56k Modem Support

This is a "Help" page for 56K access to Easynet. Much of the document will direct you to use your modem instructions as each modem is different, and has different drivers and set-ups.

To use 56K on Easynet, your modem must support 56K flex or the V90 standard. You might need to check your modem can use either of these 2 standards. Sometimes old 56K modems need a "firmware download" to work with either of these standards. They often only have 33.6K access built-in as delivered, or are labelled 56K X2. Again your modem instruction manual should confirm this.

Great, all that you should need to do now is change the number you dial into. The Easynet dial in number is a special number that works as a local call anywhere in Australia 0198307019. To change this number follow the instructions below. 

1. Double Click on "My Computer"
2. Double Click on "Dial Up networking"
3. Right Click on Easynet Internet, and left click on Properties
4. Enter the telephone number. Leave area code blank
5. If ticked, untick 'use country code and area code'
6. Then click on OK

1. Go to Apple Menu, then Control Panel, then PPP
2. Enter the telephone number
3. Click OK

1. Click on the icon you use to connect to Easynet, usually called Easynet Internet.
2. Click on Properties
3. Enter the telephone number
4. Click OK

This standard was phased out, and replaced by the new V90 standard. It is similar, but not compatible. Your modem MUST support Flex or V90 to work at 56K with Easynet. Contact the supplier of your modem if you think it is X2, as they might have brought out a Flex or V90 upgrade for your modem. (NOTE, if your modem only supports X2, then you may still be able to connect, however you will only be able to connect at a maximum speed of 33.6K. 

This section is to tell you a little about 56K access, and what to expect. It may help if you think 56K access isn't working properly.

56K access, (V90 or Flex as it's technically called), isn't much different to 33.6K. You still use your modem, you still use the same telephone line, and connection to Easynet is much the same. Telstra  only guarantee your telephone lines for 9.6K data access. Modems can often push this up to 33.6K by using a little magic inside the modem. To get more than 33.6K the real difference is at the Internet Service Providers end. We install digital trunk lines from the telephone exchange, and feed them into a digital chassis called an ISDN frame. It has the digital equivalent of modems in it. By removing the analogue link between the exchange and use higher speeds are possible. Now the only normal analogue section of telephone line is between your premises and your local telephone exchange. This has therefore reduced the length of the normal quality telephone line, and replaced the remainder with High Speed telephone lines, therefore increasing the quality of the connection, and improving the overall telephone line connection speed for 56K modems.

When you connect with V90 of Flex, you will never actually connect at 56K. The term 56K is the marketing term and represents the theoretical "laboratory" maximum if there was zero length telephone line between your modem and the telephone exchange. Usually, you should expect speeds around 42-46K, and if you live near the local telephone exchange, and the phone lines and the exchange fairly new, then you may get as high as 50K. If you don't see speeds much above 33.6k it doesn't mean your modem or Easynet has a problem, it simply means that this is the highest speed you can get with the telephone line that runs from your house to your telephone exchange. Additional hardware on the same telephone line as your modem may seriously reduce maximum speed (additional telephones, fax, answering machines, line director units).

This typically means your modem is trying to connect at a speed that is higher than the telephone lines between you and your local telephone exchange can reliably manage. To fix this you cap the maximum rate of your modem at an intermediate speed. This is done by putting an initialisation string into your modem set-up parameters, following the modem manufacturers instructions from their web site. A commonly used string is of the form:

&F+MS=56,1,300,42000,1,0

For many brands of modem this string would cap the maximum speed to 42K. You can experiment with higher maximums by changing 42000 in the script to a higher value, e.g. 46000 or 48000.

Modem strings from various manufacturers modems can be found elsewhere in this reference manual.

If you are still having problems, consult your modem manual first, and if this doesn't help, then contact Easynet