The A to Z of broadband

Dial-up

Dial-up access, the old connectivity chestnut, uses a modem connection and telephone line to dial into an ISP's node to establish a modem-to-modem link, usually to the internet.

The list from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more...

A is for ADSL
B is for BT
C is for Cable & Wireless
D is for Dial-up
E is for Education
F is for Fibre
G is for Goonhilly
H is for HSDPA
I is for In-flight
J is for Janet
K is for Kingston
L is for Landlines
M is for Murdoch
N is for Next generation
O is for Ofcom
P is for Power lines
Q is for Quad-play
R is for Remote working
S is for Satellite phones
T is for Trains
U is for Unbundling
V is for VoIP
W is for WiMax
X is for Xbox
Y is for YouTube
Z is for Zombies

Until recently dial-up was the favoured and cheapest method of access but it is now predicted to become a technology dinosaur compared to broadband by 2010 when it is predicted to make up only 0.5 per cent of internet connections.

silicon.com columnist Peter Cochrane picked up on the move away from dial-up back in 2005, in this column, when he noted that the need to dial in to an ISP suddenly "seems in the distant past".