It would not surprise me if Earthlink was buying connectivity from 19CL.
That would go a long way to explaining the problems. I know what 32K and up
looks like, and most of the time I seem to be at less than 20K.
I cannot confirm or deny...
I went looking to see if these dialup problems were universal, and I
found that outside metropolitan areas it's still in wide usage, and in areas
where there is no cable service it is the only option.
That is really changing quite rapidly now. Wireless (4G cellular as
well as fixed-wireless) has really taken over for rural. When wireless
doesn't work, there is always satellite. Also, the ILECs are
definitely adding more capability to reach farther distances on
copper, but with the FCC's redefinition of "broadband" it doesn't
matter anymore since no ADSL technology is able to provide what we now
call "broadband". The threshold is now 25Mbps. That can only be
achieved with pair-bonding. Essentially, there is nearly no reason for
dial-up.
A seriously technogeek coworker does a pretty nasty commute to work
every other week. He and his family live something like 11 miles from
the nearest utility pole. But their location is JUST right to have a
line-of-site shot to the nearest cell tower. So, with his generator,
satellite and cellphone, they are as well connected and modern as
anybody anywhere. And he's got Denali right out his window. Their
driveway is like two or three miles long.