Dial Up Connection in UK

Dial-up connection is a form of Internet access through which the client uses a modem connected to a computer and a telephone line to dial into an Internet service provider's (ISP) node to establish a modem-to-modem link, which is then routed to the Internet.

Dial-up requires no additional infrastructure on top of the telephone network. As telephone points are available throughout the world, dial-up remains useful to travelers. Dial-up is usually the only choice available for most rural or remote areas where getting a broadband connection is impossible due to low population and demand.

Sometimes dial-up access may also be an alternative to people who have limited budgets as it is offered for free by some, though broadband is now increasingly available at lower prices in countries such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom due to market competition.

Modern dial-up modems typically have a maximum theoretical speed of 56 kbit/s (using the V.92 protocol). These speeds are currently considered the maximum possible; in many cases transfer speeds will be lower, averaging anywhere between 33-43 kbit/s. Factors such as phone line noise and conditions, as well as the quality of the modem itself, play a large part in determining connection speeds.

Dial-up connections usually have high latency that can be as high as 200 ms or even more, which can make online gaming or videoconferencing difficult, if not impossible.

Three out of four connections to the Internet are now via broadband in the UK, according to the latest update from the survey of Internet Service Providers (ISP) by the Office of National Statistics “Internet Connectivity – September 2006). In September 2006, broadband connections accounted for 75.2% of all Internet connections, up from 72.6% in June 2006. Dial-up connections continued to decline and accounted for 24.8% of all Internet connections in September 2006. (Office of National Statistics, November 2006)

Dial-up customers often do not believe that broadband would significantly improve their internet experience – given what they currently use the internet for.