quote:AOL Broadband President Lisa A. Hook called broadband a "side issue" . . .
Back in the late '80s to early '90s, AOL only provided 2400 baud service on local dialups in my area. You could only get faster speeds if you dialed a long distance number. As a new 14,400 baud modem user, I emailed and called them to ask when they planned to provide local 14,400 baud service in my area. Their reply at that time was, essentially, "We have no plans to add that capability anytime soon". I dropped them like a hot rock and never looked back.
This is the exact same mistake MS did when they thought the internet wasn't going to be a big thing. They thought the future was AOL and MSN type services. They were lucky to have the capital to buy everything ready made and compete and to force some broadband providers to let them into the DSL market. Heck, they even bought WebTV to try and compete.
AOL and all these other services have a place for the internet newbie. Yet, they are more a content provider than a real ISP. They might have to start thinking in a new direction.
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