There are many reasons that your 56k modem does not connect at 56k. Alphalink's 56k ports use the v90 protocol, which is the current standard for high-speed dialup connections. However in many situations it is not possible to get a v90 connection, or not possible to get a connection within the upper ranges of the speeds that v90 can use. Possible causes will depend on how far below 56k your connection is.

If you are connecting at 33.6k or below, you are not connecting with the v90 protocol. You should look at our v90 Connection Problems page, where methods for troubleshooting and fixing this problem are explained. If you are connecting above 33.6k, then you are getting v90 connections - read on.

The first thing you need to know about v90 (aka. "56k") connections is that it is impossible to connect at 56k. In fact, it is impossible to connect above 53.3kbps, due to the nature of the Australian telephone network. The highest speed commonly seen is 52k - and most people can not achieve that, as most people do not have the extremely high-quality equipment (modem/phone line etc.) required. Most people achieve speeds ranging from 40k to 50k, while any speed above 44k is usually considered to be good connection speed. Basically, if you are connecting at 48k or thereabouts, be glad - it is unlikely that you are going to be able to get much higher.

If you are connecting at lower speeds (eg. 34 - 38k), the first thing to do with this kind of problem is to make sure that your modem drivers and firmware are up to date. In most cases, driver and firmware upgrades can be downloaded from your modem manufacturer's web site, or can be obtained by contacting your modem manufacturer. In many cases these upgrades can go a long way towards fixing this kind of problem.

Once you have done that, have a read through our Dropout Prevention Guide. Low connection speeds are often caused by the same kinds of problems as dropouts, so most of the advice there also applies to your problem. Pay particular attention to the Line and Exchange issues section of the guide, as this is where the cause of connection speed issues often lies.