The majority use of the casual Internet connection, however, is web browsing, not file downloads. Modems use a standard voice phone line - and a standard voice phone line is present in just about every home in the nation. DSL and Cable are optional, additional cost services that are in no way viewed as a household requirement. Thus, people rightly consider the circuit cost of the modem dialup Internet connection to be essentially free, since they would be paying for it anyway for voice. Modems are simple and easy to hook up to the phone system, and, as Internet usage continues to spread, more and more computer users who have only a basic knowledge of hardware, and no desire to learn more about it, are connecting to the Internet.
Modems are incredibly cheap devices today.
So, a good modem is a pretty safe computer peripheral investment to make today. The majority of home computers in use are used part of the time for games, and modem gaming is very popular. E-mail typically does not require a very fast modem. A dialup modem account can be shared by all members of the household. If Mom and Dad have a computer, and Sally and Billy each have their own computers, it is quite feasible for each machine to have a modem in it and use it to access the Internet.