Data transmission speed is considered as the most important aspect of the dial up connection. A common misconception many people believe is once you connect to your ISP at a certain speed it remains that speed the entire time you are connected. This is incorrect assumption. The truth is that the speed may vary over a certain period of time. The speed any go up or down or sometime it may come to hold for a certain period of time and then resume.

No matter what your modem reports to you as your connection speed it may not be the true speed. Both phone line quality and modem type play a major part in the actual data throughput you receive when downloading data from the Internet. If the phone line is of good quality then the data will flow at high speed else it may not reach a high speed or go down due to errors. Similarly, different modems can support different speed. Basically overall speed depends upon overall quality of the connection hardware. However, throughput is more important than connection speed.

Most of the dial up users would have noticed that during the initial connection process, the modem makes hissing and screeching sounds and then it goes quiet. The hissing and screeching is called training or synching. It is during this part of the connection process that your modem establishes connection with ISP’s modem and they are talking to each other to figure out at what speed they can reliably send and receive data to one another. After this process is completed, operation system shuts off the modem's speaker so you will not listen to all the other noise it makes.

If the modem detects any change in the phone line conditions, then it will go through the training or synching process again. While it is retraining, no data will flow through the connection which is why sometimes things just seem to stop working and the modem lights does not flash. In most cases, the modem will start sending data again after it is done with the retraining process. This would usually take anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds, sometimes it will disconnect if the retrain attempt failed.

Different modems have different ways of handling phone line noise and retraining. Some modems will connect lower and then as time passes it will slowly work its way up. Some other modems may connect high and then train down over the duration of the call. Windows only reports the connection speed you initially connected. Unfortunately, there is no real way for you to know what your throughput is using that information. Instead one thing you can do is get a program that monitors your incoming and outgoing data through the modem in real time. If your throughput is not good then probably you will need to check you modem and phone lines.

More Useful Information on Free Dialup Connections, Internet, Broadband, Modems..

1. ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) FAQ's
2. What is ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)?
3. Choosing Correct ISP.
4. Data Transfer in Dialup Modem.
5. Dialup Connection Modem Issues.
6. Dialup Connection Speed and Throughput.
7. Dialup Connection and your Telephone Line..
8. Dialup Connection with V.92 Modem.
9. Effect of Additional Phone Equipment on Dialup.
10. Effect of Electromagnetic Interference on Dialup Connection.
11. Evolution of Dialup Connection Speed.
12. The Evolution of Dialup Modems.
13. Features of Dialup Internet Access.
14. What is ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)?
15. Introduction to Dialup Connection.
16. Minor Issues Causing Dialup Connection Failure.
17. Main Features of a Good ISP?
18. Main Types of Hardware Modems.
19. Modem and Dialup Connection Speed.
20. Non Dialup Connections.
21. Premium Rate Dialup Connection Fraud.
22. Remote Access Numbers Dialup Scam.
23. Speed up the Initial Connection Process.
24. Steps To Check if your Modem does not Dial.
25. Steps to Troubleshoot Slow Dialup Connection Speed.
26. Types of Modem.
27. Understanding the High Speed Dialup Connection.
28. Understanding Internet Connection Terminology.
29. Understanding the Working of a Modem.
30. V.92 Modem Technology FAQ.