Cost-conscious consumers downgrade from cable Internet to dial-up

By Etan Horowitz, chicagotribune.com, March 27, 2009

ORLANDO, Fla. - — With his work hours cut and stock portfolio in the tank, Arnold Zimmerman is considering ditching his cable Internet and going back to dial-up.

"I didn't think I would ever go back," said Zimmerman, 66, of Davenport, Fla. "It was terrible. But with this economy, you got to look to cut wherever you can."

You remember dial-up? It's the beep, crackle, pop method of logging on to send e-mail and browse the Web that was pretty much the only option in the early days of the Internet.

In today's world of social networking, online videos and music downloads, going from high-speed to dial-up is like switching from a Maserati to a horse and buggy. But some say the hundreds they would save might make them go back, especially for those who have high-speed Internet at work.

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