00:0034 years ago, a service was released that let people connect to the internet using a standard
00:05telephone line and a modem. Now the service that brought millions of households online in the 90s
00:12and early 2000s is finally hanging up the line. Even if you are watching this video through Wi-Fi,
00:23mobile networks or a broadband wired connection, yes, AOL dial-up still exists. At least it will for
00:31the next few weeks. The announcement on their website reads, AOL routinely evaluates its products
00:37and services and has decided to discontinue dial-up internet. As a result, it'll be the end of an era
00:43on September 30th. You've got mail. But dial-up wasn't just hanging around for nostalgia. It's
00:50still used in some situations, especially in a small percentage of rural and remote areas where
00:56broadband infrastructure is limited. But that percentage is really small. In 2019, 265,000
01:05people were still using dial-up for internet access, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2023,
01:11that number dropped to 163,000. The AOL name is still very much online, but the end of dial-up
01:20follows the end of AIM chats back in 2017 and those free trial disks of AOL that used to be mailed out.
01:27It's one more sign that the internet has evolved and so has how we connect to it.
01:33With Straight Arrow News, I'm Kennedy Felton. Download our app or visit san.com for more.
