Dial-up

A type of connection that is established using a modem. To make the dial-up connection the modem must be connected to an active phone line that is not in use. The modem will pickup the phone and dial a number where another computer is located. Once a connection has been made the two computers will be able to talk to each other and transmit data allowing the user to check his or her e-mail, browse the Internet, or share files. The first dial-up connection was made in 1965 by Lawrence G. Roberts with MIT with a TX-2 computer in Massachusetts and Tom Marill with a Q-32 at SDC in California.

Today, with the increase of multimedia on the Internet and larger file sizes most users will have a difficult and un-enjoyable time browsing the Internet using a traditional dial-up connection. Most users who have the available option are starting to upgrade to some type of broadband connection, which allows a much faster download and upload.

Also see: Broadband, Dial-Up Network, Modem, Modem definitions