Hi Baldy_Bird,
(I think I can get away with that greeting as "The Cattery" is a number of counties away from Lancashire and, thus, my tail is out of pecking range . . . 
)
Your hope, quoted above, is interesting and on behalf of all of us who inhabit these fora, please let us know your findings and the method you used -- in due course.
With regards to your final thought, although I believe I have a good "overview" of your connection, I am still a little unclear on the intimate most details. For example, by inputting some data into Google Maps (and not getting distracted by some magnificent views of the countryside), a "street view" shows me a pair of semi-detached houses. I assume "The Aeire" is the right-hand one of the pair when viewed from the road. Unfortunately GM street view does not show me a clear image of where the drop-wire from the pole is attached to your house. I would be very interested to see clear photographs starting from that point and including the junction where the drop-wire transitions to the service cable, where the service cable is extended (the old location of the NTE5/A) to your office, the new location of the NTE5/A in your office and any extensions that may be run from there. I'm sure you know the sort of details that I like to see in photographs -- the colours of the wire cores that emanate from each cable and which coloured wire is connected to what-not, etc. As for "testing" of your relocated NTE5/A, the best method is a direct swap for a known, good device. Let me contemplate my last statement some more, once I have seen your photographs . . . 
Hi b*cat,
In the same order as your catawaling, I respond as follows:-
Bald Eagles are rather large birds of prey & can fly a long way, getting hungrier & hungrier on their journey, a large black cat would simply suffice as an aperatif.
"The Aerie" is actually the left-hand one of the pair. The lead flashing to the porch is no longer an issue as some poor soul helped themself to it quite a while ago.
The drop wire can be seen by zooming in to the right-hand side of the furthermost left-hand upstairs window.
It enters at just above window cill level.
Dependent upon zoom level, the cable can be seen going off to the pole to the right of the semi, then across the road to another pole.
From there, it either goes underground down the road, past the front of the Filling Station toward the cabinet, or takes a detour up the path, overhead to near the row of houses, & then behind the Filling Station.
Whichever route it takes, it appears to go to the pole just past the white(ish) property that is being advertised "To Let" by someone who could be my father's brother's son.
Are you still with me on this?
From there, the engineer that allowed me to photograph his laptop display, (recall the map with the almost invisible dotted line, that turned out NOT to be a BT Network Record after all), thought it MUST continue down the same main road (H Road) to the Lane on which the cabinet is located (H Lane).
This would be the longer of 2 possible routes (820m apparently).
The FTTC installing engineer thought it MAY go down L T Lane (opposite the aforementioned white(ish) property), to the cabinet on H Lane (the shorter route).
Prior to the FTTC installation, the master socket (ADSL v1.0) was on the internal reveal of the upstairs window, with various hard-wired & plug in telephone extension cables bought from B & Q.
I had plugged into the DSL socket a 20m high quality, shielded, high speed data cable, bought from Maplins.
This went along the upstairs, through the house, & through the ceiling to the downstairs office (difficult to photograph).
The installing engineer cut off the male plug of my shielded cable at the old master socket & crimped a pair from the shielded cable to the incoming cable.
He then cut off the male plug at the other end of the shielded cable (downstairs) & hard-wired it into the new master socket downstairs.
He then connected a spare pair from the shielded cable into the new master socket which then ran back upstairs to what WAS the old master socket, converting the old master socket to a telephone only extension, with further extensions hard-wired & plugged in.
That may appear somewhat unconventional, but it worked perfectly.
On seeing the cabling, each visiting engineer has scratched his head & thought about it, (some have even disconnected the crimps & checked for moisture etc), thought about it some more & then commented with words such as "Well, that's not how I would have done it, but it is much better quality cable than we (BT) would have given you".
I had a fax machine, various telephones, sky box, connected via the various extensions from day 1.
Everything worked perfectly for the first month. I even disconnected everything apart from the broadband for a full week to check for "interference".
That produced no changes - still perfect, & at at the same broadband speeds.
Are you still with me?
I have telephone extensions all over the place; under floors, inside studded partitions, extensions plugged into extensions, double adapters etc. etc. etc.
All have been checked by engineers as O.K.
During the "troubles", I again disconnected the whole lot for a full week. This made absolutely no difference whatsoever.
Various photos are attached, but I could forward full resolution photos if required.
Images 004, 005, 006 show the new master socket.
Also see the next post for more photos.
Well, you did ask.............
Paul.
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