Why did dial-up modems make sound in the first place?

Question

Everyone of an age remembers the distinctive dial-up modem sounds but why were they audible to begin with?

In: Technology

Answer 1

They were audible to help identify connection issues – if your modem dialed a fax line by mistake you could hear the fax connection sounds and know that was the wrong number. Or if it dialed a person’s number you could hear them ask “Hello?” moments before the modem tried to deafen them.