Written by Associated Press’s WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS
NEW YORK (AP) — Dial-up internet from AOL is finally dying.
Yes, dial-up is still in use even though it may be considered outdated by today’s digital standards. However, AOL claims that on September 30, it will formally discontinue its service.
In a brief update on its support website, AOL announced that dial-up and related software designed for older operating systems will soon no longer be accessible on AOL plans. AOL regularly reviews its offerings and has made the decision to terminate dial-up Internet.
Many households were first exposed to the internet by AOL, previously America Online, when its dial-up service was introduced decades ago. The company gained notoriety, especially in the 1990s and early 2000s. AOL’s incessant barrage of CDs advertising free trials, the once-ubiquitous beeps and buzzes heard over the phone used to connect your computer online, and the frustration of being kicked off the internet if anyone else at home needed the landline for another call were all features of the creaky door to the internet.
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Dial-up’s peculiarities were eventually eliminated for the majority of people using the internet today as broadband and wireless options became available and took over.
However, some customers have persisted in using internet services that are connected via phone lines. An estimated 163,401 households in the United States were use dial-up alone to access the internet in 2023, according to Census Bureau data. This represents slightly more than 0.13% of all homes with internet subscriptions in the country.
Although there have been other dial-up internet providers over the years, AOL was the biggest for a while. Dial-up is still available from a few smaller internet service providers. In any case, dial-up’s demise has long been anticipated. Additionally, as other remnants of the internet’s past continue to vanish, AOL is closing down its service.
For instance, Microsoft eliminated Internet Explorer in 2022 and the video calling service Skype earlier this year. Additionally, AOL canceled its Instant Messenger chat platform in 2017. When it was first launched in 1997, it was hailed as the biggest online communication trend since email, but it eventually had trouble keeping up with competitors.
AOL is no longer the dominant internet player it was decades ago, when, in addition to dial-up and instant messaging, the company gained notoriety for its “You’ve got mailcatchphrase,” which was famously displayed in the 1998 movie of the same name starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
AOL was formerly established as Quantum Computer Services in 1985 before changing its name to America Online. In 1991, it quickly changed its name and went on sale. The market capitalization of AOL was close to $164 billion in 2000, at the height of the dot-com boom. Following a series of turbulent years, the once-tech pioneer’s valuation fell as it was owned by several different people. Verizon purchased AOL following a failed merger with Time Warner Inc., and eventually sold AOL and Yahoo to a private equity firm.
