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Modern dial-up modems typically have a maximum theoretical speed of 56 kbit/s (using the V.92 protocol), although in most cases only up to 53 kbit/s is possible due to overhead and, in the United States, FCC regulation. These speeds are currently considered the maximum possible; in many cases transfer speeds will be lower, averaging anywhere between 33-43 kbit/s. Factors such as phone line noise and conditions, as well as the quality of the modem itself, play a large part in determining connection speeds.
Dial-up connections usually have high latency that can be as high as 400 ms or even more, which can make online gaming or videoconferencing difficult, if not impossible. Some games, such as Star Wars: Galaxies, The Sims Online, Warcraft 3, Halo: Combat Evolved and Guild Wars are capable of running on 56 K dial-up. Gamers with dial-up connections are often disconnected from game servers due to the "lag", or high latency, of the connection. Many computer games released in 2005 (such as Battlefield 2 or Star Wars: Battlefront 2) are not compatible for online play with dial-up modems. These first person shooter style games are the most sensitive to latency, making playing them impractical on dial-up.
Replacement by broadband
Since approximately the year 2000, broadband Internet access (cable and DSL) has been replacing dial-up access in many parts of the world. The reason for this is mostly due to broadband connections featuring speeds which far exceed the capacity of dial-up, many of which provide speeds greater than 20 Mbit/s, as well as reducing prices under dial-up prices offered by companies such as Verizon. An increasing amount of Internet content such as Macromedia Flash, online gaming and streaming media require large amounts of bandwidth.
However, many areas still remain without high speed Internet despite the eagerness of potential customers. This can be attributed to population, location, or sometimes ISPs' lack of interest for whatever reason.
Dial-up access is still being used in some areas in the U.S. (MSN/AOL), but is increasingly losing ground to broadband.
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