The modem alters the digital data from the PC to an analogue signal that is compatible with a phone line and then does the opposite with the information received, changing it into digital information.



What is a modem? Modem stands for Modulator/Demodulator. The name derives from the technology used in modems, which takes a digital signal and either converts it to an analogue signal (Modulates it) or converts an analogue signal back into a digital signal (Demodulates it).

ISPs

Internet service providers. The companies who provide you with access to the internet via a dial up phone number.

Dial up is the original method of connecting to the Internet and is still used in many places around the world despite the arrival of ADSL. It provides a reasonably cheap way to access the resources on the Internet and access to email accounts.

Unlike broadband it uses a phone line, so only one person can be on the Internet or use the phone at any given time. However, this problem can be solved by installing another phone line with a separate number.

Dial Up vs. Broadband

There are obvious advantages to choosing broadband over dial up, not least of all being the speed; but if you are only looking to use the internet for emailing and occasional research then dial up may suit better.

Speed varies greatly between dial up, ISDN and Broadband. With almost all dial up modems running at 56k, they lack the speed of a dual ISDN line or Broadband. Dual ISDN runs at 128kbps and Broadband can run up to 4mb.

Most of the dial up providers now offer a broadband connection and use the same service line as the other so there is not a lot of difference between the online help of the two kinds.

There are some companies who have better service and help than others in both dial up and broadband.

In terms of availability there are some places in the country that are still unable to get dial up but the percentage of coverage area is around 98%, there is a greater number of places in the country that cannot access broadband or ISDN.

Twenty six percent of EU consumers now have broadband at home. In the next couple of years, European broadband will continue to grow at a healthy pace thanks to the large installed base of dial-up users.

However, from a demand-side perspective, high broadband growth rates are not sustainable. A key long-term broadband growth challenge remains shifting the PC adoption rates upward, and in countries like France, there are few dial-up users left to convert to broadband.

Nearly 60% of European dial-up users haven't converted to broadband because they see no need for it and they find it too expensive. And 64% of EU dial-up users don't know when they will migrate to broadband.

So interestingly dial up is not dead, long live dial up.