v92 ModemOnHold Information

v92 is the latest compression methodology for analog 56k modems. It replaced v90. All modems use compression to squeeze as much data through the modem connection as possible. When a your modem attempts to connect to our modem, the two devices send information back and forth to establish each others capabilites. Once this information is exchanged, the modems agree on a connection speed and finish connecting. The connection speed will be at the highest method supported by both modems unless the phone line conditions dictate a lower speed.

v92 Features

v92 has three major advantages over v90.

1. v92 connects faster. The negotiation between modems is simpler and faster than v90 meaning a shorter time to arrive on the Internet. v92 should connect in half the time as v90.
2. v92 has higher upload speeds. The information you send from your computer to the Internet is faster. This includes e-mail attachments and everything you click. The specification maximum in v90 is 31200 bps while the maximum in v92 is 48000 bps.
3. v92 supports ModemOnHold. This is the biggest advantage of v92. If you have call waiting from your phone company, you can place your Internet connection on hold while you take another call.

ModemOnHold

ModemOnHold will allow you to place your Internet connection on hold while you take a voice call. In order for this to happen, a number of factors must be in place.

• Both modems (yours and ours) must support the v92 standard. Almost all modern modems including hardware and software modems (winmodems) do support the v92 standard. More than 15,000 of our access numbers support v92. The remaining 4,000 have not provided any information and may or may not support v92. In any case, all of our modems support either v92 or the older v90 56k technology.
• The current connection must be using v92. If the phone line conditions do not allow connecting at speeds greater than 33300 bps, you will not be using v92 and ModemOnHold will not be available. It is very common in rural areas that the maximum connection speed possble is 26400 to 28800 bps. This is not due to a problem with the modems, it is due to phone company infrastructure introducing noise or an analog to digital conversion that prevents higher speeds.
• You must subscribe to Call Waiting from your phone company. This is an added charge on your phone bill. If you don't subscibe to Call Waiting, the other features of v92 will still work, but ModemOnHold will not.
• You must have ModemOnHold software to manage the modem. Some manufacturers provide this software with your computer such as NetWaiting. Third party sofware includes PhoneTray Pagoo, BuzMe and CallWave. US Netizen does not supply this software.

Caller ID with ModemOnHold

Some ModemOnHold software allows your to see the caller ID of the incoming call. This requires a special type of caller ID called Caller ID on Call Waiting. If you don't have this type of caller ID, you will only see the phone number for the incoming call.

ModemOnHold Software

If you have free software from your modem manufaturer, we suggets that you try it to see if it meets your needs. If you have a Conexant modem, your software is called NetWaiting. If you have an Agere modem, it's called Modem-on-Hold. This software requires that you have Call Waiting from your phone company.

If you don't have this software or want more advanced features, the following vendors provide software through a subscription or purchase. All have a free trial.

Find a v92 Access Number

Most of our access numbers are v92 capable. Use the following to verify the number is v92.

Saturday May 17th, 2008