The End of an Era: AOL Permanently Discontinues Dial-up Internet Service

Source: GIPHY

AOL, a pioneer in internet services that guided millions in America to the digital world during the 1990s and early new millennium, intends to permanently end its Dial-up Internet service on September 30, 2025. This decision also includes discontinuing related software, such as the AOL Dialer program and AOL Shield browser.

What is Dial-up Internet?

Dial-up Internet: is a form of internet access that uses the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an internet service provider (ISP) over a traditional telephone line. This technology relies on a modem to convert digital data from the computer into analog audio signals that can be transmitted over the phone line, and then another modem at the service provider's end reconverts them into digital data. For more information, you can visit this reference.

Reasons for the Decision and Its Impact

This decision comes after a periodic evaluation of the company's products and services and will not affect the benefits available in other AOL plans or users' free email accounts.

Although dial-up internet has become an outdated technology in the era of high-speed internet, between 160,000 and a quarter-million users in the United States were still relying on it until 2023, especially in rural areas or for economic reasons.

Iconic Sounds and AOL's History of Dominance

AOL's dial-up service has long been associated with its iconic beeping and screeching sounds that would occur when attempting to connect to the internet using a traditional telephone line.

The company was renowned for its massive distribution of free trial CDs in the 1990s, significantly contributing to its widespread adoption and dominance in the internet access market during that period.

AOL's Evolution and the End of an Era

It is worth noting that the popular instant messaging service AIM, provided by AOL, ceased operation earlier in 2017.

AOL, formerly known as "America Online", has undergone numerous ownership changes and is currently owned by "Apollo Global Management", which also owns Yahoo.

The dial-up internet service lasted for more than three decades, between 34 and 35 years, before its final discontinuation.