Network Nostalgia. ♥️
@Mycroft I don't think there were any FCC regulations that prevented 56k from running at 56k-- it was all over regular voice phone lines, so the quality of your connection was usually dependent on how old and well insulated the phone lines to your house were.
We'd just had ours replaced after a storm around the time I upgraded, so I had a super crisp and clear connection, enabling the highest speeds. I frequently managed sustained 6.5Kps downloads! :D