Flashback Friday: Dial-up Internet

Prior to the ease of accessing everything with one click, dial-up internet tested our patience and required a certain level of technical skills. Dial-up internet connections used a modem to connect to the internet through a landline phone line. Before broadband internet became widespread, many people used dial-up internet to connect to the web. It was very slow, with typical download speeds of 56Kbps or less, and was often plagued by poor connections and interference from other electrical devices. This technology is now obsolete, as it is much slower and less reliable than modern internet connections. By 2007, half of internet users started using broadband connection over dial-up though it is estimated that over a quarter million Americans still use dial-up internet. This is due to the lack of access to broadband internet in rural areas, as well as the cost of high-speed connections. Dial-up connections remain a viable option for those who cannot access or afford broadband services. While dial-up is slower than broadband, it is still a reliable and cost-effective method of accessing the internet. For those who don't need the speed of broadband, dial-up is a viable option to stay connected.