And finally, don’t blame me... or the modem maker... if a supposed 56K
device never quite reaches that speed. In a reasonably up-to-date phone
system you can hope to communicate somewhere in the range of about
40,000–56,000 bps; in the boondocks (or in a city with antiquated equipment)
you may be limited to about 32,000 bps. And even if your local system is state
of the art, if calling to a modem in a place that is less up to date, communica-
tion speed cannot be any faster than the slowest link in the chain.
You can also ask your local telephone company to test the quality of your line
and to report on what it estimates to be its top dial-up speed. But remember
that this has nothing to do with the speed of any link that exists on the other
side of your local phone company’s central office, and you can expect them
to attempt to sell you DSL service.
Troubleshooting a cable or DSL modem .........................................
If you are using a cable modem, check to see if any attached television is still
able to receive the latest poop on Erica, Bianca, and Babe on All My Children
and can also tune in to SportsCenterfor updates on the other soap opera I
follow, the Boston Red Sox. In other words, if the television is not receiving a
useable signal, chances are you’re not going to receive an Internet connection.
However, the fact that the video feed is working does not rule out the possi-
bility of problems with the cable company’s Internet signal. Your best bet
here is to call your cable company (Comcast, Cox, and Cablevision are among
the largest providers) and find out if there are any systemwide outages. This
raises the problem that comes from putting all of your technological eggs in
one basket: If your cable provides Internet, you cannot go to a web site to
check on system status, and if your cable also delivers telephone service,
you may be unable to use an attached phone to reach customer service.
Just for your information, in my home and office I use cable for Internet and
while in the process of writing this book I cut the cord to the telephone com-
pany and added VOIP phone service. But I also maintain a cell phone from a
different provider.So, in theory, I have at least three ways to maintain contact
with the outside world: Internet over the cable, telephone over the Internet,
and a wireless cell phone.
Although you can experiment with a number of settings under Windows, your
best bet is to take advantage of the fact that you are a subscriber to a service.
Call your cable company for a cable modem, or your phone company or an
independent broadband Internet supplier for a DSL modem. Enlist the assis-
tance of their support staff. In many instances, cable companies and DSL
providers provide modems. (They may be included in the service fee or
Chapter 15: Modems: The Essential Translators 237