How Long to Download 1GB on Dial-Up?
1.7 Days
40 hours on 56k dial-up (continuous)
On a 56k dial-up modem (the fastest dial-up available), downloading 1GB takes approximately 40 hours of continuous connection. That's almost 2 full days!
In reality, it took even longer. Phone calls would interrupt your connection, and actual speeds rarely hit the theoretical 56 kbps maximum. Many people left downloads running overnight for days.
Remember the sound? "Pshhkkkkkkrrrrkakingkakingkakingtshchchchchchch..." That modem handshake meant you were about to wait a very long time.
1GB Download Time Comparison
40 hours
56k Dial-up
44 minutes
3G Mobile
4 minutes
4G LTE
40 seconds
5G
8 seconds
Gigabit Fiber
What Could You Download in 1 Hour on Dial-up?
At 56k, one hour of downloading gets you about 25 MB. That's roughly:
- 6 MP3 songs
- 5 smartphone photos
- 12,500 pages of text
- 1/60th of a single HD movie