You could setup the modem to dial on demand. When the ftp task runs, it'll connect. It will probably cause lots of false connections though when other software tries to phone home.
I suspect there would be a way to start a connection from within vb. If so, you could use a script task and force the modem to connect.
Cheers,CrispinI can't die, there are too many people who still have to meet me!It's not a bug, SQL just misunderstood me!