Editing Dial-up Internet access (section)

{{Short description|Access to the Internet Via Telephone Line}}
[[File:One analog 56k modem and an ISDN modem from ELSA, one ISDN modem TKR FastLink.jpg|thumb|260x260px|An array of [[Modem|modems]] used to accept incoming calls for dialing-up to the Internet]]
{{Listen
| filename     = Dial up modem noises.ogg
| title        = "Dial up modem noises"
| description  = Typical noises of dial-up modem (North America and United Kingdom) while a modem is establishing connection with a local ISP-server in order to get access to the [[Internet|public Internet]].
| pos          = right
}}

'''Dial-up Internet access''' is a form of [[Internet access]] that uses the facilities of the [[public switched telephone network]] (PSTN) to establish a connection to an [[Internet service provider]] (ISP) by dialing a [[telephone number]] on a conventional [[telephone line]] which could be connected using an RJ-11 connector.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GZFxBgAAQBAJ&dq=rj-11+dial+up&pg=PA67 | isbn=978-1-118-96769-0 | title=The Internet for Dummies | date=2 March 2015 | publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}</ref> Dial-up connections use [[modem]]s to decode audio signals into data to send to a [[Router (computing)|router]] or computer, and to encode signals from the latter two devices to send to another modem at the ISP.

Dial-up Internet reached its peak popularity during the [[dot-com bubble]] with the likes of ISPs such as [[Sprint Corporation|Sprint]], [[EarthLink]], [[MSN Dial-up]], [[NetZero]], [[Prodigy (online service)|Prodigy]], and America Online (more commonly known as [[AOL]]). This was in large part because [[broadband]] Internet did not become widely used until well into the 2000s. Since then, most dial-up access has been replaced by [[broadband]].