Defining Dial-up Internet - By: Bob C Johnson

Dial-up Internet is the dinosaur of internet connections. Dial-up internet is the way most people connected to the internet in the beginning of home computers. The term internet is really a shortened form of internetworking but only internet is used today.

A very short history of the Dial-up Internet:

This form of internet connection basically became available when inventors and other people came up with the concept of standardized protocols in 1982. Then next major step to this type of internet connection was the break up of the Bell system in 1984. This then put the nation’s telephone system into the hands of free enterprise. And with this came private research money and lots of interest which fostered much development. This interest came from people and companies all over the world who then enhanced the dial-up system of internet connections. These connections are via POTS lines, or, Plain old telephone service!

Most phones are really simple analog devices. They send a telephone number to the telephone switch which directs a connection to a router. This is an application of a PSTN or Public Switched Telephone Network. A modem is a short name for modulate-demodulate. A modem sends and receives data between two computers using PSTN to carry the data for the end user.

Thus the dial-up connection to the internet entered the general publics’ homes because they all had a simple analog device or telephone with POTS lines.

The external technology or infrastructure was already in place. With this in place, all that was required was the technology that could be applied to thousands of home computers.

With the advent of dial-up technology the country was invaded with personal home computers. Compared to today these units were big and slow. Just as was the connectivity ability. It was really bad when everyone got home from work and turned on their computers. Boy did that take a long time to connect. You had to sit and wait as the screen repeatedly showed redialing the connection. And of course you could not use your telephone line when the computer was connected.

Dial-up technology is still used today. There are ways that you can use dial-up connections and also use your telephone. It’s all a matter of technology. Dial-up connections is cheaper. It used to be that incoming calls were free so actually a dial-up connection was cheap. It is still cheap today. It is also the form of back up for most other types of internet connections. You can program your computer to go to dial up with a few modifications. Of course you do have to have a telephone line. A lot of homes today do not have a telephone with a permanent telephone connection; they have since evolved to cell phones and no land lines. So those POTS lines may not work any more.

Dial-up connections are still used in rural or remote areas where DSL or a cable line service is not available, with the satellite internet connection an option.

About the Author

Satellite Internet providers high-speed broadband internet service to rural America. WildBlue Provider of high-speed Satellite Internet Service to rural America.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Bob-C-Johnson/106018

Additional Articles From - Home | Communications | Satellite radio