On Wed, 2006-05-24 at 12:15 -0400, Aaron wrote:
> Now that my rebooting work PC problem has been solved, --see [EE] USB 
> devices resetting PC upon plug-in--  I have another question.
> 
> I bought a new laptop for home a few months ago.  My modem typically 
> connects to my ISP at 35-40 kbps.  However, maybe 10% of the time it 
> only connects at 20-26 kbps.  What kind of factors can cause this 
> radical variation in connection speed?  

Line quality and switching between you and your ISP. 20-26kbps is a
speed supported over analog lines (V.34). The 35-40kbps speeds require
every line after your local loop to be completely digital (V.90/V.92).

The fact that you only get 40kbps on a good day tells me your line is
marginal as it is, and the modem sometimes as to fall back to the
"analog only" type of modulations.

On a good line I connect at around 50.3kbps quite consistently.

Another possibility is your ISP's modem banks don't all support
V.90/V.92, some only support V.34 and that's why you sometimes can't get
faster the V.34 speeds.

> Is it possible that my ISP is 
> limiting my connection speed during times of peak activity?  

I doubt it, but anything is possible. 

> I haven't 
> been able to detect a trend regarding time of day or weather.  Or static 
> electricity. :)
> 
> My old PC only ever connected at a max of 26 kbps.  Well, actually, 
> before moving from Columbus, OH to the country 5 years ago I had the 
> same modem in an even older PC and it would reliably connect in the 50 
> kbps range...

Modems are so cheap today it is VERY common for one particular modem to
be much better then another. As an example, the 56k modem in my laptop
often connects in the 40s, while the 56k USR Sportster mostly connects
in the 50-53kbps range, on the exact same line.

TTYL

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