The absolute fastest I’ve ever downloaded with my trusty modem is about 10k, although, in theory, I should be able to get at least that fast with a 14k modem. Usually, the fastest I see is about 4 to 5 k. What’s the deal?
Blessed are the Fundamentalists, for they shall inhibit the earth.
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While you will never get up to 56K I think the problem here is you are confusing bits and bytes and several other things.
Modem speed is in bits while file sizes are in bytes. Also, in async transmission it takes more than 8 bits to transmit a byte. On the other hand with compression enabled, it takes less than one bit to transmit one bit… you can see there are many variables.
You can’t even connect at 56K as the phone lines don’t support it- if you mouse over the dial-up icon in your system tray, you’ll see that you’re actually only connecting at ~48K.
Unless you’ve got really high quality phone lines, in which case just ignore my post.
You’re doing OK.
Assuming that your downloads are ZIP files or similar compressed files, you need to download 10 bits (1 start bit plus 8 data bits plus 1 stop bit) for every byte. So teh best that your 56 kilobit per second modem can do is 5.6 kilobytes per second (without compression).
Until recently, the FCC required that your ISPs modems be throttled to 53K maximum. Many ISPs have not yet upgraded their modems to allow 56K.
The major variable is your phone line quality. If you are hitting 5 kilobytes per second at all, you are doing pretty well.
See 56K Modem Info
jrf
I believe over modem it takes 10 bits to transfer a byte. 1 start bit, 8 data bits, and one 1 stop bit. Modem speeds (and network transfer speeds in general) are measured in bits, rather than bytes. While this might seem like a way to make a modem seem faster than it really is, its done because there are different modem protocols; not all require the same number of bits to transmit a byte of actual data. Also, although for many years its been 8 bits=1 byte, this wasn’t always the case, so traditionally modems were measuerd in bits rather than bytes.
Weird no one mentioned it but the phone company, the people who makes the 56k modems, the ISPs all say that the phone line has a limit of 53k. period…
I mentioned it. The 53K limitation was artificial, imposed by the FCC. I have heard that it has been removed, but can’t find any references to prove it. Its removal was definitely proposed last September … see this article.
jrf