1. Why do companies like Providian provide credit to people who normally wouldn't qualify for credit? What term was used by the journalist to describe these practices?​

given the options, i would say your best bet is c. the modem supports up to 56 kbps, which is too low for video streaming. dial up modems use actual phone lines, which only can go up to 56 kbps as that's more than sufficient for traditional phone calls. this is also the reason why when a dial-up modem connects, you hear all those sounds. it's literally using the phone line to establish a connection.