modem question

[Linda]

I have a computer set up so you can dial in and work on it from another location. Lately I am having problems that if the line disconnects (our phone lines have problems) the computer is not releasing the modem so you then can not call back in and reconnect without having someone on site shutdown the computer and restart it.
My question is should I be looking at settings for the modem or for mgetty to ensure that if the call is broken that ttyS1 is freed back up and the modem is reset so it can answer the new call.  In the past the most I had to do was get someone to turn off the modem and turn it back on in a few minutes to reset everything so you could call in.
                 Thanks
                 Linda