Internet Connection Icon Only Displayed Sporadically

I am running Windows XP and I have a D-Link router, using a broadband cable
Modem. My question is;

Usually and sporadically, there are two icons on my taking bar, in the lower
right hand corner of my screen. One indicates "Local Area Network" and the
other indicates Internet Connection. The Internet Connection icon seems to
only be displayed sporadically. I have checked Control Panel~ Network
Connections and I see only the "Local Area Network" item when I check to see
that it is supposed to be displayed, it is checked that it is.

The Internet Connection icon is only displayed sporadically. It does seem to
impact connectivity for the internet. My uploading of web pages and response
time to and from web sites is painfully slow. When the Internet Connection
icon is displayed, my response times are more in-line for what they should
be, for a broadband cable modem connection. When the Internet Connection icon
is displayed and I check to see that it is enabled to be displayed via,
(Control Panel~~ Network Connections~~ Right Click on Internet Connection and
Select Properties on The General Tab), it is check that it should be
displayed.

Why does the sporadic loading of the Internet Connection icon happen? How
and what must I do for this feature to be there all of the time and function
dependently?