There are many reasons why you may experience dropped connections:

    The stability of an analog connection is affected by the quality of the communication that occurs between two modems; the clearer the communication, the more stable the connection.

Some of the variables that affect the way modems communicate with each other are as follows:

    Your modem has some incompatibility with the V.90 protocol. This protocol is dynamic so it renegotiates the baud rate periodically according to the level of noise or static in the line. If your modem has an older V.90 implementation it may not respond correctly to the baud rate renegotiation so it will disconnect when it changes. You can check on www.56k.com or www.driverguide.com to see if you are using the latest driver/firmware for your modem manufacturer. If you plan to use the Internet for extended periods of time, we suggest using a high quality modem like the US Robotics V.90 Faxmodem (not the Winmodem). They generally produce the best connect rates and follow the V.90 standard very closely. Many modems bundled with PC configurations (particularly generic PCs) are not really suitable for active Internet users (in some cases the manufacturer doesn't even have a web site for support).

    The clarity of your phone line. The signal on an analog phone line can be degraded as a result of weather, the distance between your home and the phone company's switching equipment, electrical interference, or anything else that affects the transmission of electrical impulses along copper wire. If you hear static on the line when you attach a regular phone it is a sure sign that you have a noisy line, but the lack of static is not proof that your phone line is clear enough to establish a high speed connection. In some parts of the country customers can have the local phone company "condition" the line to ensure that the phone line is performing optimally, but even that is no guarantee if your home is a long distance call from the phone company's switching equipment.

    You may have a defective jack. Try plugging your modem into a different phone jack in your home.

    The configuration of your TCP/IP software. Your TCP/IP software tells your computer how to communicate with your modem. If it is configured incorrectly, it will produce errors that will degrade the stability of your connection.

    How well your TCP/IP software loaded into the system at startup. Sometimes the quality of a connection can be improved simply by restarting your computer. Chronic problems with your TCP/IP software, however, may be rectified by uninstalling and reinstalling the TCP/IP system software.

    There may be a problem in the "trunking" between the phone company's switch and Quadnet's equipment. Try dialing a different access number and see if you get the same results. Caution: Quadnet Communications is not responsible for long distance charges.

    Additional telephony devices (fax, phones, answering machines, splitters, etc.) may be producing interference on the phone line, even if they're in a different room. Try disconnecting them and trying to establish a connection again.