Why can't I connect at 56k

Ok, I know that I am cheap for not stepping up to high-speed, but why is it that I can only connect at 26.4k? I am in the Miller and Smith TH's that have the pointy backs and back to Claiborne.

Gregg

 

In the [far too many] years that I was crippled with dial-up acces, not once did I ever connect at 56k. Having a 56k modem does not mean that you will connect at that speed. Your connection speed will depend on the activity on the provider's servers. Depending on the provider, in the middle of the night (when most people are sleeping) you might see speeds in the 40-48k range, but during the day it might not be uncommon to see speeds below 20k.

Wow, I can't believe I'm even thinking about speeds this slow anymore...

 

It has nothing to do with the providers servers. In a best case scenario, you will connect to the other modem at 56k, but you may see lesser speeds depending on your providers bandwidth utilization.

It has everything to do with line conditions between you and the remote modem. Line noise and lack of conditioning force the modems to negotiate at a lower rate to keep the integrity of the connection. Only in a perfect situation will you ever see 56k (I've never seen it)...it all depends on the quality of the actual connection.

EDIT: I forgot to add, you can call Verizon and have them run a test on your line to see if there is any line noise. If there is a more-than-normal amount then they can 'try' to fix it. Keep in mind, if the problem lies beyond the local CO, there's really nothing you can do about it.

 

I connect consistently from home, via dial up at 50.6. I am using Erols. Unfortunately, the only highspeed alternative, I know available to my neighborhood, is Adelphia. I refuse to do business with that company. So, fortunately, I am getting adequate dial up, and consistent dial up connections.

Have you tried a different modem?

 

As has been mentioned, its probably a number of things, most likely, noisy phone lines. Modems generally will try to connect at the highest possible speed, then negotiate downwards based on the amount of errors they see when trying to connect. Once they reach a speed that is fairly error free (or correctable based on the error correction of the protocol) they will then signal to each other that they are connected.

FWIW ... if you already have cable, adding high speed is not that much more in price. If you have satellite, your only alternative (since DSL is still not available) is satellite broadband.

As AFGM mentioned, a different modem may also be a fix. Try to find one that is NOT a software based modem. Unfortunately, these are now few and far between, most internals are now software based. You can try an external and see what happens.

Aside to AFGM ... had problems with adelphia in the past ??



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

I had a similar problem back about 4-5 years when I had to use dialup service. I did a lot of research and this is what I found out:
Back then, Verizon would give out "voice quality" lines for your primary phone line without you knowing that this is what you were getting. I would always get about 20-30k speeds when I dialed in to my ISP if I were to use this voice line. Verizon claims that they are/were only obligated to give you phone service that would give you voice quality sound. I continued to push the issue and they stated that I could opt for a 2nd phone line that would be considered a "data" line and I would get a full 64k dso, which could work for both voice and dialup data. I chose this route to free up my "voice line" while on the web. When I got that 2nd line put in place, sure enough, I was connecting at 52k, but if I were to dialup on my voice line, it was slow. The problem was that I had to have a "voice" line before I could get a "data" line, so they screwed you with that.
At this time I do not know if this still would apply, it was 4-5 years ago, but it could very well be in your situation. Give Verizon a call to confirm.
As soon as adelphia went bi-directional I dropped my $30 data line and $10 isp and got my $35 adelphia........it was a no-brainer for me.
Hope this helps.

DwArFlOrD

 

Does high speed "dial up access" work over VOIP lines?

I too am only able to connect at low speed over POTS line, but am curious to know if VOIP will make it so I can connect at the higher speeds.

 

I think your question should be does VOIP work over dial up networks? I highly doubt it.

As for Adelphia. Don't get me started. Other than regular consumer frustration (Cable TV based). I am most upset at their total lack of ethics. Several years ago, Adelphia ripped through Ashburn Farm burying new lines. No warning and a total disregard for the intrusion. They destroyed a total of $60,000 worth of common area. After multiple attempts to get it fixed, we are now being forced to sue them. I refuse to promote or do business with someone as unresponsive as they are. This is both pre and post bankruptcy.

