On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:38:48 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote:

It seems to me that a modem should be able to re-connect
without external help;
I wonder if there are ADSL modems around that do this?

Yes, mine does. It also has a configuration setting to not do this.

I'm not sure of the make of the Telecom Italia modem;
it doesn't seem to have any indication on the box.

Guess you need to do some digging to find out what you have then try
and track down a user manual for it. Always assuming that Telecom
Italia haven't put custom firmware onto it that only they can access.

--
Cheers
Dave.