Dial up Internet access is an inexpensive but slow form of Internet access in which the client uses a modem connected to the computer and a telephone line to dial the Internet service provider.

By configuring the computer to dial a specific phone number, the computer is granted Internet access. It is usually the only choice available for most rural or remote areas where getting a broadband connection is impossible due to low population and demand. It may also be an alternative to people who have limited budgets.

To use dial-up access, the user must have a telephone modem, a device that connects a computer to the telephone system and is capable of converting data into sounds and sounds back into data. The users ISP provides software that controls the modem. Upon joining a dial-up service, the subscriber chooses a username and password.

Due to the limited bandwidth, the ability for the modem to send and receive data, dial-up service can take up to five minutes to download just one megabyte of data. In some cases, caching frequently visited pages, and other software tricks can speed up the experience of dial-up access in some cases. If your work online is multimedia-centric, (music, movies, and graphic-laden websites), dial-up service may be too slow to meet your satisfying levels.

Dial-up connections usually have high latency which can make online gaming or videoconferencing difficult. Gamers with dial-up connections are often disconnected from game servers due to high latency of the connection. The factors to consider while choosing a dial-up Internet Access Provider are coverage, price and customer support.

The advantage of dial-up access is that its much cheaper than cable and broadband Internet. Obviously, speed is a disadvantage of dial-up access. The speed of dial-up Internet is slow because of text, graphics, connection speed, traffic, and the particular site one is visiting. Another thing is the loading speed, which may vary depending on the type of modem one is using. A higher speed modem may increase surfing speed, however, the quality of the phone line one is connected to can also make a difference in the speed.

Despite the above disadvantages, at places where the facility of broadband is not yet explored, dial-up is the only inexpensive means of using the Internet.