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AOL Free for Broadband Customers?
Considering yet another approach
Reuters reports that AOL is considering offering their suite of services, including e-mail, for free to broadband customers. The new service would be driven solely by advertising, though ironically dial-up customers would still have to pay for their service.
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Jonbo298
join:2004-01-12
Council Bluffs, IA

Jonbo298

Member

They already do...

Its called AOL.com

It's just that you don't get access to EVERYTHING through them unless you pay (as it is right now) but get access to probably 80% of what they offer.
kdandaoc
join:2003-10-13
608052427

kdandaoc

Member

Re: They already do...

Its actually kind of sad to see people still using the virus known as AOL. I wonder what the appeal is?

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: They already do...

said by kdandaoc:

Its actually kind of sad to see people still using the virus known as AOL. I wonder what the appeal is?
There are some people who still watch black and white TV as well. I guess we'll just never know.

rachelsfx
join:2004-09-27
Pensacola, FL

rachelsfx to Jonbo298

Member

to Jonbo298
Only a complete idiot would rely on AOL email. That is the worst email to send email from. AOL actually doesn't like Gmail even though only a billion people use it.

Dial-up users attached to the email addy on AOHell is the reason they stay. That and chat. Oh, of course, you also get their anti-virus and spam filters! Yes, let's call everything spam! The anti-virus actually scanned a computer, determined AOL was a virus, and you have to reinstall the software.

Chat:
Hi

Bling!

Hello

Bling!

Come visit my webcam at www.......!

Bling!

It was funny a few years ago that AOL wanted Time Warner employees all to use AOL for email. Employees threatened to quit, refused to do it, etc. Time Warner gave in. Even AOL employees secretly migrated to Yahoo! LOL!

I do like those nice cases they send me every week. Great for storing my burned DVDs.

Years ago people used to log into AOL to read Steve Case's emails. ROFLMAO!

MTBikerChris
Premium Member
join:2001-08-28
Erie, CO

MTBikerChris

Premium Member

Re: They already do...

Years ago people used to log into AOL to read Steve Case's emails. ROFLMAO!

WOW 10 years ago i use to so that to. I forgot about that he did that How funny is that? now where is he?

rachelsfx
join:2004-09-27
Pensacola, FL

rachelsfx

Member

Re: They already do...

We all did it.

Some of us on AOL back in the day used to log into his, many other executives and impersonate them.

I do remember he couldn't spell worth a damn.

I think Case is in Hawaii selling real estate with that guy on TV. Just kidding. He is in Hawaii a few billion dollars richer. Doing something with Broadband.

MTBikerChris
Premium Member
join:2001-08-28
Erie, CO

1 recommendation

MTBikerChris to Jonbo298

Premium Member

to Jonbo298
I am no way going to put that crap back on my PC. AOL.com does it all for me and for free as well

Rob A
Adjusting
Premium Member
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ

Rob A to Jonbo298

Premium Member

to Jonbo298
said by Jonbo298:

Its called AOL.com

It's just that you don't get access to EVERYTHING through them unless you pay (as it is right now) but get access to probably 80% of what they offer.
Yup, and they would have to pay me to use it too. Free is not even good enough.

RayW
Premium Member
join:2001-09-01
Layton, UT

RayW

Premium Member

Ironic?

From what I hear (from an ISP, not direct knowledge) the Dial up is more costly than a BB connection because of the modem banks. Most of the expense for the "Bring your own connection" is bandwidth costs and 'No slow down' fees.

Not too bad an idea to try and force dial up users off of dialup. We shall see if it works (and no, I am NOT signing up )

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

Re: Ironic?

The real expense in Dialup is your inbound lines to your PM3/PM4s/AS5200s/or other RAS box. On a per-customer basis dialup is still cheaper on the "cost" side of things.

For AOL it's a different story. AOL is a Tier1 provider, i.e. they don't pay someone else for transit. So they are not paying someone for their pipe to the backbone. So on these terms Dialup cost them more than BYOA for Broadband. They have allot of un used lines out there that are not making them money. I bet they are trying to buy out or ride out contracts on those lines.

rachelsfx
join:2004-09-27
Pensacola, FL

rachelsfx

Member

Re: Ironic?

Umm, actually, AOL uses MCI as their backbone for the network.

True, they are paying a fortune for phone lines and modems though. I bet they are losing the shirt on all those unused lines and 56k modems.
ricep5
Premium Member
join:2000-08-07
Jacksonville, FL

1 edit

ricep5

Premium Member

Re: Ironic?

said by rachelsfx:

Umm, actually, AOL uses MCI as their backbone for the network.

True, they are paying a fortune for phone lines and modems though. I bet they are losing the shirt on all those unused lines and 56k modems.
The majority of those modem banks that were deployed during the "56k" craze have been capitalized and depreciated. They still have some cost overhead in the local lines they lease from the ILEC's.

