As PCs became more affordable in the 1970s, Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) appeared. These BBSs allowed users to connect and post or read messages on a discussion board. Running at 300 bps was acceptable, as this exceeds the speed at which most people can read or type. In the early 1980s, use of bulletin boards increased exponentially and the 300 bps speed quickly became too slow for the transfer of large files and graphics. By the 1990s modems were running at 9600 bps and reached the current standard of 56 kbps (56,000 bps) by 1998.

Inevitably the high-speed services used in the corporate environment, such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and cable modem access, moved to the consumer market. These services no longer required expensive equipment or a second phone line. These are "always on" services that provide instant access and do not require a connection to be established for each session. This gives greater reliability and flexibility, and has led to the ease of Internet connection sharing by small office and home networks.