I recall the big transition from 2400 to 9600, and as a teenager I couldn’t afford any of the modems. But then IIRC CompuCom came along with a much more affordable 9600 modem, with the catch that it could only talk to other CompuComs, which my local BBS offered special numbers for. I can tell you going from 2400 to 9600 was massively beneficial, much like my first “broadband” experience. Every bump since then has been marginal improvement, really.