The price of modems has decreased dramatically over recent years. A fast modem offers two advantages, firstly speed, and secondly, smaller phone bills. Even a fast modem is relatively slow when compared to a direct Ethernet connection though communication speeds will undoubtedly increase with time as more users have access to fibre optic cables at their doorstep allowing data to be transferred much faster than standard telephone lines. An alternative option to using a modem is an ISDN card which enables a computer to send digital information using telephone lines rather than the analogue signal of a conventional modem. This option is much faster than a conventional modem, however, the cards are expensive and a special ISDN line is also required.
Internet providers are available in many countries.
Internet service providers should be distinguished from information providers such as eWorld, CompuServe and CIX, which currently offer only limited access to the Internet. These on-line bulletin board services provide a wide range of information sources such as newspapers on line, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, sport, entertainment, to mention a few of the literally hundreds of information resources. These services tend to be relatively expensive compared to a simple Internet connection. Once connected, all the services described earlier are free. The Internet providers usually will provide full information on the hardware and software that are required to connect to the Internet.