Second Phone Line Can Slow Modems, Upset Users
.c The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE (June 1) -- Some people who buy a second phone line for their computers are getting a nasty surprise.
High-speed modems, those things that connect the computer to the Internet over the phone lines, sometimes slow their data processing speeds dramatically. U S West blames aging copper phone lines.
However, some Internet providers believe the company is using the problem to push its own Internet service.
The Baby Bell acknowledges that certain equipment it uses can slow modems. But U S West denies it is taking advantage of the situation to boost its own business.
The Attorney General's Office has received complaints about the slowdowns from angry Web surfers, but wouldn't directly confirm if an investigation is under way. Assistant Attorney General Karen Fisher said, ''We have a policy of not talking about current and ongoing investigations.''
The slowdown is caused when the company installs equipment called ''pair gain'' or ''multiplexers'' to increase the capacity of existing lines, said Peggy Moore, U S West regulatory manager.
While that doesn't affect voice transmission, it can slow data transfer significantly, she said.
Hank LeMieux, president of the New Mexico Internet Professionals Association, thinks the company will be more likely to provide a dedicated phone line rather than a multiplexer to someone who orders U S West's Internet package.
A few Internet providers, he said, have complained that the company will remove a multiplexer from the line of someone who switches to the U S West Internet provider from another service.
Marianne Granoff, an Internet consultant, said she turned over to the Public Regulation Commission, which oversees telecommunications businesses, a handful of e-mail messages from users who complained that the company suggested they switch to U S West's Web product when they called about slow modem speeds.
Moore says the company doesn't give preferential treatment for signing onto the company's Internet offering.
Multiplexer equipment, she said, is installed wherever there are too few existing copper lines to handle demand regardless of whether the customer relies on U S West for Web access.
That's true, but it highlights the company's failure to upgrade its system, said Chuck Noble, PRC legal division director.
AP-NY-06-01-99 0822EDT
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