A method, system and computer program product to adjust transfer rates on conductors in a multi-conductor cable comprising monitoring signals received on each conductor, determining a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) for each conductor and adjusting a transfer rate on one or more conductors based on the corresponding SNR. In an embodiment the multi-conductor cable is a twisted pair Ethernet cable. The method further comprises determining whether a conductor is transmitting at an optimal transfer rate as a function of its SNR, calculating an optimal transfer rate for each conductor as a function of its SNR and periodically measuring a change in SNR on each conductor. If the change in SNR is greater than a predetermined threshold, then the transfer rate is re-calculated for the conductors requiring transfer rate adjustment as a function of SNR.