generates a trouble ticket indicating that the xdsl service via which the user normally accesses the internet has failed in an alternative embodiment which is particularly useful when the effected user is not present the user 39 s computer automatically enables the dial up modem to access the internet by capturing and storing one or even several trouble tickets indicative of apparent xdsl service failures the xdsl service provider isp can obtain a high level view of its xdsl network and quickly detect and correct instances of failure fig1 is a schematic illustration of a network topology including the identification of an applet 170 for implementing aspects of the present invention a personal computer pc 100 includes a dial up modem 110 connected to a telephone line 115 pc 100 is connected to xdsl modem 120 in the conventional manner those skilled in the art will appreciate that xdsl modem 120 can be a stand alone device as shown can be incorporated directly into pc 100 or can be incorporated into for example a router not shown a conventional telephone 130 is shown connected to xdsl modem 120 those skilled in the art will appreciate that xdsl service implementation might also require a splitter not shown to effect.