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Titled: Dial Up Is Dead! Long Live Dial Up! Get the Mobile category RSS Feed

Dial Up Is Dead! Long Live Dial Up!

Article Summary: If you're like I was a year ago, you probably think that only about half a dozen people in the world still use dial up. Tops. When I got broadband access I never looked back. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of people I know who use dial up.

If you're like I was a year ago, you probably think that only about half a dozen people in the world still use dial up. Tops. When I got broadband access I never looked back. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of people I know who use dial up.

Well, last year I started working for an internet service provider and at that time they exclusively offered dial up service. I figured there was no future for the company, but I just needed short-term work, so if they went under, I would be okay. Little did I realize that this lesser-known ISP has close to 50,000 customers and is growing. I had the market pegged all wrong.

Why are dial up companies growing?

Certain smaller ISPs are starting to flourish because they offer less expensive service than many of the bigger companies. Their growth is a cannibalization of the market. The little guys are feeding on the big guys. Greater competition has created lower prices, so score one for capitalism. And competition will continue to drive prices down, even though I believe they have nearly bottomed-out. Paying more than $15.00 per month means that you are getting ripped off and paying more than $10.00 per month means you aren't bargain shopping.

Advantages of Dial Up

I'm not about to try and convince you to give up cable for dial up. I get dial up for free and I still pay for broadband. But I am not in dial up's target market and you probably aren't either. Dial up will continue to stick around for a while, though, and here's why:

Dial up is cheap and it's available almost everywhere. According to a 2007 National Telecommunications Cooperative Association survey, the greatest barrier for broadband services is the deployment costs (developing infrastructure). These costs are prohibitive to the expansion of broadband into smaller towns, where fewer customers means a longer time to recoup their expenses. According to the NTCA survey, broadband is available to 80% of the American public. Dial up is currently available to 91%.

Also, $7.00 internet is appealing to many people who live on fixed or low incomes and cannot afford an expensive connection. As much as I use the Net, it can be easy to forget that there are those who really only check e-mail and do very light surfing. For these people, it makes sense to only pay for what they need.

Lastly, dial up is ideal for those consumers who still use old computers. The number of people who still call in needing help setting up their internet connection for Windows 95 and 98 is staggering. Even college students will occasionally bring these systems to campuses (and they are not fun to network).

Where is the internet market heading?

Down the road, broadband will expand far enough and drop in price enough that dial up will have few, if any, advantages. Enough infrastructure will be developed so that broadband access will be available to as large a market as the one dial up enjoys. For now, though, there are still many advantages to dial up and the market will exist for several years.

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Adolph K. Reekie
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