Connect to Dial Up

Dial Up Use in New Zealand

Broadband is not the only option for internet connections in New Zealand, one third of New Zealanders connect to dial up every day for reasons involving reduced costs and convenience - read on to find out about the benefits of connecting to dial up in New Zealand.

• Internet Service Providers

An AUT study in mid-2008 found that one third of internet users in New Zealand accesses the web via a dial-up connection, which is a high proportion compared to other developed countries. Dial up internet does have several benefits, especially when it comes to down the reduced costs offered from cheap internet providers. Why should you connect to dial up in New Zealand?

Reduced Costs to get Online
Setting yourself up for broadband is not cheap. While occasionally internet service providers offer discounted broadband routers, they'll always connected with contract terms which keep you locked in. A broadband modem can cost upwards of $100, plus an additional $150 or so if you want a wireless router for Wi-Fi.

Additionally, broadband connections are not portable. You can't simple unplug your router and take it on holiday with you - it's stuck connected to your home.

Dial up, on the other hand, involves simply one account, and one connection cord. You can then plug yourself in to any phone jack in New Zealand, and log in with your details. No fuss, no need to fiddle with connection settings. There is absolutely no set up cost involved, all you need is the connection cable which will be connected to your phone - just unplug it from the base and plug it into your computer.

Because you can prepay for just a month of dial up use, you can select the months you want to use your connection, e.g. over your Christmas holiday in January. When high speed internet isn't essential but simply getting online is, dial up is the cheapest and easiest way to stay connected.

Access Anytime, Anywhere
We all know how expensive mobile internet can be, not to mention varied in signal strength when you're in remote locales. The great Kiwi bach is a favoured part of New Zealand holiday life, and unless you're there for a big portion of your year, setting your bach up for broadband is a pretty unnecessary extravagance.

When you can't go a holiday without banking online or checking the weather, dial up is the perfect solution. All you need is a phone line, your laptop, and a connection cord. No set-up, no routers, no worries. Access is instant, just plug in and dial up, and you're connected to the rest of the world.

Having a dial up connection comes in particularly handy when the baches you stay in aren't your own - because how many rentals have you found that offer broadband? While the point is to get away from the modern conveniences of daily life, sometimes internet usage is essential and dial up is an easy and reliable way to get online anytime, anywhere with a phone line.

Access in Rural New Zealand
Rural Kiwis often get the short stick in New Zealand when it comes to internet connections - while broadband is available in many rural areas, its speed can be temperamental and reliability variable for many homes. For numerous places in New Zealand, broadband isn't even an option - the popular internet services providers cannot reach 100% of Kiwi homes with high-speed internet access.

Dial up internet is a reliable solution for rural New Zealanders. Connections are reasonably stable, meaning you are unlikely to get cut off during important page loads like bank transfers. With a dial up connection you don't need to worry about expensive set up either - if needed, getting a technician out of main centres can often be a costly experience, not to mention the extra costs you may incur for advanced wiring, peripherals and signal boosters.

Dial Up Usage Increases Your Productivity
You read that right, using a dial up connection can actually increase your productivity. Dr Jeffery Cole, director of the World Internet Project said at the 2008 Netsafe conference in Queenstown that because of time barriers, dial up users logged on for condensed 20-30 minute periods each day and performed all of their administrative chores: e-mails, banking, and so on, in one session.

Conversely, broadband users dip in an out of the internet for several minutes at a time on average 16-30 times per day. Because users often get distracted online, a quick e-mail check on an instant broadband connection can turn into half an hour of casual browsing, dial up users are much more likely to get just the jobs they plan to get done online, effectively making their online time more efficient.

InternetNZ deputy director Jordan Carter suggests that while dial up use merely shifts the way you do thinks you'd already do, for example sending an e-mail rather than a physical letter, broadband opens the doors of online entertainment such as video watching - which can have a negative effect on productivity and the way you spend your time.

Should You Choose Dial Up?
For many New Zealanders, internet usage is not a big part of their lives. If you just use the web for basics chores like e-mailing and don't have the need for extended surfing and multimedia, you should connect to dial up, save yourself money, and enjoy the conveniences of simple portability.

For more information on internet service providers, check out the NZS.com directory.

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Technology images from Flickr: Macbook, Microchip and Cable.