Home FAQ Internet Plans Web Services
1) Faster Modem - The most often is often overlooked. The two most common high speed technologies available for dial-up modems are 56K DataFlex and 56K V.90. Horizonz supports both standards on all its modems.
2) High Quality Telephone Cord - Its true; cheap phone cords can reduce signal strength and quality, thereby contributing to slower connection speeds.
3) Use Data Quality Cabling - When installing telephone wire between the phone company's terminator block and your phone jack inside the house, be sure to use data-quality, twisted pair wire.
4) Minimize other equipment - If possible, use a dedicated phone line. If you are sharing a phone line with a fax machine, plug the modem into the wall and then the fax machine into the "phone" plug on your modem so that no other equipment is between your modem and the telco. Basically, anything you can do to reduce other equipment on the same phone line will improve signal strength and quality.
5) Use an ISP with digital lines - When you place a call, its analog signal is routed from your home to the telco CO (central office) for your area. From there, it is sent digitally to the local CO of the person or modem you are calling. Finally, your call is either reconverted into an analog signal, or forwarded directly as a digital signal. Horizonz uses all digital lines to ensure you get the fastest connection available.
6) Use a phone number close to you - Your distance to your local CO as well as the distance to the number you are dialing may affect your connection speed. Basically, the closer you are, the fewer the number of switches or repeaters your signal may have to go through before arriving at its destination. Each of these devices can cause signal quality and speed loss. This generally occurs only in areas using older telco equipment.
7) Make sure your ISP isn't overloaded - Occasional lag, or lag to certain websites is common on the Internet, but not if your throughput is regularly significantly less than your connect speed, your ISP may be serving more users than it can reasonably handle. This practice is common among large Internet Service Providers. Horizonz has enough bandwidth available to handle full speed for all dial-up customers.
8) Optimize your computer - If you are using Windows 95 or 98, your system is optimized for TCP/IP on a LAN, not on a dial-up connection. Since you access the Internet using a modem, consider using a package such as InternetBoost (http://www.bonzi.com/Support/bstsupport.htm) to optimize your data throughput speeds. Note: This software has no effect on your connection speed, only on the actual throughput speed of data on whatever connection speed your modem has established.
Back to Frequently Asked Questions Page