No cat5 cable in the wall is needed to connect to DSL. Telephone line to DSL modem; cat5 cable from modem to computer. All of my cables were supplied by the phone company, along with the phone line filters that Inky referred to.
It may be a simple fix. And I wouldn't mind having it repaired.........now, finding a small appliance repair shop CLOSE by, that can fix it while I wait is a completely different scenario.
Any way for you to post a pic of it, red? The one I use is made by Remington, called the Super Sonic. Bought it at Wal-Mart several years ago, not sure it's available anymore tho'.