AOL announced the discontinuation of its dial-up Internet plan, AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, in a brief support page on its help website.
There, AOL writes:
AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. This service will no longer be available in AOL plans. As a result, on September 30, 2025 this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will be discontinued.
From September 30, 2025 onward, AOL customers may no longer use dial-up Internet provided by the company. AOL is also discontinuing the accompanying applications, AOL Dialer and AOL Shield.
AOL says that the change does not impact any other benefits that users may have in their AOL plan, including AOL email. The company does not reveal the number of customers that are affected by the change.
Estimates suggest that about 150,000 US-Americans still use dial-up in 2025. Not all of them rely on AOL for Internet though, but those who do need to find a different dial-up Internet provider or different connection option, such as cable, fiber optic, wireless Internet, DSL, or Internet via satellite.
As for dial-up Internet, Microsoft still seems to offer dial-up access to the Internet. For about $180 per year, subscribers may sign up for MSN Dial-Up Internet access according to this page on the Microsoft website:
Subscribe to MSN Dial-up Internet Access and get Internet access and MSN Internet Software which includes: computer wide security software, advanced phishing filter technology, pop-up guard and multiple e-mail accounts.
Can you imagine using a connection that has a speed between 56 kbit/s and 128 kbit/s?
“Can you imagine using a connection that has a speed between 56 kbit/s and 128 kbit/s?”
I thought that this speed is for DSL, not Dial-up. I remember Dial-up for my connection was around 5 kbit/s. When I switched to DSL, speed was around 64 kbit/s.
I don’t need to imagine, I remember. I also remember the sound they made while connecting.
I used to connect to AOL with a 14.4k modem. Getting my first 56k modem was a big deal.
I later moved up to a dual line IDSN connection, remember those?