Broadband Access Speeds vs. Dial-up

Dial-up connection use existing phone lines to access the Internet and are limited by the relatively low transmission capabilities of phone cords. Maximum connection speeds for dial-up Internet connections are 64 kilobytes per second or kbps. Dial-up connections use a service called a modem to literally call an Internet service provider in order to access the Internet. Once the standard in Internet communications, dial-up connections only serve to check email and other small tasks online.

Broadband utilizes a cable to give you access to the Internet. This cable connection is permanently open and does not require dialing up the provider each time you want to access something on-line like with dial up connections. Maximum speeds for broadband connections are 10 to 11 Kbps, much faster than any dial-up connection could ever be. All broadband connections are not this fast however, as maximum speeds are determined by the capacity of the cables used and the quality of the server.

To download programs, movies and other items from the Internet, you can use either broadband or dial-up but the length of time it takes to complete the download varies greatly. Broadbands superior, and much faster, connection speed allows you to download even the largest of files, like movies and software programs, within hours. With a dial-up connection only small files, like PDF test files and photos can be downloaded realistically.

Streaming video, which requires a large band with and allows you to view real time videos on the Internet, is just not possible with dial-up, its connection speed is too slow. Likewise, many video games that utilize on-line connections for interactions with other players, will not work with a dial-up connection.