Today it was rainy and damp outside, and the best dial-up connections I got ranged from 9.6 to 16.8 Kbps. Normally the rate is in the 20s or 30s. Does the weather affect my dial-up speed or is this coincidental?

Howie Williams
Rochester, New York

Certainly the weather can affect your analog modem connection speed, but that's a sign that something isn't right in your telephone wiring. If damp weather changes the electrical conditions on your cable to the degree that the speed your modem can negotiate is reduced, then there are problems either in the drop from the telephone company to your house or even, perhaps, in your house. Where is the cable getting wet? Is the junction box on the outside of the building dry on the inside? Does the wiring from the junction box into the house touch the ground or get wet at any other point?

Your local exchange carrier will charge you to work on your inside wiring (if you didn't elect to include that coverage in your phone service) but asking for a service call might be worth the cost.