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AOL's Broadband Implosion
Today tells Southerners to find new ISP

AOL was the king of dial-up connectivity, and with a captive audience of millions, was set to dominate broadband; also to compete with Google and Microsoft as the premiere Internet portal and webmail provider. Instead they're quickly becoming irrelevant as they face a slow subscriber drain and a series of deep self-inflicted wounds.

In September of 2002, in an interview with the Washington Post, AOL Broadband President Lisa A. Hook called broadband "a side issue" and proudly declared that narrowband was "going to be around forever". Lisa Hook however won't be; she was fired this week, along with 700 AOL employees from their Virginia Headquarters in just the latest effort to right a capsizing ship.

In December of 2002, AOL CEO Jonathan Miller admitted the company had "missed the first wave of broadband" but would be correcting their course immediately. With much fanfare, his strategy for AOL's survival was unveiled among hushed whispers to investors and analysts.

Miller's plan was to wall off AOL as an exclusive provider of content so spectacular, that like a circus freak tent, strangers would pay handsomely (on top of the cost of a broadband connection) to gawk in amazement at the wonder of bearded ladies and lizard children.

As part of that plan, AOL this year stopped providing (reselling) the broadband pipe themselves to new customers. They instead opted to become a BYOA (bring your own access) carrier, charging customers $15 on top of their existing broadband costs for an AOL e-mail client and perhaps the occasional Sugar Ray concert (we kid, but we're not far off).

Existing Broadband subscribers have been in limbo, but today the company informed millions of them in 9 Southern States they've got until January to find a new Internet service provider. The remainder of broadband users will be phased out over the next year as AOL shifts toward pure content. All of that broadband business is being nudged toward the bells, with the hope some will return for the Sugar Ray.

The problem is even faithful AOL users are starting to wonder what they're paying for. AOL customers like this one in our forums are reading about Bit Torrent. Their broadband ISP's offer parental controls, broadband portals and content, anti-virus software, pop-up blockers, and a bevy of other services. AOL has in fact made themselves irrelevant, and is discovering multi-million dollar ad campaigns can't cure what ails them.

In their most recent earnings report, AOL announced they'd lost 2 million customers in the last year alone. Parent company Time Warner has been forced to tuck away half a billion dollars to deal with ongoing investigations into AOL's accounting practices. Jonathan Miller this week announced they'd be firing 700 employees and executives, and once again revamping the entire AOL operation.

A few years ago we joked that the AOL ship "appears to be piloted by a retarded test monkey on barbituates and not guided by any form of business savvy rationale."

The monkey has jumped overboard.
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jarablue
Always be true to yourself
join:2001-06-11
Worcester, MA

1 recommendation

jarablue

Member

Go away

AOL just go away. First post!

isecondthatnominatio
@optonline.net

isecondthatnominatio

Anon

Re: Go away

Hmm, In the popular opinion of many, Like Arafat. AOL is irrelevant, despite what Time Warner wants everyone to believe and the facts prove this beause no further innovations have come from this company... in what like months, and months, maybe a few free songs here and there, but real value. No.. dump Time Warner Stock, this puppy is going downhill from here!

Hayward0
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium Member
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL

Hayward0

Premium Member

Re: Go away

said by isecondthatnominatio:

the facts prove this beause no further innovations have come from this company.
Any ever did????? Lets see the bought and killed Netscape, the use the IE engine, OK started AIM but made it not necessary to be an AOL subscriber, so so what. (And weren't really far ahead of anyone else... IRC had been around for a decade or more)
Really, what real innovation except making the Internet mindless accessible at excessive prices and a place for the unfettered distribution of viruses, trojans, and worms?

Ap0calypse
join:2003-12-19
Burlington, ON

Ap0calypse to jarablue

Member

to jarablue
Get rid of this Dinosaur already. Anyone that pays extra for AOL email and Sugar Ray content should not have the right to own a computer anyway...

technick
Premium Member
join:2000-12-16
Wheat Ridge, CO

technick

Premium Member

Re: Go away

what's wrong with sugar ray?
mglunt
join:2001-09-10
Fredericksburg, VA

1 recommendation

mglunt to jarablue

Member

to jarablue
I don't get it. Why don't people want to spend $25 on dial up. It sure beats spending $30 on broadband! We're $5 cheaper! Just look at the savings!

Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
Premium Member
join:2003-09-16
Columbus, OH

Vchat20

Premium Member

Re: Go away

i know you were being sarcastic, but note that there are a few BB providers out there who have $15 and $20 "lite" plans which are still much faster than dialup.
gamer999
join:2004-10-27
Richardson, TX

gamer999 to mglunt

Member

to mglunt
yeah a heck of al lot slower ... you ask why would people want
to spend the extra mon, well ill put it in lamens terms if we were to both start making breakfast with all the trimmings at the same time, i would be done finished and watching the game and you... well would be cracking that first egg!
tcope
Premium Member
join:2003-05-07
Sandy, UT

tcope to jarablue

Premium Member

to jarablue
AOLS business model:

Let's flood the market with advertizing but don't actually offer anything new (we will just take the old stuff and add more bloated advertizing to it) and then charge more then anyone else in the market. Surly this will keep us going for decades. How can it fail? Oh... and we won't lift a finger about all the negative feedback this plan causes.

Just another example of Enron and Tyco like CEO's running the ship. They got their million dollar paychecks. But hey, what do I know.
flushls
join:2004-11-02
Joyce, WA

flushls

Member

Re: Go away

Hey don't forget QWEST they are as FUBAR as AOL, Enron Etc.

sallyweltrop
@cox.net

sallyweltrop to jarablue

Anon

to jarablue
I've received 4 AOL discs in the mail this past month and ALL of them went immediately into the trash. How stupid is this company. People want speed! Bombarding & irritating people with drink coasters is NOT a good business plan.

dzjeppster
@dsl.emhril.ameritech

dzjeppster

Anon

;s

Instead of sending out thousands of AOL cds every week [that nobody uses and throws away], why dont they improve their services. Broadband would be a good start. But we all know that wont happen. All they have to show for their service is flashy tv commercials that dont draw a crowd. 56K is dying. And so is AOL.
mglunt
join:2001-09-10
Fredericksburg, VA

mglunt

Member

Re: ;s


I've used some of the cases... toss the CD though .
tnn10
join:2004-05-19
Stockton, CA

tnn10

Member

Re: ;s

i used to be able to reuse the cases, but now they come in chincy plastic peices of crap that arent standard cd jewel case or dvd case size. that and trying to get the damn inserts out without breaking the case is a pain.

BriGuy89
Let's Go Orange
join:2001-05-08
Yorktown Heights, NY

BriGuy89 to dzjeppster

Member

to dzjeppster
said by dzjeppster:

Instead of sending out thousands of AOL cds every week [that nobody uses and throws away]...
They make great coasters -- I use them for that all the time.

Pz_
join:2001-03-31
Brownsburg, IN

Pz_

Member

Re: ;s

Agreed. In fact, my current beverage is resting happily on the lastest version of AOL.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to dzjeppster

Premium Member

to dzjeppster
if AOL was concerned about the environment, they'd at least send out their junk on cd-rw's so they could be reused.

dzjeppster
@dsl.emhril.ameritech

dzjeppster

Anon

Do you guys remember the tv ad that showed people that used their AOL cds to make decorations and stuff like that? But then they had the AOL ppl say "Dont throw those CDS away, the service is greatly improved" or something like that. And all the poeple stopped using their cds for decorations...

Haha, if only that was true. Sometimes I like to throw mine in the park like a frisbee. They go really far!

Ivybridge_I7
Cyber-Crime Researcher OpSec
Premium Member
join:2004-06-09
Daytona Beach, FL

1 recommendation

Ivybridge_I7

Premium Member

The once powerful American Online is in critical condition living on life support.


»www.antihotmail.com
Dslreports.com Profile: »profile.antihotmail.com
spammers_are_scumbags@antihotmail.com

Jigsaw
Stardust We Are
Premium Member
join:2000-10-21
Cleveland, OH

1 edit

Jigsaw

Premium Member

Re: Anti-American Online

said by Ivybridge_I7:

The once powerful American Online is in critical condition living on life support
They and several other ISP's have been like that there is no need for a middleman anymore.They should of went the yahoo route.IMHO they dint think high speed internet was all that good for them.They let greed get in the way thinking we have Millions of people paying us almost 25 bucks a month why should we even try.Now you see what happened there is no need for them anymore.Pass this one to Greed Plain and simple and now its biting them in the ass hard.

Chris 313
Because It's Geekier
Premium Member
join:2004-07-18
Houma, LA
·AT&T FTTP
·Comcast XFINITY

Chris 313

Premium Member

Re: Anti-American Online

AOL deserves to die. Just a week ago, a friend came to me complaining AOL was slow. My response was to set herself up with the Cable provider I have. She loves it. AOL gave her a free month to get her to stay, which she told me she used to transfer everything she had AOL wise (E-Mail, ect) to her new account with Cable.

