 The rapid improvement in modem speeds during the early 1990s, combined with the rapid decrease in price of computer systems and storage, made BBSes increasingly popular.By the mid-1990s there were almost 40,000 FidoNet systems in operation, and it was possible to communicate with millions of users around the world.Only UUCPNET came close in terms of breadth or numbers; FidoNet's user base far surpassed other networks like BITNET.