In areas of high broadband exposure, dial up minutes are declining, but the use in ex-urban or more rural areas is still quite robust.

PGHammer
join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD

PGHammer to rachelsfx

Member

to rachelsfx
So, AOL is actually using VZB (previously MCI, and before that UUNet) as their backbone provider. Having to pay for all those dial-in lines is expensive, and whether a line is in use or not, AOL still gets billed for it. Every migration to broadband therefore costs AOL arm + leg. The modem banks are easily one of AOL's larger non-content expenses; however, since most of their users are still using dial-up (because they live in areas where no broadband exists, or they are sticking with dial-up for other reasons), they can't exactly kick them to the curb.

RayW
Premium Member
join:2001-09-01
Layton, UT

RayW to battleop

Premium Member

to battleop
said by battleop:

The real expense in Dialup is your inbound lines to your PM3/PM4s/AS5200s/or other RAS box. On a per-customer basis dialup is still cheaper on the "cost" side of things.
I am only going on what a neighbor of mine who runs an ISP told me, your area may vary.

inspiteofitall
@verizon.net

inspiteofitall

Anon

Wait and see...

Thats a little like running the state of New Jersey without casinos... wait a minute.. hmmmm.....

What's the loss, 20 million per day (ironically the same number of aol subsucribers)?!? Who knows how much time warner (which will be white-knighting this idea if it were to come to pass) is willing to prop up with their widdle cable properties.

Is it a good long-term strategy? No, but lets see if youtube.com can survive once the last of the venture capital is blown away on a bandwidth that is only slowly coming down in price.. due to the overall aggregate that they buy..

skyfreedomdo
Premium Member
join:2003-01-01
Boise, ID

skyfreedomdo

Premium Member

Someone stop the bleeding...

The vile poison that is AOHELL will soon dry up.
They could give it to me for free and I would still spit on them.
rosenhayn
join:2005-06-01
Philadelphia, PA

rosenhayn

Member

AOL????

Boy are they getting desperate or what?? Time to let it go AOL!! You had a good run.. Sell everything and move to south beach and retire..
mortgagerep4
join:2001-05-01
Houston, TX

mortgagerep4

Member

Re: AOL????

Desperation indeed...check out this video on how desperate they are to retain customers....

»videosift.com/story.php?id=4287

alreadylost
@verizon.net

alreadylost

Anon

poor attempt

too late. this revenue model cannot be accomplished, google has all but cornered (except porn, phishing/ebay/nigerian ring schemes) the market on high stakes profitability. aol has to do something fast to stop the hemorrhaging caused by the public relations nightmare that is customer service.

Sipix86
join:2006-01-08
Mesa, AZ

Sipix86

Member

Marketing!! Insane

anybody out their actually in marketing?
and when you go to the store what do you buy?

MTBikerChris
Premium Member
join:2001-08-28
Erie, CO

1 recommendation

MTBikerChris

Premium Member

Re: Marketing!! Insane

said by Sipix86:

anybody out their actually in marketing?
and when you go to the store what do you buy?
when i go to the store i buy milk and bread does that help?

phantom1976
Premium Member
join:2001-11-08
Victoria, BC

phantom1976

Premium Member

Re: Marketing!! Insane

It might be too little too late but you have to admit it is a interesting gamble

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster

Member

AOL offline


Free? too late now

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

AOL then just another portal like Yahoo or Google

Other than the dial-up users, this plan just becomes one more web portal to use like Yahoo or MSN or Google. What will AOL's portal bring to the game that will make users want to go there instead of the other ones?

It will be a good deal for those AOL diehards that are on broadband connections but kept paying AOL just to keep the email address they have had for 10 yrs.
KPunk3
join:2004-09-10
Moorestown, NJ

KPunk3

Member

Re: AOL then just another portal like Yahoo or Google

I think alot of people, like how "everything you need for the internet is all in one program." A friend of mine, parents pay for AOL still with broadband, becuase they lik eto have the IM, EMAIL and browse features all in a single program. I just wish the new that they where getting ripped off and could do all that for free.

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

hopeflicker

Premium Member

Re: AOL then just another portal like Yahoo or Google

Me: Hi, I'd like to cancel my AOL service
AOL: Im sorry to hear that. May I ask why?

Me: Everyone on DSLR says it sucks.
AOL: oh, well...umm...

Me: Please cancel my account
AOL: Sir, your account is free

Me: i know, but i want to cancel it.
AOL: sorry sir, you don't pay for AOL, you get it free. Im sorry, buy you can not cancel. You will have to buy a new computer to get rid of AOL

insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

insomniac84

Member

LOL, they can't even give it away.

This is too funny. I guess they will now be a free email provider like yahoo, hotmail, and google. Everything else they have is pointless. The chat rooms are useless because of myspace and dating sites. The news and searching they have is pointless because of google. And any videos they offer are pointless because of YouTube and Google Video. They effectively have nothing left to offer. Its sad, they used to be so huge, and now they can't even give their service away.
BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Wakefield, MA

BosstonesOwn

Member

Re: LOL, they can't even give it away.

