I recently moved and went from DSL (not available where I am now) to dial up. I have a 56K modem and have never connected at more than 21,600. I've seen it as low as 19,000. My ISP says the problem is not on their end. Can anyone tell me how to speed up this connection? I am turning into an old lady waiting for connections from link to link! Thanks in advance.

Miss Laurie,

Try the speed test at bandwidth.com to verify the speed indicated when you log on to your dial-up service.

If you have a 56K modem and your speed isn't up to snuff, then try this article:

How to maximize your dial-up speed in four easy steps

With the speed (or lack thereof) you claim, you may see this answer in a couple of days! Perhaps others can respond with other suggestions before you get here.

MissLaurie:

One thing you can check on 'To check the Maximum Speed of the Modem'. Do the following:

Left click Start

Drag mouse to Settings & over to Control Panel & left click

Left DBL click the Modem Icon

Left click the 'Properties' Tab

Click the down arrow adjacent to the 'Maximum Speed' area. Drag down with the Mouse in the windows that appears on the 'Maximum Speed' area to a number slightly larger than the speed of your Modem & left click it

When set for proper speed, click 'OK'.

[This message was edited by donaldekliros on 08-02-02 at 07:39 AM.]

Some local phone companies, when installing a 2nd phone line will "split" a single line instead of installing a 2nd line. Using a switch, this will create two acceptable voice lines, but the data transfer capability is cut in half. When this is done, the maximum data transmission speed is 26,400 bps, regardless of the modem speed.

You can read the details about this here (look at the third paragraph):

http://www.ili.net/techtips/56k.html

Also, I notice you're from Montana. This paragraph (from the site noted above) may be of interest to you:

Another problem occurs when a phone line is stretched beyond 3 miles. You must be within 3 miles of your Central Switching Station (where all of your home calls are routed by the phone company). Call your operator and ask where your Central Switching Station is. Two conditions here apply, the phone line can be no longer than 3 miles for the k56 technology to work. If you live 3 miles from the Central Switching Station, but your phone line doesn't go in a strait line and its is over 3 miles, it is unlikely to work. For some reason the effective range of k56 is 3 miles. You can drive to the location the operator gave you, on your way home watch the odometer. If it is less than three miles that is good.

I hope this is of some help!