Overview | MODEM SPEED EXPLAINED | 56 kbps modems
The v.90 standard
You don't need much technical knowledge to understand the information on this page, but since we're talking about modem speed, let's start by defining a few related terms that are sometimes difficult to understand.
The Basics
Kbps stands for kilobits per second (kilo = thousand), and refers to the speed at which your modem sends and receives information. Just to avoid confusion, 33.6 Kbps = 33600 bps, 28.8 Kbps = 28800 bps (where bps means bits per second), and so on.
Most Windows and Macintosh applications that use modems express transfer rates in K/s, kilobytes per second, which is a slightly different way of measuring the same thing (transfer speed). Generally speaking, a 28.8 Kbps modem's fastest transfer rate is approximately 3.2 K/s. A 33.6 Kbps modem generally won't go faster than 3.7 K/s.
Why doesn't my 28.8 Kbps modem connect at 28.8 Kbps?
It is not uncommon for 28.8 Kbps modems to connect at 24000, 21600 or 19200 bps, or for 33.6 Kbps units to connect at 31200 bps. Generally speaking, a slower connect speed does not indicate a problem with your modem, nor a problem with the Business Internet service.
Further, your initial connect speed may not necessarily hold for the duration of a connection to the Business Internet service (or any other ISP or online service to which you might connect). Depending on a number of factors, your speed may increase
and/or decrease at various times over the course of a given Internet connection session, although you won't usually be aware of these changes.
Some Background
The 28.8 and 33.6 Kbps modem standards push your analog voice phone line to its absolute limit. Transmitting voice communications over phone lines isn't all that demanding, and the odd hiss, crackle, or bit of line noise doesn't have a serious effect
on the quality of a phone conversation. Not so with data communications, however. When you connect to the Internet you are making a data connection between your modem and the receiving modem of the Business Internet service. The slightest bit of interference can have a significant impact on the quality of your connection.
Data connections at 14.4 Kbps are no problem; even older phone lines can usually handle it. Connections at 28.8 Kbps and 33.6 Kbps are much trickier, however, and both count on there being some more advanced, digital telephone technology in place on the circuit between the two connecting modems. If the telephone circuit between your modem and the Business Internet service relies heavily on older technology, or if there is some kind of noise or interference on the line, your modem will downshift to a
slower connect speed.
Members living in certain rural areas may be particularly affected by these problems, due to the distances over which their modems must communicate, and the fact that rural phone technology is often more antiquated than its urban equivalent.
Is there anything the Business Internet service can do to improve my connect speed?
Regrettably, no. Many members believe, quite understandably, that since the Business Internet service is offered by their telephone company, it should be possible to arrange for phone line upgrades through Business Internet Member Services. Unfortunately, this is not the case: Business Internet is offered by a division of your phone company which is quite divorced from that which manages the physical telephone network.
Rest assured, however, that significant upgrades are in development. Line quality throughout the network will gradually improve, and new technologies will be implemented that improve transmission speed beyond the capabilities of traditional analog modems.
My modem reports connections of 38400, 57600 or 115200 bps. Am I really connecting that fast?
No, you aren't. Connect speeds above 33600 bps are misleading; they actually refer to something called DTE speed, which is the rate at which your computer communicates with your modem, not the rate at which your modem communicate
s with the Business Internet service's modem. Currently, the fastest speed at which one can connect using a traditional analog modem is 33.6 Kbps. Most experts agree that this is the upper limit of analog modem technology.
I'm connected at my modem's maximum speed, and everything seems to be configured properly, but things still seem slow. Isn't this a problem with the Business Internet service?
Unless the Business Internet service is experiencing some kind of
unforeseen network outage or a period of unusually heavy usage, the answer to the above question is no. Business Internet's internal network, which encompasses the dial-up modems as well as the terminal, web, news, and mail servers, is more than fast enough to accommodate Business Internet members. The connection between this network and the global Internet is also extremely fast.