Sessions@aol should and can become their new cash cow. To bad they don't have the brains to do that and maybe some streaming music feeds with few ads could help rejuvenate the giant.

insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

insomniac84

Member

Re: LOL, they can't even give it away.

Not really if they can provide something that's good for free any other site can do the samething. And right now anything with "AOL" in the name is just ignored by most people.

mcfrisch
Revelare Pecunia
join:2000-07-02
Lakewood, OH

mcfrisch

Member

2 words...

AOL Sucks!

Rob A
Adjusting
Premium Member
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ

Rob A

Premium Member

And it continues...

Aol will soon be know more, just a matter of time.

POedinPO
@wavecable.com

POedinPO

Anon

OH! Another benefit

for us AOL lifetime Charter Members. AOL have you forgotten us?

from your best friend,
A Bronco Dad

RDawg24
@comcast.net

RDawg24

Anon

Free is good!

I hope they go free, I'm paying 10/month right now and free is always a good option!
Alot of their content is free, aol.com has become a very good portal that I read daily, especially their stock/business information.

insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

insomniac84

Member

Dial-up Price?

Isn't their dial-up like 26 bucks a month? Couldn't you just switch to a 7 dollar a month dial-up service and still get it AOL for free? How can they tell your not on broadband?

M A R S
Premium Member
join:2001-06-15
Long Island

M A R S

Premium Member

Only if they PAY ME

Thats the only way i would use it. Do they even make AOL for Intel Mac's?

Justin Haygood
@bellsouth.net

Justin Haygood

Anon

Re: Only if they PAY ME

Yes, the PPC Mac version works just fine over Rosetta.

NEP1611
join:2002-03-27
Northford, CT

NEP1611

Member

Last-ditch Hail Mary time

There is an old saying (paraphrasing) that those that lead great changes in the technological revolution usually don't lead subsequent changes. That is true here in spades.

AOL basically WAS the Internet for a lot of people and got a lot of people online and on the Net. True, Prodigy came first and in fact AOL advertised on Prodigy at one point. But AOL quickly became the king of the hill, especially when they went to a reduced price all-you-can-surf model back in '97.

Times change though and when the dial-up modems maxed out at 56K that was the beginning of the end for AOL. Because the cable and phone companies took over as gatekeepers for the digital era, AOL lost its one major advantage. They have recognized this and over the years we have seen them desperately try to reinvent themselves - advertising their unmatched content, the safety and security of the service, the community, the promised synergy with Time Warner that never materialized, even last summer with making much of their contact available for free on their web portal - but nothing worked. Now, they are basically reduced to giving the service away.

Essentially, this is basically AOL's last, best chance to make something stick, and I'm not sure it will be enough. While AOL will probably always be around in some form or another, and will have a decent dial-up business it is clear that the heady days of the mid-90s are no more and AOL is another company that had its day in the sun, and now will fade to the background.
stridr69
join:2003-05-19
San Luis Obispo, CA

stridr69

Member

Re: Last-ditch Hail Mary time

Nice take, NEP1611
I joined AOL back in October '93, and, at the time, I enjoyed their offerings(using a Macintosh Peforma 550)via dial-up.
Those of you in this thread that LOVE to bash AOL, remember this:AOL was the first to offer "the 'net" to the masses. Yes, in those days, Compuserve was king, but AOL offered WAY easy access to: E-Mail, Chat, etc.., thru "their" intra-net and was way easy to use. In fact, at the time, I reccommended AOL to new users just because it was that easy to use their service.
Today, I still use their AIM service(using my original screename and password-amazed I still can after cancelling their service back in '98), since they offer 2Gb e-mail service as well as a decent web portal(love the retro-TV offerings via AOL's Hi-Q video service).
Lighten up, people-you never know...maybe AOL might re-invent it's self to the next "google".
And, what's wrong with having .aol as a E-Mail client?

LennyAa
@comcast.net

LennyAa to NEP1611

Anon

to NEP1611
All ISPs will disappear, as cable and dsl have monopolies on the internet, but you won't see their web properties disappear. They simply have too many that are popular. Even their aol.com site is a good news site now, and there will always be advertising $ on the net.
I'm guessing dialup will be around for 5-7 more years, maybe then alot of the remote areas will even have ways of accessing the internet, maybe even via faster satellite speeds.
bchris02
join:2006-05-25

1 edit

bchris02

Member

AOL IS the Internet.....

Most people I know use AOL dialup and they talk about how its so easy to use and actually will get mad when you suggest they use something else. I even meet people who think the Internet will not work without AOL. This one woman I know pays for AOL and a second phone line for dial-up when she could have broadband.
47717768 (banned)
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL

47717768 (banned)

Member

TOS

I remember years a go someone reported me for violating TOS and my account was closed hm don't they try and keep you as a member?