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56k.rip – the 1996 dial-up internet experience

274 points · 111 comments · adunk

  1. strikefo · · focus · HN ↗
    this is great, but everything loads WAY too fast. It took forever to get anything to load back in the day.
    1. aduty · · focus · HN ↗
      That's likely due to most phone lines not supporting the full 56k speed. In most areas you would be lucky to get 33.6k or 28.8k.
      1. stingraycharles · · focus · HN ↗
        How is that related to phone lines, and not the dial up access point you’re dialing into?

        iirc ISDN did require a special phone line, but 56k was fine over regular lines.

        1. TedDoesntTalk · · focus · HN ↗
          56k modems didn’t always negotiate to the full 56k. The handshaking allowed connections at much slower speeds. It depended on the quality of the line. This is the US - we didn’t have ISDN, at least no one I knew had it in 1996.
          1. toast0 · · focus · HN ↗
            ISDN was available near me in 1996 (Southern California, Pacific Bell) ... but nobody I knew had it. It cost a lot for the install and monthly, and there was no unlimited local calls tariff like there was for a regular "analog" lane. You'd have to be pretty serious to want that.
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