Ukrtelecom Introduces Dial-Up Internet for Home Users

At the end of 2000, Ukrtelecom began offering Internet access via Dial-up for home users. In summer 2001, to outcompete rivals, the company implemented city telephone call billing immediately after the switch from analog to digital lines, making competitors’ services automatically more expensive. Later, Ukrtelecom offered “free” Internet access, with users paying only for city telephone calls (around 3.6 UAH/hour, ~$0.72/hour), effectively changing the rules of the dial-up market.

During this period, the “callback” service also became popular: after establishing a connection, the modem pool would disconnect the Internet via an AT command and then call back the modem, which was waiting for the provider to initiate the connection, optimizing costs for users.

Sources

• Image: By Олег Граченко — Own work.
  License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
  Source: Wikimedia Commons