First of all, there is the old faithful analog dialup internet access. This is the type of access used by the majority of people in Ireland.
Where is it available?
Anywhere there is a phone line
How does it work?
A modem in the computer converts a digital signal into an analogue signal which travels over the phone line as sound. At the other end, another modem converts it back to a digital signal and it goes on its merry way to wherever you are travelling on the 'net. Depending on the modem used and the modem at the providers side, the theoretical maximum speed of connection is 53kbps in both directions. Most users seldom see speeds in excess of 48kbps and in some cases it is substantially lower depending on line quality and other factors.
The big news in dialup has been the introduction of flat rate internet access call origination (FRIACO). Flat rate means that one can pay a monthly fee to allow a set number of hours of internet access. It is a huge improvement over 'clock watching' when using dialup without this.
What does it cost?
One time costs:
It requires very little expenditure as almost everyone already has a phoneline. Also, almost every PC sold in the last five years came with a modem built in.
Ongoing costs:
There are several options available. The most basic is to set up a 'free' account and pay for the phone call costs. This works out to be very expensive if you are more than an occasional user. With the advent of flat rate, you can sign up with a provider to pay a flat monthly fee for a set number of hours access. There are several options available.
Advantages:
1. Inexpensive to set up. Very little capital cost is involved if you already have a phone line.
2. It is available almost everywhere.
3. If you own a portable device like a laptop or PocketPC, you can use this method of connection on the move.
Disadvantages:
1. It can be very expensive to use. During peak times in Ireland (from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday) it costs approximately 5c per minute to connect. You should sign up for a flat rate package if this is a concern.
2. It is slow to use. More and more web sites are using flash animation and other attractive programming to increase the appeal of the site. This adds to the time it takes for the site to appear. Using dialup, it isn't uncommon to wait 15 to 30 seconds for the next page to load.
3. Dialling up to the provider can take a minute or longer depending on the equipment. This becomes an irritation if one connects to the internet frequently.
4. Most residential users only have one phoneline. It is not available while connected to the internet using the dialup method.
5. Depending on the provider, you may get a busy signal at peak times during the day as all the modems at the providers side are in use.
6. In rural areas where the exchange is more than 8km away by wire, the dialup speed is automatically going to be a maximum of 28.8kbps due to PAIR GAIN. This could also be the case where the telco has installed a line splitter at any distance from the exchange when it runs out of copper pairs and can't or doesn't want to add more copper.