AOL to discontinue dial-up internet

AOL announced that its dial-up internet service will be discontinued next month. If this is how you learned that AOL’s dial-up still exists — presumably you read this on a broadband internet connection — you’re not alone. The service, seen by many as a relic of the early days of the internet, will be discontinued Sept. 30 along with its associated software, the company said. AOL made the announcement quietly via a statement on its help portal on Friday: “AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue dial-up internet.” For many, the most surprising part of the news may have been that AOL was still offering dial-up service at all. In 2023, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 163,000 households in the United States were using only dial-up for internet service — representing just over 1 percent of the nation’s household internet subscriptions. But back in the 1990s, AOL’s dial-up tone — a series of beeps, bursts of static and earsplitting screeches — and “You’ve got mail” email alert were the soundtrack for many Americans as they learned how to navigate the internet.