According to one guy in this thread:
http://www.eqemulator.net/forums/showthread.php?t=28498
He was able to fix the problem completely by getting a newer router/modem from his cable company. I don't know if that would fix it for others out there, but it is the last possibility that I know of. Are all of you guys using wireless connections to your router, BTW? Make sure that you never have port 5998 forwarded on your router to any of the PCs at your house. The main reason for this is because if there are 2 people who play at your house and the port is forwarded to one of their PCs, the other PC won't be able to connect. Also, are any of you running/downloading/uploading torrents or P2P files currently? I highly suggest closing out any of those types of programs for ALL PCs on your network before trying to play online.