Dial-up is much slower than even the lowest-speed broadband connections. Most dial-up ISPs provide upload and download speeds of up to 56 Kbps; whereas, low-end cable speeds start around 2 Mbps downloads and 1 Mbps uploads. That means you can download information over 35 times faster using a cable Internet connection. Broadband also provides an always-on connection that does not tie up your telephone line, while dial-up accounts require you to use your existing phone line to connect to the Internet.