 

Brim is right. And you can't really ever get 56k. If you get anything over 48k you're doing well. When I have to use dialup here I can generally get about 52k but at the beach in NC I'm happy if I get a 28k connection at times with the same modem and laptop. If you're only getting 24k out of a 56k modem I would first check to make sure you're not plugging into a phone or FAX machine first. Some devices will thottle the connection. I had a Siemens Gigaset phone (first generation) that would do this. I've also seen FAX machines do the same. Plug your modem directly into the wall. If you live in the Broadlands I would hope your lines are new and shouldn't have much in the way of noise but it's possible and if that's the case you'll need help from Verizon (good luck). Also make sure you have the right string or driver (depening on the modem and application being used). If your modem isn't getting the right instructions you'll have issues negotiating a good connection. Don't use the "Generic Modem" option. Lastly make sure you have a good modem. USRobotics made some nice modems but I would stay away from any of the softmodems/Winmodems (even by USR).

__________________________________________________________
Some software money can't buy. For everything else there's Micros~1

 

Also, even if you connect at a lower rate, it is possible for your modem to renegotiate at a higher or lower speed... they are not locked at the connect speed for the duration of the call...

how about paying one of your neighbor's for wifi access to their connection?

 

No, I was curious to know if you can use a dialup modem/fax over a voice over IP (VOIP) line and have the device connect at a 56K connection.

While it might be lower quality, I'm pretty sure VOIP would work over a dial up connection.

 

Thanks everyone, I know that I am not going to get 56k (I thought I read somewhere that 53k was some sort of limit). I have tried 2 different modems and have tested both elsewhere and gotten 48k+. I have also tried a number of other dial-in numbers for my isp and that does not seem to make a difference. Oh well, I guess I will just continue to suffer slow speeds.

Gregg

 

You can not do voip over dialup. Your upload speed at best on dialup is 33k, voip requires 90k or better. All voip providers state that "broadband is required".
As to your first question, the information I have seen is that most voip services will allow "faxing", but their is a drawback in that you need to throttle back the speed at which it connects. I can not recall if that speed is 14400 or 9600, in either case its not 28.8 for sure? Im thinking that it will work at 9600 at the fastest. If you have it configured for a faster speed, almost all people that do, can not get the fax to work. This is just what I have read on some voip forums because I too had the same concerns, along with alarm systems, Direct TV, Tivo and 911. So Ive done a little leg work.
Hope this helps!

DwArFlOrD

 

Um ... if you already have a broadband internet connection, why would you need to dial-up ?? Does not compute !!



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Back in the day when I was using dial up, and living in an older house, I was able to increase my connection speed by adding a phone line filter from Radio Shack for $4.

 

I think he was talking about faxing/dialing out to fax over voip, which can be done with the right configs.
And his other ?? was if voip would work over dialup, which it cant. If it could, you could save a lot of money on long distance calls and basic/advanced phone features that your landline may not offer. So there is a '+' side to using voip over dialup, if it could be done.
I thought the same thing though, I had to read it a couple of times to follow what the questiosn were.....[8D]

DwArFlOrD

 

Dwarflord - Thanks for the info. I was thinking of basic voice over IP apps like AIM or Yahoo working over dialup. I understand that Vonage or the other VOIP-only solutions that would replace an actual phoneline require a broadband connection.

Neil - Many "legacy" devices (such as alarm systems, fax machines, or even Tivo) use a dial up modem to connect. If I was to switch to VOIP and abandon my old telephone service, I was curious to know if these devices would still work. Does that compute for you?

 

DOH ... I've been equating 'dialup' with modems and an ISP for so long, I saw that question and didn't figure in devices that use the phone to connect to other services.

[xx(]

Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

I can't speak for TiVo (mine has network cards or use the land line) but I've used my 14.4 FAX with Vonage with no problems at all. There is also a code (dial prefix) that you can have the FAX or TiVo use that tells my Motorola ATA that the call is a data call and that has reported to work for some people but I didn't need to use the prefix myself.

__________________________________________________________
Some software money can't buy. For everything else there's Micros~1

 

Ahhhh! Ya, that makes a difference. The software clients for PC chatting, as opposed to using a TA for analog phones.
Yes, those apps will work over dialup. I think Skype has the best to offer if you have ever used that.

DwArFlOrD