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Speed Test

Sudden change in modem performance

Change in connection speed

There are a number of reasons that could explain why a good connection suddenly goes bad:

• Your modem may have been damaged by a surge.
• Devices were added to the line that are creating line noise or interference.
• An electrical appliance or lighting is creating line noise.
• The phone company has added more lines or has changed the routing of calls.

Perform some tests to see whether you can locate the problem:

• Disconnect/unplug all other phones other devices connected to the phone line.
• Take a long phone line cord and plug one end into the modem's line jack and other end into the test jack in your Telco interface box outside the house, the "demarc". If you get good connects with that hookup, it indicates that the problem is something inside your house.
• Remove any surge protectors. Those that rely on a ground connection by the AC power receptacle are prime suspects for introducing line noise.

Large variation in connection speeds

A change in connection may be related to Internet traffic or the weather. If the change in connection speed seems to occur intermittently, the cause may be attributable to one of the following:

1. Internet traffic - If you are connecting during "peak" hours (early evening) you may see some change in your connection speed.

2. Call routing - To compensate for heavy traffic on the phone lines, the Telco may change the call routing at certain times of day. Thus, your connection speed may be higher at some times than others and a dial-up around the corner may get a higher or lower connection speed than yours. One route may have multiple A/D conversions which prohibit a 56k connection. Further, due to call routing, a connection to one ISP may take a route different than another, resulting in different connection speeds since the phone company may route calls to different local access numbers for the ISPs through different switches.

3. Signal Strength - In addition to changes in call routing, the phone company may lower the "signal strength" on your phone line to compensate for heavy traffic at specific times of the day.

See also Disconnects and Slow Connection Speeds.

 

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