I have a 33.6 kbps modem and my phone line is routed from the wall outlet to my fax machine to an answering machine/ phone to my internal modem. I've used a program called Modem Wizard to detect the speed, which never seems to go above 12,000 bps. Is the way I've routed the phone cord causing this sluggish modem speed? Should I connect a line directly from the wall socket to my modem for optimal performance? VINCENT LAM Hong Kong By all means connect your modem directly to the wall socket, but I'm pretty sure you won't see any marked difference in speed.
My home setup is much like yours with the exception of the answering machine and there is no difference in speed when the connection is direct modem to wall socket.
Try a different line - preferably one registered with your telecom provider as a 'fax' line - sometime to ensure you are getting optimum line quality. Line noise has a bad effect on data transmission speed.
There are other programs. However, none is foolproof.
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