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Dial-Up Internet Connections

If you are one of the many people who still use a dial-up Internet connection, you are not alone.  There is still a fairly large, demographic of dial-up Internet users.  The advent and widespread use of high-speed Internet connections such as broadband and DSL have taken over half of the nation’s dial-up customers. However, dial-up remains a reliable source for Internet connectivity at home and travelling.

How Dial-Up Works

The dial-up concept is the most basic to understand.  In the simplest terms, when you are connecting to the Internet via dial-up or any other high-speed connection, you are connecting a computer to a network through a modem.  In this case, a regular phone line connects your computer to the Internet simply by plugging the phone line into the computer instead of the phone.

Dial-up uses regular copper phone lines.  Keep in mind that a dial-up Internet connection will tie up your phone lines while it is in use.  Features like call-waiting can interrupt the connection and compromise reliability. 

The Dial-Up Customer

Dial-up Internet connections can, however, be ideal for customers who don’t need to use the Internet very often and don’t require high speeds to access the information they need.  With a telephone line and the correct modem on the computer, the Internet is at your fingertips.  Also, this is the least expensive Internet connection on the market today. 

What You Need for a Dial-Up Connection:

  •  an existing phone line
  •  a computer with a modem hook up    

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