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Getting a 56 kbps Connection

AT&T Worldnet Service is a customer of your local phone company (telco), just like you.

AT&T Worldnet Service supplies a bank of modems and the hardware required to make them work. This is the connection to the Internet. It is called a POP (Point of Presence).

You supply a computer with a modem. You have a choice. It can be a non-56 kbps modem (V.34) or it can be a 56 kbps modem.

If your modem is 56 kbps, it can come in three distinct flavors; KFlex, X2 or V.90.

The trick is to have a modem of the same type as your ISP (Internet Service Provider). If they have KFlex modems at the POP, you need to have a KFlex modem. The same is true for X2 or V.90. The different flavors don't work very well together. They each have their own way of sending and receiving data. The various 56 kbps technologies don't work any better together than 33.6K modems would. Well maybe slightly better, because of the digital link from AT&T Worldnet Service to the POP.

AT&T Worldnet Service uses the V.90 protocol, based on X2 technology. The new trick is to get the latest updated flashes and/or driver files for your modem. Earlier V.90 firmware has some compatibility and stability problems. The newer the firmware, generally the fewer the problems. Firmware should be downloaded from the customer's modem manufacturer. That way, if anything goes wrong you will have support.

You are also responsible for the line from your modem to the local phone company interface. This includes the wire coming out of the back of your computer to the phone jack, AND the wire from the phone jack to the place where the telco hooks up their line. This might be a few feet of wire or hundreds of feet, depending on how your location is wired.

The local phone company is responsible for the wires from your house to the POP.

AT&T Worldnet Service is responsible for the POP and its connection to the Internet.

Now here's the hard part. To get a 56 kbps connection (33.6 to 53.3) you need a high quality phone line.

Who supplies that?

Your local phone company.

Why don't they have high quality lines for everybody?

There are a couple of reasons:

1. They don't have enough money, it would cost a bundle.
2. They are not required to supply you, the customer, with anything better than a voice grade line. After all they are in the voice business.

So what do I do? I've got the right modem, AT&T Worldnet Service has the right modem and I still don't get a 56 kbps connection!

Now we're getting down to the nitty gritty. The problem is most likely your phone line.

The problem could be anywhere, from the wire coming out of your computer all the way to the Internet.

But that can't be right! I get a really good connection to my other ISP!

The local telco can connect your call in any number of ways. It could send it around town three times before it goes to the house across the street. The telco switches routes based on traffic patterns and available circuits. So the way you get to where you want to be is VERY important. If the AT&T Worldnet Service POP were located exactly where the other ISP is located, the connection would be very similar. Because of the routes available at different times, the connection to anywhere could be drastically different. Have you ever had a noisy phone connection and then called right back and the line is cleaner?

The thing you need to remember is you are making a local call to the POP. How it gets there is totally the responsibility of the local phone company. Your computer and modem turn pictures and words into squeaks, squawks, beeps and buzzes and vice versa. AT&T Worldnet Service puts them on or retrieves them from the Internet. If the squeaks, squawks, beeps and buzzes don't get to and from the POP in good condition AT&T Worldnet Service can't do anything about it.

That's a big help! How do I find out where my problem is and how do I get it fixed?

First, check to make sure that you have the latest updated flashes and/or driver files for your modem.

If that doesn't solve your problem, check out the entire connection. You can do that by following the instructions on the following page:
Testing your Line for 56 kbps Access Capability

Then, post the results (there are three pages, including your access number and the make and model of your modem) to the worldnet.help.hardware.modems.56 kbps newsgroup.

Post ALL the results! Some will look like garbage, but that's what needs to be analyzed. Some of the procedures that you might be asked to try can be found in our Connectivity FAQ.

There are some very experienced modem users that hang out at that newsgroup, and they will gladly assist you in understanding why you may not be getting 56 kbps speeds with that shiny new 56 kbps modem you just bought. They may even be able to tell you what to do about it.

The problem could be your modem, the wiring at your location, the route to the POP or the POP itself.

The only thing that is absolute is, they will absolutely try to help you get a 56 kbps connection. Sometimes they can't, but sometimes they can. Whatever the outcome, let them know the result of their efforts.

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