One of the most important aspects of broadband technologies is that they can adapt to the general state and basic characteristics of the available infrastructure. The problem is that this does not always favor the user, and when a minor fault appears, the first symptom is a loss of speed. ADSL is especially known for this behavior, and an old joke suggests that it could work on something as simple as a wet rope. Adrian Kennard from the UK provider Andrews & Arnold decided to put that hypothesis to the test, and he got better results than he expected.
Like other connectivity systems, ADSL maintains a complex love-hate relationship with users. On one hand, there are those who appreciate its stability and wide availability (thanks to running over phone lines), and then there are those who want to set every pole on fire due to intermittent connections, cutoffs, and low speeds. Although I hate all providers equally (with good reason), the truth is that ADSL technology was (and is) the one that gave me the fewest problems. In the minds of many experts, ADSL is almost obsolete, but it would be absurd not to appreciate its simplicity. In fact, an old joke suggests that it could work with just a wet rope….
The Wet Rope Experiment
… and it's true. Adrian Kennard from the UK provider Andrews & Arnold published on his personal blog (link below) the experiment carried out by one of his technicians. Two meters of rope, a little salt water to keep it moist, and the result yielded a downstream link at 3.55 megabits per second of speed. The upstream was just 67 kbps, and the slightest touch on the rope could ruin the connection, but the point is that old joke had more substance than we thought. Of course, this experiment is not the only one of its kind: Ten years ago, someone managed to establish a T1 line using barbed wire.
Reactions
The jokes did not take long to appear across the web. Some Reddit comments indicate that the wet rope connection even works better than the technology available in certain rural areas. No matter how “advanced” a country is, at the end of the day everyone has their own connectivity nightmares to share.
