Dial up may be your only friend in a world without broadband; it may also be your worst enemy; in an existence otherwise replete with broadband internet connections and users jollily laughing at you. As dial up is “free” there are limited gripes to be had; and actually with the abundance of high speed lines available, getting a dial up line is actually sort of fun. But in a world also with a dwindling majority of people with home phone numbers (“Cellular” becoming the preferred option) it’s difficult to get a grasp on the vibe towards what would be best for you and your needs.

Free dial up is available just about anywhere there is a phone line and a computer. The only time you’d incur charges in using your dial up services is if you paid per call or if your local calls were timed and billed by the minute. Otherwise you’re free to dial up the internet and connect to a local ISP. Your friends who are already connected can tell you where to find dial up in your area. Or you can call your phone provider and query there about where to go next.

Dial up services may be your greatest friend in an hour of need and as I said earlier, they are a clever configuration for the user who is low on funds. However, the speed at which dial up can go, the time it takes to connect, and the likelihood of being “booted off” for no reason whatsoever makes dial up both a blessing and curse.

There is no such thing as high speed dial up. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. While free dialup is typically available and internet dial up is usually available in most markets you do need to be careful of the trap of being tricked into something that doesn’t exist. Just remember, where there’s smoke there’s fire.

Dial up internet service providers fall under the guise of whoever is in your area. They are literally too numerous to mention as they’ve been shocked down from their posts and deregulated so it wouldn’t matter even if we had the space here as they’ve all changed monikers too many times to figure, anyway.

The static and connection sounds of dial up are music to the ears of many. Unfortunately, for some they’ve heard the clarion call one too many times and now all they can say is “I want my DSL.”