Broadband and dial-up are two different methods of connecting to the Internet. With the development of the Internet and the parallel development of computers as viable business tools and useful home information management tools, connecting to the Internet became a priority, and dial-up access was a convenient way to use existing telephone infrastructure. to take out. Broadband connections also run on the telephone system infrastructure, but use unused telephone lines, freeing users from the limitations of dial-up access. Broadband and dial-up Internet connections are available to consumers, but broadband is much more popular.
Dial-up was one of the first ways computers connected to the Internet using a phone line.
A dial-up connection to the Internet requires that the digital code sent by a computer be translated into an analog signal that can be sent over the phone line. When these signals are received by the computer at the other end, they must be translated from analog code to digital code. The computers at both ends of the phone line must be equipped with special devices called modems to perform the translation to and from the digital code. The fact that the computer code is sent as an analog signal limits the rate at which the code can be transmitted to telephone system resources. In general, the larger the size of the file being transmitted, the longer it will take.
The first commercially available modems offered low-speed data transfer rates, and available modems quickly became faster and more sophisticated until they reached a data transfer rate of 56 kilobits, commonly known as 56k. In theory, this is the fastest dial-up connection available due to the limitations of the phone system.
The convenience of using an existing infrastructure, rather than having to build a new one, was accompanied by the disadvantages of being expensive and slow. Each Internet session had to be established separately: the phone line would be accessed, the ISP’s phone number would be dialed, and a separate connection would be established for each Internet session. This process took time and the actual data transfer was slow and could be slower due to a number of variables. For example, signal quality can be degraded by factors such as the distance between the modem and telephone company equipment and the number of subscribers sharing the switch.
In addition to the time required to establish a connection and slow data transfer rates, dial-up Internet access was inconvenient for households with only one phone line. During an Internet session, they were unable to make or receive calls; also, if someone in the house picked up the phone, the Internet connection would be interrupted.
Another factor that contributed to the cost of Internet use was the fact that users had to pay connection fees to the telephone operator for the time they were connected to the Internet, as well as usage fees imposed by the ISP, usually based on time. . full connection. Many users have reported total monthly costs above $250 US Dollars (USD).
Broadband and dial-up Internet connections differ in several ways. Although both use phone lines, broadband does not share a line with a phone. Users are not deprived of the use of their phone while using the Internet and there is no payment to the telephone company for the amount of time spent on an Internet connection. In fact, with a broadband connection, the Internet connection is constant: once installed, the connection is never interrupted, so all the user has to do is open a browser window; no time is wasted establishing the connection.
Data transmission speed is another fundamental difference between broadband and dial-up Internet connections. While dial-up connections are essentially limited to the 56k provided by most modern dial-up modems, broadband connections are capable of much faster speeds, in some cases over a thousand times faster. Most games and other entertainment applications can only be used with a broadband connection.
The consumer’s cost of using dial-up access has dropped significantly because ISPs first stopped charging for time spent connected to the Internet and then lowered their rates to retain customers. Also, most users can take advantage of flat-rate phone usage plans, so they pay the phone company no more than a flat monthly rate for phone usage.
