Dial-up facts for kids

Dial-up internet access, often just called Dial-up, is a way to connect to the Internet using a regular telephone line. Imagine your computer calling a special phone number to get online! It uses a device called a modem to make this connection. Dial-up was very popular in the past, especially before the year 2000.

When you used dial-up, your computer's modem would dial a phone number belonging to an Internet service provider (ISP). The ISP had special modems waiting to answer these calls. Once connected, you could access websites and send emails. However, this connection was quite slow, much slower than today's internet speeds like DSL or cable internet.

Dial-up was the main way people connected to the internet in many parts of the world during the late 1990s. But around the mid-2000s, faster and more affordable options like DSL and cable modem started to become available. Because of this, dial-up is now not very common.

How Dial-Up Worked

Connecting to the internet with dial-up was a unique experience. Here's how it generally happened:

• The Modem: A modem is a device that changes digital computer signals into analog sounds that can travel over phone lines. It also changes analog sounds back into digital signals for your computer.
• The Phone Line: Your computer's modem would plug into a standard phone jack, just like a telephone.
• Dialing Up: When you wanted to go online, your computer would tell the modem to dial a specific phone number. This number belonged to your internet service provider.
• The Handshake: You would hear a series of strange beeps, whistles, and static noises. This was the modem "talking" to the ISP's modem, trying to establish a connection. This process is called a "handshake."
• Connected! Once the modems finished their "conversation," you would be connected to the internet. However, while you were online, your phone line would be busy. This meant you couldn't make or receive phone calls on that line.

Why Dial-Up Was Replaced

Dial-up internet was a big step forward for its time, but it had some major drawbacks that led to its replacement:

• Slow Speeds: The biggest issue was speed. Dial-up connections were very slow, typically maxing out at 56 kilobits per second (Kbps). This made downloading files, watching videos, or even loading complex websites very time-consuming. Modern internet is often thousands of times faster!
• Busy Phone Line: As mentioned, using dial-up tied up your phone line. If someone tried to call you while you were online, they would get a busy signal. This was inconvenient for families who shared a single phone line.
• Always On: Newer internet types like DSL and cable are "always on." This means your internet connection is constantly active without needing to dial in each time. Dial-up required you to connect every time you wanted to go online.

Today, most people use broadband internet, which includes DSL, cable, fiber optic, or even satellite internet. These options offer much faster speeds and don't tie up your phone line, making them far more convenient for our modern online lives.

Images for kids

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  An active modem from USRobotics, a popular brand.

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  Many modems used by an ISP to provide dial-up internet service.

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  An example of the "handshake" sounds a dial-up modem makes.

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  The back of a TiVo Series2 video recorder, showing its telephone socket for downloading TV guide data.

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  A Sky TV receiver with a telephone socket on its back panel, used for communicating with the company.

See also

In Spanish: Conexión por línea conmutada para niños