Slow Dial up Connection

I'm now on my third ISP. A local carrier, Earthlink and now CompuServ.
I'm NEVER able to connect at anything faster than 28800 and most of the time it is 26400.
I do live in a very rural area, but the line sounds "clean" (no static).
I've tried the different protocol V.34, V.90, V.92, but nothing. My PC usually connects at 33 or higher on the same line.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Unless your using an external modem, the difference between the Mac & the PC would be the modem model. I would try a good external modem. I've always had better connect rates with an external modem and the modem of choice for me was a U.S. Robotics v.90. (been a few years)
There are several web sites that have alternate init strings that may help.

Good Luck.