AOL has announced it will shut down its dial-up Internet service on September 30, 2025, ending a technology era that helped bring millions online in the early days of the Internet. The company confirmed the closure in a customer support update, which also noted the discontinuation of AOL Dialer and AOL Shield software. While the reasons were not explicitly stated, the widespread availability of faster broadband and mobile Internet connections has rendered dial-up largely obsolete.
Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, the company initially offered online services for the Atari 2600 console before rebranding as Quantum Computer Services. It launched AppleLink in 1988 for Macintosh computers, later creating PC Link for IBM-compatible PCs. In 1989, after parting ways with Apple, the company adopted the America Online (AOL) name, focusing on making Internet access simple for non-technical users.
During the 1990s, AOL became synonymous with online connectivity, offering speeds up to 56 kbps and building a customer base through aggressive marketing, including millions of free trial CDs. By 1995, it had 10 million subscribers and had acquired services like WebCrawler, eWorld, and CompuServe.
The rise of broadband in the 2000s, followed by mobile Internet, led to a steep decline in dial-up usage. Even so, AOL maintained a niche user base, particularly among rural customers without broadband access and those seeking affordable service. When Verizon acquired AOL in 2015, it still had about two million dial-up subscribers. By 2021, under Apollo Global Management, active dial-up users had dropped to the low thousands.
The upcoming shutdown marks the final chapter for a service that was once a household name in American homes, remembered for its iconic “You’ve Got Mail” greeting and the sound of a modem connecting.
