The most common way to access the Internet from home is using a dial up connection. In this case, you need to connect with a modem and a phone line to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Your computer connects via modem to the ISP using an access number provided by your Internet Service Provider. You will be prompted to provide a user name and password which will be unique to your account. The provider’s computer in turn is connected to the Internet with a high speed link. Most ISPs have several access numbers or Points of Presence (POPs) as they are often called.

Standard telephone line uses an analog signal to transmit audio information from your home or office to the local telephone company. A dial up modem modulates a digital signal from your computer into an analog signal that can be easily transmitted over the regular telephone network. On the ISP’s computer it gets demodulated by special modems. This modulation and demodulation process is the process that causes the screaming noises that you always hear at the beginning of a dial up Internet connection.

The major limitation of a dial up connection is its dependency on phone line. The regular analog modems are restricted to the voice telephone network. They only use a small portion of the available bandwidth that could be transmitted over your phone line. The maximum amount of data that you can receive using an ordinary modem is determined by the quality of your phone line. The highest speed that you could achieve is 56kbps. It is generally restricted to 40 to 45 kbps.

The presence of the ISP’s in a particular location does vary. Some metro cities and areas with high densities of corporate offices may have several ISPs. Here it is possible that the prices of internet account have prices down significantly due to strong competition. In more rural parts of the country you may only have a few ISPs to choose from and prices will be somewhat higher. Due to high competition, most dial up accounts provide more than a simple connection from your computer to the Internet. They typically also include such services as:

• An e-mail account for you to send and receive e-mail
• A personal web page (often called home page) for you
• Access to Internet newsgroups

Here it is important to note that the data in this kind of e-mail account resides on ISP’s computer. This is because these additional services are provided on the ISP's computers. Some dial up accounts may also include specific features such as a UNIX shell account.
This will enable you to receive e-mail even when your computer is not connected to the Internet. The most important issue when choosing an ISP is to find one with a local access number for you to dial. Otherwise, the phone tolls may cost you more than the ISP itself. Overall, the dial up access is a real boon for the home internet users.

More Useful Information on Free Dialup Connections, Internet, Broadband, Modems..

1. ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) FAQ's
2. What is ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)?
3. Choosing Correct ISP.
4. Data Transfer in Dialup Modem.
5. Dialup Connection Modem Issues.
6. Dialup Connection Speed and Throughput.
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11. Evolution of Dialup Connection Speed.
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16. Minor Issues Causing Dialup Connection Failure.
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19. Modem and Dialup Connection Speed.
20. Non Dialup Connections.
21. Premium Rate Dialup Connection Fraud.
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30. V.92 Modem Technology FAQ.