My connection keeps dropping when I receive inbound phone calls?

Please look over the Disable Call Waiting guide to disable this feature on your home phone.

Why are my speeds nowhere near the advertised 56k?

The difference between the advertised top speed and the real life speed can usually be attributed to the quality of the telephone lines* in your area and how far you are from the nearest telephone exchange.

There are two main types of analogue phone lines and speeds attributed to them:

Pair gain is a technology where a copper telephone line is split in two. To allow for the provision of more than one telephone service over that line.

When installing new telephone network services in the 1980's and 1990's, Telstra took advantage of pair gain technology to increase the number of services that could be provided by a single telephone exchange.

Hints to help improve your dialup connection

Test for line quality
The best way to improve the performance of any modem is to ensure that your telephone line is free from line noise; that is, an audible, crackling static. Unplug all devices on the phone line, and then plug a telephone handset into the telephone line used by your modem and call a friend. Listen for any background static. If you hear any, report it to your phone provider).

Don't Share the line
For the best modem performance, your modem should have sole use of the telephone line. Unplug any other devices (including fax and answering machines) that are plugged into the same telephone line.

Update your modem drivers and firmware
Modem manufacturers continually tweak and refine their modem software in an effort to ensure the peak performance of their products. You should ensure that you are using the latest driver software for your modem. Most manufacturers make copies of their latest software available for download on their Web sites.