AOL still has about 3.5 million dial-up users

According to AOL's latest quarterly earnings, the company still has 3.5 million dial-up subscribers accessing the internet with 8Kbps download speeds.

Additionally, the company only lost 630,000 subscribers in the quarter, its smallest loss ever. AOL has had a price promotion available to new users for months now and it appears the promotion worked as 200,000 people actually added the service.

As broadband became mainstream in the early-mid 2000s AOL was losing up to 5 million subscribers per year.

Surprisingly, the monthly bill for AOL dialup is still $17.50, down just $0.50 from 2001.

Full chart (via BI):

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 3 Nov 2011 11:25

buxtahuda

I would die if I was still on dial-up -.-

Especially with the size and complexity of most modern sites. Plus I always hated the sounds of the modem, especially when someone decided to get online in the middle of the night.

~*Livin' Electronicallly*~

3.11.2011 11:43 #1

LordRuss

Not to mention the fact that AOL is 'still' garnering BS pricing for their access as well. I wanted to smack the crud out of a friend of mine when I found out that they were still subscribing to AOL.

I can't believe that AOL still uses their archaic throttling methods in their dial-up service as well as their 1984, captive audience version of the internet to their subscribers as well, too... How this company honestly (as a figure of speech, no 'truthful inflection meant whatsoever) completely escapes me.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

3.11.2011 11:50 #2

dEwMe

Wow I can't believe anyone uses dialup anymore. I wonder how many of these folks just don't relize they are still paying for it or don't know how to unsubscribe? AOL'ers never were a very bright bunch of folks...

Just my $0.02,

dEwMe

3.11.2011 13:10 #3

DVDBack23

Originally posted by dEwMe: Wow I can't believe anyone uses dialup anymore. I wonder how many of these folks just don't relize they are still paying for it or don't know how to unsubscribe? AOL'ers never were a very bright bunch of folks...
1/10th of all of America used AOL at its peak. I know of one person who had it until last year, simply because she lived so far in the boonies that cable/dsl was non-existent and satellite monopoly was super expensive. I cant' even imagine having anything under 3 Mbit connection, let alone something in the Kb...

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3.11.2011 13:22 #4

xaznboitx

At least AOL is faster than Clear internet. With Clear Internet, I had to install software so the internet would speed up and Clear lies about not throttling speeds which they do.

3.11.2011 15:18 #5

KillerBug

Considering that they don't turn off billing when you tell them to turn off service, and you actually have to close the bank account in order to get them to stop charging, it is not to surprising to see that they are still charging 3.5 million people for service.

3.11.2011 22:44 #6

llongtheD

Originally posted by KillerBug: Considering that they don't turn off billing when you tell them to turn off service, and you actually have to close the bank account in order to get them to stop charging, it is not to surprising to see that they are still charging 3.5 million people for service. Earthlink ran a similar scam several years ago, which I was a victim of. After many calls and many hours of being on hold I left my home phone on speaker one day for five hours. I still wasn't able to reach someone who could cancel my account through customer service.
I'm not sure if AOL is doing this, but it wouldn't surprise me. More likely it is people that live out in the middle of nowhere that don't have access to broadband that are customers, but who knows.

If your fish seems sick, put it back in the water.

4.11.2011 00:55 #7

KillerBug

Originally posted by llongtheD: Originally posted by KillerBug: Considering that they don't turn off billing when you tell them to turn off service, and you actually have to close the bank account in order to get them to stop charging, it is not to surprising to see that they are still charging 3.5 million people for service. Earthlink ran a similar scam several years ago, which I was a victim of. After many calls and many hours of being on hold I left my home phone on speaker one day for five hours. I still wasn't able to reach someone who could cancel my account through customer service.
I'm not sure if AOL is doing this, but it wouldn't surprise me. More likely it is people that live out in the middle of nowhere that don't have access to broadband that are customers, but who knows. I had to help my grandmother with this a few years back...it only took AOL about 45 minutes to answer the phone, and they switched off the service without too much argument...it stopped working before I got off the phone. 3 months later they were still charging her. Several 1 hour calls later, they were still charging her. In the end she simply closed the bank account.

4.11.2011 02:20 #8

Mr_Bill06

When you cancel you no longer have the service why would they still bill you for a service you no longer have? That is just wrong that AOL/Earthlink can get away with that, that is fraud. You can't bill people for providing them a service they no longer receive. I also can't believe many are still on dial up unless there way out somewhere. Is it me or is that price for dial up seem rather expensive, I have found a service here for $5.90/month and I'm in Canada and we usually always pay more so that should say it all.

4.11.2011 05:37 #9

xtago

You'll find it's the people who only use it for emails and simple stuff like IRC etc.

You don't need DSL connections for that stuff and to be honest if that is all you were doing then DSL would probably be very expensive service just for emails.

