Just remember that rates above 33k are only achieveable if at least one of you has a digital phone line (in the UK anyway, I can't speak for the US or inded Japan)

That's what my cisco certified mate said anyway - rates above 33kbits are only possible if the ISP has a digital line (they all do here) and you have a digital exchange. Between two analogue modems you can get 33k apparently. Also, rates are variable depending on the quality of the line (my personal record for a 56k modem on a really good phone line was 54k, I've seen much less)

Gosh this broadband is good