AOL to discontinue dial-up internet

AOL is to discontinue Dial-up Internet, closing the service at the end of September.

The company said that it made the decision during a routine evaluation of its products and services.

AOL launched its dial-up service in 1991.

According to the New York Times, the company had around 30 million subscribers in 2001.

In the same year, AOL claimed that 40 per cent of the time that Americans spent online were through its services.

Associated software, including the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are designed for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will also be discontinued.

The dial-up internet service is only offered in Canada and the US.

According to data from the 2019 census, around 265,331 people in the US rely solely on dial-up Internet.

In contrast, 86,904,191 people use broadband in the US such as cable, fibre optic, or DSL.

“We are discontinuing the dial-up internet service component included in certain legacy AOL Advantage, CompuServe, and Netscape Connect Plans as we innovate to meet the needs of today’s digital landscape,” a spokesperson from AOL parent Yahoo! said in a statement. “This change does not impact the numerous other valued products and services that these subscribers are able to access and enjoy as part of their plans.

“There is also no impact to our users’ free AOL email accounts.”