Broadband Vs Dial-Up Connection

The dial-up Internet connection requires telephone line and a modem for its connection. As the name suggests, the modem dials up a call in order to establish a connection with the Internet service provider (ISP). Broadband provides a wider range of frequencies for connection, with a higher speed as compared to the dial-up connection. It provides this high speed without interfering with the working of the telephone lines. Let's compare broadband and dial-up Internet connections.

Comparison Between Broadband and Dial-Up Connection

The dial-up connects to the Internet through a modem and a dedicated telephone line. The telephone line remains engaged when the Internet is accessed via a dial-up Internet connection. The broadband connection is done using various mediums like the cable, DSL and satellite Internet. It provides Internet access without keeping the phone lines busy.

The dial-up Internet connection has to dial an access number to connect to the Internet, but broadband connection on the other hand, does not require any access number to be dialed. Moreover, the voice and Internet services cannot be simultaneously used in a dial-up connection.

When a dial-up connection is established between an Internet user and an Internet service provider, the modem dials the access number and every time a new IP address is assigned to your computer. In contrast, the IP address assigned to your computer is the same throughout when broadband is used. The IP address changes, only if the cable or DSL modem is physically disconnected and a connection is again established with the Internet service provider. Thus, the IP address does not change unless there is a physical disconnection of the modem. The dial-up connection on the other hand, keeps on connecting and disconnecting according to the needs of the user.

As the IP address keeps on changing in case of a dial-up connection, the crackers cannot hack the IP addresses easily. Crackers are black-hat hackers, i.e. people who use unethical techniques to hack a computer. However, in case of broadband, the IP address does not change so often, which can prove beneficial for the crackers.

The traditional telecommunication systems used analog signals for communication and the dial-up connection therefore needs a modem to convert the analog signals into digital signals. The broadband connection, on the other hand, does not require the analog to digital and digital to analog conversion.

Dial-up access does not require a special router; while broadband requires a router. A router is a device that provides connection between the user and the Internet service provider.

The dial-up connection makes it difficult to view or download videos, download e-mail attachments, play video games and other tasks that require high speeds as these cannot be provided by a dial-up connection. Broadband provides a higher speed in comparison to the dial-up connection and therefore supports the services like videos and bulk downloading. The dial-up connection provides a speed of 56 kbps, but some modems can provide a speed of 320 kbps. The speed of broadband generally is around 2 Mbps.

The cost of the dial-up connection is decided, based on the calls per minute, similar to the telephone billing procedure. The cost of the broadband connection is decided by the rent you pay to the Internet service provider.

The dial-up and broadband Internet access are used, based on the need of the user and the availability of services in the required area.