At the beginning of March, my internet provider sent an e-mail to all subscribers saying that the service would be closing at the end of the month. I knew this was coming last year when I spoke with the owner, so I wasn't taken entirely by surprise. He said it would be closing within the year and that he would give adequate notice so that people could make other arrangements for their dialup service.
Did she just say dialup service? Yup, she did. I started with 56K service way back in 1996 and have never had a reason to change. My needs were not all that demanding of high-speed internet access and the price of high-speed, be it DSL or cable, was more than dialup and didn't fit into my budget. Until now.
As an interim move and not quite ready technically or psychologically to make the change, I picked up another dialup service. But, I also started looking more carefully at those high-falutin' IP cousins of dialup, and after a little comparison shopping, they started looking a bit more attractive. The price of higher speeds was greater up until not that long ago, but now, dialup and low-end high-speed access rates are running almost neck and neck. As the technology of high-speed has evolved and improved, the supply is greater and can meet and sometimes even exceed demand, allowing the price to decrease. As more and more people move to high-speed, either out of necessity or out of simple desire for bigger-better-faster, the demand for dialup decreases. However, the costs to maintain any IP service will tend to remain constant and will even tend to increase as other costs (electricity, etc.) increase. But if demand is dwindling, there are just so many economizing moves a business can make, and just so many financial hits it can take, before closing its doors becomes the only option left.
Good grief, my dormant and totally useless business administration courses just reared their ugly heads. Back, I say, BACK!
I digress. So, after my comparison shopping spree, I chose DSL. Yes, cable is faster, but cable is not as budget-friendly even as a package deal. So, I contacted my telephone service provider and arranged for it to start earlier this week, which it did almost anti-climactically. I came home from work, turned on the modem/router and the little light indicating DSL connection stayed solidly lit. Woo-hoo.
My internet hopping habits haven't changed. I've been teased that they will, but somehow, I don't see trips to the YouTube site increasing anytime soon. The one thing that high-speed has allowed me to do in a more timely and efficient manner are software upgrades. Do you have any idea how long a 66 Mb upgrade takes to download on a 56K dialup portal? I do and not because I did the math, either.
Dialup isn't dead, but it is being phased out. It hasn't happened yet and I personally know of people out there who are still dependent on such service because they have older computers, don't have the access (yes, there really are places in the "civilized" world where high-speed internet isn't available) and/or simply can't afford the jump to light-speed. As the technology continues to improve and decrease in cost (no, no, no - not supply and demand theory again - back, BACK), they'll eventually be able to join in or, more sadly, their providers will face the choice my prior IP had to make and those customers will have to find a way to upgrade.
As for me, I've always known that I'd eventually have to go to a high-speed connection and now that it's at a price I can afford, I decided the time was right to make the move. So, I take a moment to say goodbye to my dialup service as so many before me have done. It has been an honor to have been with you. You gave me the world at a pace that was more my style. Sadly, the world does not appreciate your more leisurely ways and is letting you go. Slowly perhaps, but surely. I leave you mostly out of necessity, but shall not forget how I got here all those years ago.
Now, let's see how fast this computer can really go.
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