AOL’s Dial-Up Sunset: Nostalgia, Shock, and the End of an Era
AOL, the company known for its “You’ve got mail” greeting and ubiquitous trial CDs, is discontinuing its dial-up internet service. This decision, announced on AOL’s website, will end the service, along with the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, on September 30th. The dial-up service, which used telephone lines and emitted a distinct chirping sound, was a staple of internet access in the 1990s. AOL, now part of Yahoo and previously owned by Verizon, was sold to Apollo Global Management in 2021.
John Q. Hosedrinker