In the past, I have used 2 dial-up services, VSNL and Mantra Online. Both these services are painfully slow and even getting a connection is a nightmare.
Even though, I still hold a VSNL account, I have moved over to Hathway Internet. The advantages are:
Higher speed
Instant connectivity
No blocking of telephone lines and low telephone speeds.
For instance, to download a song from a music site from dial-up would take 30 to 45 minutes, from cable it takes only 3 to 5 minutes. Ofcourse the downside is there is a limit to downloads - 1 gb/month. Extra download rates are punitive.