Frequent dropped internet connection

For the past 45 days or so I've been experiencing frequent dropped connections. Tonight I was playing a mmorpg for a few hours. At 8:00 pm, 9:00 pm, 10:00 pm and 11:00 pm my internet connection was lost. Each time it happens the duration is about 5 seconds and then my internet connection is restored. As mentioned above, this has been occurring for around 45 days. It is only noticed when gaming because of the brevity of the lost connection, i.e. when going through email or reading a blog it wouldn't be as noticeable. Any ideas as to why this is happening?