A fascinating experiment has pushed obsolete dial-up technology to its absolute limits, demonstrating that with enough creativity and hardware, even the most antiquated internet connections can be transformed into something surprisingly capable. The project showcases how Multilink PPP technology can aggregate multiple phone lines to create a single, more powerful data channel that challenges our assumptions about what dial-up internet could achieve.
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| A stack of electronic devices illustrates the innovative use of outdated dial-up technology to achieve higher internet speeds |
Breaking Through Dial-Up Limitations
The Serial Port YouTube channel embarked on an ambitious quest to answer a seemingly impossible question: can you stream YouTube over dial-up internet? Their solution involved bonding twelve 56K modems together using Multilink PPP (MPPP) technology, ultimately achieving a combined download speed of 668.8 kbps. This represents what may be the first documented case of more than four modems being successfully bonded in practice, potentially setting an unofficial world record for dial-up aggregation.
Technical Setup and Hardware Challenges
The experiment required careful selection of period-appropriate hardware to maintain authenticity while maximizing compatibility. Initial attempts used a 2001 IBM NetVista running Windows ME, which successfully bonded two modems but encountered scaling limitations due to driver conflicts and insufficient serial ports. The team then upgraded to a 2004 IBM ThinkCentre running Windows XP, which proved far more capable of handling multiple simultaneous connections.
The Windows XP system was equipped with multiple serial expansion cards, including an Equinox serial card and a four-port Digi card, providing a total of 13 available COM ports. Unlike Windows ME, which dialed modems sequentially, Windows XP's superior networking stack could dial all modems simultaneously, dramatically improving the bonding process efficiency.
Infrastructure and ISP Backend
On the service provider side, the project utilized sophisticated enterprise networking equipment that would have been typical of small ISPs during the 1990s. A Cisco VoIP gateway generated multiple phone lines, which the modems dialed into before terminating at a Total Control dial-up access concentrator. This backend infrastructure handled multiple sessions seamlessly, with the team noting that the ISP side simply just worked with no apparent limit in sight.
Performance Results and YouTube Streaming
The twelve-modem configuration delivered impressive results for dial-up technology, achieving 668.8 kbps download speeds that exceeded the Federal Communications Commission's original broadband definition from 2000 of 200 kbps. More importantly, this throughput proved sufficient for smooth YouTube playback at 144p and 240p resolutions without buffering, though some initial delay was observed due to the processing limitations of the vintage hardware.
Historical Context and Technology Evolution
This experiment serves as a compelling reminder of how far internet connectivity has evolved. In 2000, downloading a single MP3 file could tie up a phone line for 10 to 20 minutes, making applications like Napster and early streaming services frustratingly slow. Multilink PPP represented one potential solution to bandwidth limitations before ISDN and ADSL became widely available, though commercial implementations like Diamond Multimedia's Shotgun PCI card never gained significant traction due to the complexity and cost of maintaining multiple phone lines.
The current FCC definition of broadband requires speeds of 100 Mbps or higher, making this 668 kbps achievement seem quaint by modern standards. However, the project demonstrates the remarkable ingenuity that characterized the dial-up era and shows how creative engineering could push seemingly obsolete technology far beyond its intended limits.