internet connections speed

[spaced]

I am still in the darkl ages and using a 56k modem on dial up. It usually connect at around 52k (never 56k), but recently it has been connect at 45k and 48k, quite low. I have not changed any setting etc. Any ideas????

[fo3nix]

How are you measuring the speed?

The speeds do fluctuate, with sever loads, bandwidth usage, and things like that.

[spaced]

i just let my mouse hover over the two screens in my icon area on the toolbar (XP) and it says there at what speed it is connected at.

[kempie]

When a modem encounters noise, the 56Kbps modem protocols will step down the speed of the connection until they have a speed that they can maintain error free (after accounting for error correction protocols). Even on the cleanest of real world phone lines, connecting and maintaining 50Kbps is a rare thing. In practice, you are doing well to be getting between 45Kbps and 48Kbps.