PPP dialup issues.

I thought that this problem was peculiarly to my latest Conexant driver for
Mandrake 9.2, but it happens on Debian as well.

When I dial out, and there is no dial tone, this is ignored, and the modem
goes right through the cycle and reports "No carrier." It used to report
"No dial tone" on the "chatter" dial tone which indicates that there is a
message at my carrier's Message Bank, but no longer - it simply dials over
the top. Also the dial tone, pulse dialing and handshaking are audible in
my soundcard's speakers. It all seems very strange.

I use Kppp. I haven't tried a different dialer, particularly as the problem
seems unrelated to the distro.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

Doug.
--
The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.
- Henry Kissinger.