Options for getting faster Internet access

I was under the impression that all DSL providers use the same physical cable to your house, and it was the actual cable that limited the max DSL speed. I live miles away from anywhere and at the moment the max I can currently connect with using T-Com is about 400 - 512 kbit/s (shown in the modem status page). In fact, the T-Com site says I will only get max 384 for my address... Anyway, Alice says that it can give me between 1500 and 4000, is this possible or are they just talking bollocks?

What other options for fast internet do I have then? I see cable internet exists here (in Munich), but I looked on kabeldeutschland.de and it said it was nicht verfügbar and nicht geplannt for my address :-( Are there other cabel operators, or again do they all use the same cable?

Maybe O2, but I don't really know how good the service is now. I asked on another thread and no one replied, maybe it was a sunday.

Well the O2 site says it will work at my address, but doesn't indicate what the maximum speed would be. I don't really care whether I have to spend €10 or €50 a month to get a faster connection, I just want to be sure it will be faster before signing up with a new provider. Frankly I don't see how any other provider can be faster than T-Com, given they all use the same cable, which is why I am so sceptical. (Yes, I know I should have checked before moving house, but I just assumed everywhere could get proper fast internet nowadays...)

You can check the maximum DSL speed you get here with your telephone number and region code. I think no provider can offer a speed higher than what is indicated in this page.

Ok, but O2 service doesn't go on the wire, does it?

Yeh, that's the site that gives me a max of 384 kbit/s. My modem usually connects at 400-500 so I assume that's just T-Com being a little on the safe side. And yeh, that was my question, is it possible for another provider to offer a higher speed?


Which O2 service do you mean? I went to the O2 site and I could only see O2 DSL for internet.

The availability of VDSL can be checked here. For my connection, I can get VDSL though maximum DSL speed possible is 3072 kbps.
Currently the only options to get DSL at home is through wired connection or Satellite(no clue about speed and cost).

Yes it goes over the wire. It uses the Telefonica network.

Although the common denominator on all domestic telephone based DSL services is the wire circuit into your home, all of which are owned by Deutsche Telekom, full service providers such as Arcor or Alice use their own concentrator interfaces which they install in the local (Telekom-owned) exchange. Different concentrators have different characteristics. AEG equipment, used by Arcor is more tolerant of line resistance than Siemens, usually used by Telekom so can handle longer cable lengths, or in your case offer better speeds at the same distance. VDSL is fibre optic based and limits wire length to 250m form a street based fibre optic concentrator, and is currently exclusive to Telekom. VDSL roll-out is concentrating on areas with slower DSL speeds or no DSL at all (so people who are a long distance from their exchange) - street level fibro optic concentrators hook into your local piece of wire to provide speeds up to 50Mbit (soon to be 75Mbit). Telekom are keeping this technology to themselves and sharing the service with T-Online.

Which is no big surprise, as O2 is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telefónica S.A.