The connection speed chosen is affected by many factors such as your telephone line and the equipment at the other end of the link. It is quite normal for your Pace 56k modem to connect at speeds lower than the theoretical maximum of 56 kbps. This is because your Pace modem has determined that this is the highest reliable connection speed possible for this particular call.
Your particular telephone line may be slightly noisier which will cause the connect speed to be around 42000 bps rather than a figure typically around 50000 bps which may be possible on a different telephone line. | 
