Connection Speed

What speed should I connect at?

The speed at which you connect to the Internet is determined by a number of factors:

the speed of your modem
the modem type and speed supported at the number you dialed
the quality of the phone lines in your area
the amount of traffic on the Net

Because of all these factors, you should not expect your connection speed to be exactly the same as the speed listed for your modem. Very often it is actually less.

Why doesn't my modem connect as fast as it is supposed to?

The factors mentioned above will affect your connection speed. Again, you should not expect to connect at exactly the same speed as is listed on your modem.

Why doesn't my 56K modem connect at 56K?

Aside from the factors mentioned above, other circumstances prevent 56K modems from actually connecting at 56K. That is actually only the theoretical speed of the modem; in practice, the Federal Communications Commission capped the connection speed at 53K, and real-world access is generally in the 35-45K range for these modems. Despite these limitations, 56K modems still attain the fastest standard modem speeds currently available on the market.

What does v.34 mean?

v.34 (pronounced "V-dot-thirty-four") is the name of the international standard established for modems connecting between 28.8Kbps and 33.6Kbps.

What does V.90 mean?

v.90 (pronounced "V-dot-ninety") is the name of the international standard agreed on for all 56K modems. Before that standard was reached, there were two different proprietary standards for 56K modems: one called x2 and supported by 3Com/U.S. Robotics; the other called K56flex and supported by Rockwell and Lucent.

What is bandwidth?

Bandwidth is the amount of information (usually measured in bits-per-second) that can be sent through an Internet connection. Bandwidth is commonly compared to a water pipe — a large pipe (a high-bandwidth connection) can carry more water (information) than a small pipe (a low-bandwidth connection).

What is throughput?

On the Internet, throughput measures the speed of a communications channel or connection. A connection's throughput is the number of bytes per second it can transfer. Throughput is closely related to bandwidth.

How can I connect to the Internet faster?

EarthLink offers a range of services for high-speed Internet access options, including ISDN (see below), cable, and frame relay.

What is ISDN?

Integrated Services Digital Network. A special kind of high-speed phone service that allows simultaneous voice and data transmission over the same phone line. ISDN lines provide transmission speeds of around 128Kbps, or double the fastest modems.

Is ISDN only for businesses?

No. EarthLink offers ISDN service for both homes and businesses.

What is LAN ISDN?

LAN ISDN allows you to connect a small- to medium-sized office network to the Internet using a single ISDN line.

What is frame relay?

Frame relay is a high-speed networking protocol popular for connecting multiple local-area networks (LANs) across remote distance.

Here is our take on various connections

Cable - Speeds vary dramatically 1-5 Mbps - plus there can be a serious slowdown due to congestion from too many users. Accelerator software can help increase web speed with various optimizing routines. Many cable companies offer a special combined deal with cable TV and internet access together. Usually you have the same IP number unlike dialup modems where you are usually assigned a different number every time you connect. So with cable, you usually have less anonymity and more security risk as your internet connection is on constantly and hackers are more able to easily zero in on your constant IP designation.

DSL - Various setups 1.4+ Mbps. The speed can also fluctuate depending on the distance from the central connection switch. With cable connection slow-down a growing problem, many users are seeking a good DSL provider.

ISDN - Dual-channel is 128 Kbps. Single-Channel is 64Kbps. Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) includes integrated services to help speed up fax delivery, etc.

56K Dialup - Usually much less than 56Kbps. Dialup speeds vary by the quality of the phone line and the many different user configurations. You can connect to your ISP account from most computers. When you disconnect, you are truly disconnected unlike most always on high speed plans which pose somewhat of a security risk. Usually you will be assigned a slightly different IP number every time you connect providing some anonymity. Web accelerator software designed to boost your speed can really help with these connections.