Answer Line: Pause Your Modem to Answer the Telephone

Put the Web on hold to answer the phone, set up stretch-break reminders on Norton AntiVirus.

My modem and telephone share the same phone line, and I often miss important calls because I'm online. Is there a way to detect incoming phone calls while I'm connected to the Internet? If so, will I be given an option to stay connected, or do I have to disconnect to pick up the phone call?

Chan Chek Yuen Negeri Sembilan, West Malaysia

You need a modem that notifies you of a call and gives you the option to go offline and pick up the phone. The good news is that the new V.92 modem standard offers this capability. The bad news is that your ISP probably doesn't support V.92 yet. The best news is that at least two manufacturers' modems offer this feature without V.92's need for ISP cooperation.

All call-notification modems--V.92 and otherwise--require that you have the call-waiting telephone service, which allows incoming phone calls to interrupt your current call. You can order call waiting through your phone company for about $4 a month, plus an activation fee.

If you have call waiting and both a modem and an ISP that support V.92, you'll be notified when a call comes in, and given the option to answer the call or ignore it. If you answer it, your modem connection will be placed on hold.

How long you can talk before you sever the online connection depends on your ISP. The company may opt to keep you online for any length of time it chooses: as little as 10 seconds (just long enough to find out who's calling and promise to call them back), for 1 or more minutes, or for an indefinite period. If you're surfing the Web, getting knocked offline should be no big problem, but if you're downloading a file, it could be a major irritant.

By the time you read this, most new modems will likely support V.92. But your ISP may not. Representatives of America Online, EarthLink, MSN, and NetZero told me that their companies hadn't yet decided what to do about V.92. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

And isn't it nice to know you don't have to? Both Action Tec and Zoom sell modems with call-waiting support now, and neither modem needs the cooperation of your ISP. Both companies sell controller-based PCI, serial, and USB call-waiting modems. (Controller-based modems are usually more reliable and more expensive than controllerless modems.)

Action Tec's Call Waiting Modem handles incoming phone calls better than Zoom's equivalent device. Street prices start at just over $50. When the Action Tec modem receives a call-waiting signal from the phone company, it rings. If you pick up the phone, the modem connection goes on hold for about 7 seconds--enough time for you to say "I'll call you right back" or "Can you hold until I finish this download?" If the other party doesn't hang up, he or she will be on the line when you pick up the phone again.

By contrast, Zoom's modems break the online connection the moment you pick up the phone. All of the company's controller-based V.90 modems support call waiting, and a free program called Channel 2 adds call-waiting support without requiring ISP involvement. If you're online when a phone call comes in, the Channel 2 software will pop up a dialog box that gives you the option to disconnect and pick up the phone. Channel 2 doesn't come with all Zoom modems. Prices for Zoom's controller-based modems begin at about $70.

Send your questions to answer@pcworld.com. Answer Line pays $50 for published items. You can find Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector's humorous writing at www.thelinkinspector.com.

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