. It has a T logo in a circle on it. The Master Socket is mounted on an inside house wall. I think the cable from the Junction Box to Master Socket does need to go under the carpet; can't see how else it could be done.
I will try and get hold of a camera to take some pictures.
4.8meg on test again tonight. Looked at the frayed cable last night. It really is in a bad state, as is the underlay.

[#12]

I know line attenuation isn't the whole story but, in case it helps, here are the stats for my line of almost identical attenuation:
Uptime: 3 days, 5:32:59
DSL Type: G.992.5 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 7,987
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/kB]: 0.00 / 1.00
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 11.5 / 20.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 20.5 / 40.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 16.5 / 9.0
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / TSTC
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 88 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 8 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 106 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 915 / 0
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 915 / 12,122
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 363 / 9,882
At a 6dB target SNR, my line syncs around 9600kb/s and will sometimes hold that for a few days with error rates similar to what you are seeing, but then the DLM usually ups the target SNR to 9dB and eventually it settles down to around 7500 - 8000kb/s. I have been assured that interleaving is set to auto but I've never seen an FEC error on the downlink so it seems never to have been activated.
It seems to me that your line is undeperforming but whether this is due to your frayed cable, I wouldn't know. Good luck.
Trevor

[#13]

@paul12pn
Even though on paper your sync speed should be a bit better, the throughput for the current speed should also be better. Check your Current Line speed (Login required) it should match (or be higher than) your BT IP profile for the line.
That sounds like one of the older sockets with the "T" logo. But this is not likely to be related to the under-performance which is probably due to excess noise pickup. We await pictures as they are always very useful.

[#14]

I've tried 4 times now to post photos (Jpeg files) one at a time without success. Files are about 2400KB, well within the prescribed limits.

[#15]

Hi Paul,
are the file extensions .jpg or .jpeg ? I've never had a problem with jpg's - I don't know if .jpegs are an issue for any reason.
Are you browsing to the path of the file? If you are typing it in, you may be making an error somewhere, always best to browse to it.