Stuck at 21600 BPS

[Stoney80]

In two to three months I am going to go with Cable internet service. Until then I will suffer through AOL and dial-up. The thing is that I have a U.S. Robotics 56k Modem and according to AOL they have 56k as well. Yet I NEVER get beyond 21600 bps - ever. It could be 3 a.m. in the morning and it is 21600 bps.

My question is, can I do anything to make it connect faster and if so what? Or, am I stuck with what the local telephone lines will allow me to do and no more? My OS is Windows 98SE. Thanks.

not really, you could try some tweaks but nothing you will ever notice. you could try a different number maybe.

the phone lines in your house could be old, there is alot of factors that effect the connection of dial up. You will never truely hit 56k tho on dial up. do you have phone lines with the connectors to make it reach the wall?

[Stoney80]

I've tried different phone numbers but it remains the same. The house is only 6 years old so the phone lines are in good shape. Plus I have a friend who runs telephone lines and he says mine are fine. I didn't really believe I'd ever reach 56k, but 21600 as tops??? I'm trying to figure out why I even spent the money on a 56k when my old 33.3 would have fit the bill.

And, yes, I do have one telephone line running from my PC to the telephone jack. Thanks for the very quick reply GZ3.

updated the drivers?

http://www.usr.com/support/s-main-menu.asp

[Urban_Squrill]

I am thinking bad lines somewhere between ur house and the main office. Do you live in a old naborhood or? Way out in the woods like me or?

[cunokyle]

I have a simialar situation...the fastest I can connect at is 28800...I even had new lines installed in my house about a year ago...so it is most likely the fact that I am so far from the phone company...I think Urban Squrill may have the right idea here.

[Stoney80]

Well, I am going to try GZ3's suggestion of updating drivers. And the neighborhood is not old nor do I live out in the sticks. Something tells me that it is the telephone lines themselves.

[wavefront]

I've suffered through dial up service for years (I call them the dark years). I upgraded to ISDN then cable when it was available.

I would bet that your Tel Co. is to blame.
How far are you from the CO?
The farther you are the worse your speed is.
Also there might be a physical problem with your lines. The quality standard for POT service is based on transmitting voice not data.
At one time I was getting only 19,200 on a 56k USR modem. My Tel Co. told me that they weren't going to do anything about and I'd have to suffer at that speed unless I wanted to pay for a high quality data line (ISDN etc.) Now that I have cable I get about 2 meg at night and about half that during the day. I'll never go back to dial up again.