Speed Up Dial-up Connection

A dial-up connection is a connection that uses a telephone line to connect to the Internet. The computer or router uses a device called modem which is connected to the telephone line and uses this connection line to dial into an Internet Service Provider's (ISP) modem to establish a node-to-node where the former node in the user's modem and the latter node is the ISP's modem. Most people today avoid using the dial-up due to the ill-famous dial-up internet service speed. However, in remote places where broadband services are unavailable, people have to rely on this connection. If you are suffering the misery of slow internet service, here are a few guidelines that might help you to speed things up.

For those who are getting confused about the difference in routers and modems let me clear the facts. A router is basically used when a single Internet connection is to be used by many computer terminals i.e. the computer terminals are all connected to the router, and it is the job of the router to route the data packets meant for a particular computer exactly to that computer terminal. Now, a modem when connected to the computer terminal, enables the computer to get access to the Internet connection through phone line or cable.

Normally, the modern modems allow a speed of 56 kbps (kilobits per second) conceptually. Nevertheless, factors like noise in the telephone line can affect the speed of the connection considerably, rendering an actual speed of 40 kbps. It will give worst performance in too noisy areas, specially, if the telephone line has shared users like when a single phone line is further divided to many extensions. Sometimes, inefficient connection infrastructure can cause the dial-up to slow down.

Accessing a Faster Dial-up Connection

• Check if your modem is properly installed or not. If you think something is wrong, uninstall the entire set up and re-install by reading the manual instructions carefully. If you cannot do so, call a professional to check the connections.
• If you have test program that can test the connection, follow the manual guidelines and test the connection. If you are not provided with the testing software, call your ISP for testing the connections.
• Plug a phone set into the phone line that you are using for the dial-up connection to check for noise. If the noise is too much, call the telephone company technician to examine the reason for noise. The noise can be due to faulty or damaged telephone wires used for connecting the computer to the phone line or from the phone line to the telephone pole. Another reason can be, if someone in the neighborhood is sharing your phone line without your knowledge.
• Use the latest basic software for your modem device to obtain added and effective performance.
• Set your internet connection speed to maximum by going to the Control Panel - Modems - Properties.

The time delay or latency of the dial-up connection generally prevents the users from using online applications that feature considerable speed requirements. Online games are the best examples of such applications since, the advanced graphics options that are included in these games need high-speed for streaming the data. Same logic applies for playing high quality videos and for video conferencing too. It is not impossible to use the above features on a dial-up, however, it is difficult due to the speed factor which is a major drawback of dial-up connections.

Sometimes, just managing the computer memory well can improve the speed of the dial-up. Defragment the computer logical drives once in a while, the space that frees up can add speed to the overall computer performance. Scanning the computer with an antivirus software can help to eliminate computer viruses that enter the system through web pages. This will enhance the performance further. Many such small steps can enhance the capacity of the computer to a significant extent and can help to upgrade your internet connection speed.