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Yes, 2.5x. The connection speed is greater and the hardware chip set is phenomenal. Can't believe that upgrading my generic 56k modem to this showed a performance gain of up to 250%. The generic modem, which most of have nowadays is pathetic.
Sure, Cable and DSL are great, but do you need to spend [a lot] a month to download your 4k e-mails and read CNN.com. Dial-up connections to the internet are dependent on the quality of your local phone lines. Sure, you can buy an internal modem, but you will not get the kind of bandwidth that an external modem can give you. Not everybody is on Cable or DSL, and not everybody needs that kind of bandwidth. I can get a solid 53.3Kbps connection and you'd be surprised at how fast I can surf and do the common things we do online.
I get great speed, for where I live (15 miles from anywhere) and can use it with the multiple operating systems I have on my computer. :) I made the mistake of upgrading my other modem to the new V.92 standard and it would no longer connect to my ISP so I bought this one. Just don't upgrade to the new standard until your ISP does.
Get this one and your modem problems are over. As far as tech support, you shouldn't need it, but when I emailed US Robotics they emailed me back in 24 hrs. I also switched to XP and it picked the modem right up--I didn't have to install any software. Just turn your computer off, plug it in and turn your computer on--what's so hard about that. I wouldn't want the modems that come with them. In short, this was the easiest modem I ever installed and it has given me totally solid connections and the fastest downloads I ever saw. Before I got the Robotics 5686-03 external (also called Sportster model 0701), I got disconnected several times a day. This is a hardware modem and it doesn't need a software program to run like the.winmodems do--just a driver that is already built into windows.
and answered my question--I suggest email rather than the telephone. I am very satisfied. I have used this model for a year and I have yet to get disconnected from my ISP. I think the people who are having problems with this modem are probably newbies messing with things that should be left alone. Also, buying a serial cable is no big deal.
I can't say the same for the other OS I used to use. I have never had a single disconnect when using this modem under Linux. This is a great modem.
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