4.11.2011 06:36 #10

LordRuss

@KB & llongtheD, that's exactly the case with me... elderly family & friends or the case with me when I left one of my many military posts prior to broadband. AOL would gladly shut off the service, but then would gladly give you the bullshit excuse that another department entirely had control over halting the extraction of finances out of your bank account. Had it not been for the fact that I literally had to change banks from state to state, going from post to post, they might have still been tapping my account.

Adding insult to injury, AOL wanted to argue that they wouldn't pay me back for some of their own charges because of some double speak (it has been several years now & the whole memory issue regarding the case) about the phone company should reimburse me for half the cost. WTF!?! AOL were the ones who charged me!

So with regards to Mr_Bill06's comments, an emphatic YES!!! These companies will indeed do whatever the hell they want, when they want and as they please. I contest you grow up. I can empathize (not sympathize, we all know where to turn in the dictionary for that) for paying more for the service, but the company doesn't care for you in the slightest. Give them a call & start telling them about your day & you'll see what I mean. Global local has little to do with it, so I propose you're doing the whining.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

4.11.2011 11:39 #11

LordRuss

Originally posted by xtago: ...DSL would probably be very expensive service just for emails. At least one person I tried to get off AOL was still paying around the $25 mark for the dial-up service. Unless I need to check into the nursing home, the worst of the worst DSL service from Verizon might be had for just over that. But once again, that's if the folks out in the boondocks can even get DSL, which this probably still can't.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

4.11.2011 11:44 #12

hearme0

They did a piece on this a while back. 80% of AOL customers are still on because AOL chooses not to inform them that there is no charge for the service when they have high speed. I do believe that the 3+ million users includes dial up AND those using their browser, service etc. AOL is a scam and makes American Business look bad.

4.11.2011 12:31 #13

omegaman7

I wish that AOL were no more. Then my mother would HAVE to switch to something else. She loves her software, and email, and uses century link broadband. I just snicker about the whole thing. Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo...free emails are definitely sweet ;)

Computers run soo much better without that crapware too :p One day, they will be no more. Unless they find some way to stay a float. They've been in business a while, i'm sure they'll figure something out. They really need to offer free email though. I'm sure they could pull that off.

I browse sites that would probably take hours to load on dialup. I can't wait for FIOS to hit my area :(

Well I'll be.... They do offer free email :S

Oh damn. I feel responsible for her situation...

Mobo Gigabyte 790XTA-UD4 CPU Phenom II 965BE C3 step @ 4.0Ghz 1.475V RAM Ripjaws F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM 7,7,7,21 2T 1.65V Cpu Cooler ECO-R120 (ALC) GPU BFG GTX 260(216 cores) PSU HX750W
------->One day, I will fold@home and my electrical usage will be laughable...<-------

4.11.2011 16:54 #14

DVDBack23

Seeing a ton of mis-info here.

AOL is a content company now. As you can see in the chart, access only accounts for 37 percent of all revenue. Access is likely their most profitable segment but not end of the world if it disappears.

AOL email is entirely free. There is no reason anyone should be paying for it.

There are many people who cannot get dsl or cable in their area. That is the reality of rural America.

To say that 3.5 million people still use AOL only because they are getting scammed is just not true.

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4.11.2011 17:14 #15

omegaman7

Thanks for the confirmation DVDBack23. Gonna have to sit her down tonight, and explain a few things.

4.11.2011 17:46 #16

Griff88

I had AOL around 10 years ago. Dialup at 5 kbps... I shudder at the memory.

4.11.2011 18:07 #17

omegaman7

I had it in 2003. I don't miss it. But I did learn much from it :) It certainly taught me patience ;)

4.11.2011 18:14 #18

GernBlan

I know a lot of people who are still subscribed to AOhelL to keep the email address they've always had. I still have a dial-up account with an ISP for the same reason.

4.11.2011 18:21 #19

KillerBug

I had AOL for a while in 1993 or 1994...they sent me a 30 days free disk...I had a lot of fun jacking people's email accounts...that was about all it was good for since all their bloatware slowed the connection too much to do anything else.

5.11.2011 05:12 #20

LordRuss

Originally posted by DVDBack23: To say that 3.5 million people still use AOL only because they are getting scammed is just not true. Check your facts just a bit please... {["Some"]} of those folks using AOL are under the auspices that there is no other dial-up service. Plus this has been a practice spanning well over a decade. AOL offers a cute little little disk with a 'all the setup wizards' & the mindless "click here", touch & go that computer illiterates don't like to hear & want to use. It is to say that misinformation, flooded advertisement & misdirected education of alternative service providers is the gist of the argument here.

That is what the tone of this particular assembly seems to be taking for me. At least here in the states, there are many alter dial-up services that will let you surf the net without the crapware & disgust that AOL gleefully offers in their turd du jour. As for email... again, our older, set in their ways, advocates of AOL appear to think their AOL account (that is forced on their users upon signing up for the service) is the only thing that exists in the internet realm & it drives the rest of us grand kids nuts who are called upon to tell them repeatedly "no grandma, stop clicking on every "you've won a new ipod" banner"!!!

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

5.11.2011 11:59 #21

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