AOL discontinues dial-up Internet service
15 days ago
- #dial-up
- #AOL
- #Internet-history
- AOL is discontinuing its dial-up Internet service after more than 40 years, marking the end of an era.
- The shutdown will take place on September 30, 2025, affecting the AOL Dialer and AOL Shield software but not other AOL services.
- AOL was a pioneer in making the Internet accessible to non-technical users in the late 1980s and 1990s.
- At its peak, AOL had 10 million customers by 1995 and was known for its widespread distribution of trial CDs.
- The rise of broadband and cellular Internet in the 2000s led to the decline of dial-up services.
- Despite the decline, AOL still had around 1.5 million subscribers in 2021, though most were paying for technical support rather than dial-up access.
- AOL's dial-up service is remembered as a transformative force in the early Internet age.