Editing Internet access (section)

====Dial-up access====
{{main|Dial-up Internet access}}
{{Listen
|filename = Dial up modem noises.ogg
|title = "Dial up modem noises"
|description = Typical noises of a dial-up modem while establishing connection with a local [[Internet service provider|ISP]] in order to get access to the [[Internet]].
|pos=right}}
Dial-up Internet access uses a modem and a phone call placed over the [[public switched telephone network]] (PSTN) to connect to a pool of modems operated by an ISP. The modem converts a computer's digital signal into an analog signal that travels over a phone line's [[local loop]] until it reaches a telephone company's switching facilities or central office (CO) where it is switched to another phone line that connects to another modem at the remote end of the connection.<ref name=Network>{{cite book|last=Dean|first=Tamara|title=Network+ Guide to Networks, 5th Ed|year=2010}}</ref>

Operating on a single channel, a dial-up connection monopolizes the phone line and is one of the slowest methods of accessing the Internet. Dial-up is often the only form of Internet access available in rural areas as it requires no new infrastructure beyond the already existing telephone network, to connect to the Internet. Typically, dial-up connections do not exceed a speed of {{val|56|ul=kbit/s}}, as they are primarily made using modems that operate at a maximum data rate of 56&nbsp;kbit/s downstream (towards the end user) and 34 or 48&nbsp;kbit/s upstream (toward the global Internet).<ref name="howstuffworks" />