This is one of our most frequently asked questions. This question is asked the most when the weather is raining or there is a storm.

There could be several reasons for a customer getting disconnected from the Internet. They range from a setting in your computer, to telephone line noise, and yes even a cordless phone could cause this problem.

How would I figure out what is causing the disconnection for me? The best way is to work with one of our staff members who can run a report that could possibly tell us why you are getting disconnected. This report is called a Radius report. A Radius report can only be run on the day you are experiencing the problem, so be sure to call the day your disconnection occurs. This Radius report will tell us the "code" that your modem gave us when disconnecting from the Internet.

How can it be line noise? I don't hear anything out of the ordinary. Please remember that modems talk on a different frequency. The faster your modem the cleaner the telephone lines need to be. Modems can pick up noise that the human ear can not hear.

Foothill.Net pays for digital lines (called PRI's) from the telephone company. These lines are guaranteed to be free of any noise - however the normal household only uses an analog line or what is referred to as voice line quality. Can the regular household consumer get a PRI? The answer is it would not be cost effective for you to do so. These lines are ordered 23 lines at a time. If you find out that you are having line noise you will need to call your local telephone company and have them come out and test your lines; but please remember that you are only paying the telephone company for a voice quality line. The phone company is only regulated to provide voice services on voice quality lines and modems about 4800bps are going beyond the requirements of those minimum regulations. You also need to be aware that the telephone company only tests the line to your house. If you have anything in your house that is causing the problem the telephone company will not be able to go beyond that box on the outside of your house without charging a troubleshooting fee and usually they are not willing to do this even if you are willing to pay for it.

What else could be the reason for a disconnection? Here is a list for you to be aware of:

• Settings in your computer
• Settings in your mail program (Internet Explorer has a setting to disconnect after receiving mail and even a setting to disconnect after 20 minutes please note that you can disable this setting and also change the time frame)
• External Fax machines
• Cordless telephones (especially when the batteries need to be replaced)
• A bad cord on your telephone
• A modem going bad
• The wrong software in your modem
• A setting in your modem (there is a setting to disconnect after 20 minutes again please note that you can disable this setting and also change the time frame)
• Fluorescent Lighting
• A splitter on your telephone.