AOL is Discontinuing its Dial-Up Service
SomeGuy writes:
"AOL, now a Yahoo! property, will end its dial-up internet service, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)-based internet connectivity service, on September 30, 2025. Its dial-up service has been publicly available for 34 years, and has provided many an internet surfer's first taste of the WWW. AOL will also end its AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser."
"In large countries, with regions where traditional PSTN phone lines are still available, but newer internet connectivity options may not be, some might argue that dial-up is still viable. Also, sometimes it is advertised as a backup connectivity option. In the U.S., for instance, the latest government census data indicates approximately a quarter of a million remaining dial-up holdouts."
"Internet old timers might feel some slight pangs of PSTN-based nostalgia. However, the move to always-on, fast, and responsive connectivity - at a fixed price - from ADSL onwards, came with few or no drawbacks compared to dial-up service."
"On performance, remember that the best hobbyist modems would only deliver up to 0.056 Mbps data speeds. ADSL services comfortably moved the performance needle to around 25 Mbps for many users (depending on line quality). In 2025, anyone who wants the best internet performance will usually prefer fiber connectivity, with a fairly typical service offering 500 Mbps data speeds.
Taking the above figures as reasonable averages of the respective eras, we've definitely come a long way since the heydays of dial-up. However, there remain some niche providers in the U.S. and elsewhere, if you don't have any other connection options."
Earthlink discontinued their dial-up service at the beginning of 2024. Dial up services still out there include NetZero, MSN, and Juno.
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