Refers to connecting a device to a network via a modem and a public telephone network. Dial-up access is really just like a phone connection, except that the parties at the two ends are computer devices rather than people. Because dial-up access uses normal telephone lines, the quality of the connection is not always good and data rates are limited. In the past, the maximum data rate with dialup access was 56 Kbps (56,000 bits per second), but new technologies such as ISDN are providing faster rates.

This refers to the sending out of either pulses or tones with the intent of establishing a connection (i.e., a circuit) with another phone or modem.

quaint old rotary device used to enter numbers

a disc on a telephone that is rotated a fixed distance for each number called

operate a dial to select a telephone number; "You must take the receiver off the hook before you dial"

choose by means of a dial; "dial a telephone number"

To Place A Call On A Switched Network. The term "dial" is obsolete - based on rotary dial phones and electromechanical relay switches (which are nearly non-existent in modern telephone systems.) Touch Tone service recognizes dual tones that are generated as each telephone key is pressed. Where Touch Tone service is not available, telephones and switches electronically "pulse" signals that emulate the older rotary dial telephones. The terms "place" a call or "originate" a call are more accurate than "dial".

phonenumber [ timeout] Dials the phonenumber. If the remote modem does not answer within timeout seconds, the connection aborts. $errlvl is set to a numeric value based on the keyword returned by the local modem. Set chatkey for the keyword to numeric mappings.

In telephony and telecommunications in connection with a telephone, a dial refers, in older telephones, to a rotating disk with 10 numbered finger holes - a rotary dial. When a particular numbered hole is rotated with the finger to a finger stop set at a specific point across the dial, then released, the dial mechanism rotates the dial back to its original position and transmits pulses down the telephone line according to the number of the hole selected.