Dial-Up

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): AOL Canada, MSN, Sympatico, HookUp Communications, Local Universities, etc.

• requires a telephone modem
• desirable speeds: 33.6 or 33.6/56.0 kbps (rival 56 kbps standards)
• requires basic phone service ($20/mo fee)
• $20-$30/mo fee

• low price is not the only consideration
• ratio of modems to users (<10 users to one modem)
• company connection to the Internet (no. of T1 lines to the Internet)
• technical support (call the support before you subscribe to see how long it takes)

There are two rival 56 kbps standards. If you purchase a 56K modem, make sure the modem can be upgraded to whichever standard is eventually approved and that your ISP supports the 56K standard your modem uses (for example, the University of BC has standardized on the K56 Flex standard; the other standard is 56K x2). See the references section of this site for links to discussions regarding the rival 56K standards.