I myself had AOL Dial Up from 2000-2002 when they lost me as a customer due to billing issues. I then switched to MSN in 2002 to early 2004. I then switched to Cable. HUGE difference. It wasn't that i hated MSN, it was just too slow. I orginally thought my computer was dying. In 2004, i was shown the light and will never return to Dial Up.
chesney09
Premium Member
join:2004-07-26
Howell, MI

1 recommendation

chesney09

Premium Member

My father has been an AOL DSL subscriber for the better part of 5-7 years. After his last move about 2 years ago, he was given a DSL connection on 768/128 speeds. He pays (I believe) about 40 for the connection then some additional charge that is discounted due to being a GM retiree. So for AOL on a 768/128 dsl connection it costs him roughly 50+ a month. It was funny to see this article today... I have been on him telling him.. Drop AOL and get SBC/Yahoo with twice the speed for half the price. He woudn't budge because the Mrs. is attached to AOL. So I then suggested.. Call AOL and tell them to up your speeds or you'll switch... Well, I did just that for him... Their response... "Switch!"
Funny.. They cry about losing subscribers... But what do they do with to keep them? Such the typical "Big" company.. They talk a good game but really could give to Sh!ts about you as a customer. How sad.

It has been kinda of comical to see the rise and fall of AOL. I remember 10 years ago.. AOL being KING! What a demise of a huge company, and a LOT of employees! Must have had some BRILLIANT leadership over there at Time Warner.

Gwailo
join:2000-07-16
Richardson, TX

1 recommendation

Gwailo

Member

"In September of 2002, in an interview with the Washington Post, AOL Broadband President Lisa A. Hook called broadband "a side issue" and proudly declared that narrowband was "going to be around forever".

BBR, put that in the famous quotes section when my IP changes and I have to log on again

Derek_Wildstar
Professional lurker
join:2001-02-24
Iscandar

Derek_Wildstar

Member

Re: Bye-bye!

said by Gwailo:

"In September of 2002, in an interview with the Washington Post, AOL Broadband President Lisa A. Hook called broadband "a side issue" and proudly declared that narrowband was "going to be around forever".

BBR, put that in the famous quotes section when my IP changes and I have to log on again
Right up there with Bill Gates' "No one should ever need more than 64K of memory" comment.

Blackspots
join:2003-03-24
Wichita Falls, TX

Blackspots

Member

Re: Bye-bye!

I believe that was "Noone would ever need more than 640K of RAM" not 64K.

dzjeppster
@dsl.emhril.ameritech

dzjeppster

Anon

Oh and it's funny to see AOL trying to cut costs everywhere. I get so many damn AOL cds, and a few months back they send them in these nice wooden boxes [probably since they are more eco-friendly] but nowadays I get the metal tin boxes again. Last week I got this huge DVD-case like tin. lolz
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: ;s

my dad gets the wooden cases all the time like 3 per month or something like that...he paints them white with some spray paint and reuses them. the discs become coasters for his coffee cup.

sNaKeYeZ
Premium Member
join:2002-07-11
Chunky, MS

1 recommendation

sNaKeYeZ

Premium Member

The only thing I see that keeps AOL afloat at all is this:

I bet 75% of their subscriber base has never had another ISP, and all thier friends use AOL as well. They are afraid to go anywhere else, especially to a world without "keywords". Having never subscribed to AOL or anything like it (minus Prodigy waaay back in the day), I guess I wouldn't understand.

I have tried to convert many over from AOL, but trying to teach someone about "the internet" without using AOL is cumbersome. Not too long ago, my wife was trying to tell a family friend how to do a Windows update. Upon connecting to AOL dialup, she told her friend to minimize the AOL window and double-click the Internet Explorer icon. This girl had never done this before, and was amazed! She said "how do I pay for Internet Explorer?" LOL

Now for the topic issue, maybe AOL getting away from broadband will help their users get mad, leave, get another ISP, and begin learn more about what the internet could really be like...without AOL.

Sad to say, but I bet broadband of any kind (minus expensive satellite service) is still unavailable here to at least 60% of Mississippians. It's so bad here, nearly everyone I know still uses dialup out of necessity. I'm so thankful that BellSouth brought DSL to my tiny, tiny town.

Death to AOL!

TheMetrix
R.T.F.M. - P.E.B.K.A.C
Premium Member
join:2002-06-15
Utica, MI

TheMetrix

Premium Member

Re: Reason for being...

I had my time with AOHell, only due to it being the only ISP in my area at the time with a local number.

Calling their customer service is pathetic. CS has and still does, to my knowledge tell customers that it costs extra to use Internet Explorer outside of AOL's software. That is most likely where you wife's friend got that impression.

Blackspots
join:2003-03-24
Wichita Falls, TX
Netgear CM1000
Netgear RAX15

2 edits

Blackspots to sNaKeYeZ

Member

to sNaKeYeZ
When I tried to just use Internet Explorer, AOL would disconnect me after about 20-30 minutes (no activity in the AOL software I suppose) That was when I was using AOL software 4 years ago for about 6 months in length.

We quit using AOL because of the frequent disconnects during the evening peak usage times, and often it also took as much as 30 minutes to even be able to connect to AOL was the other reason to switching ISP's.

kaisa
Premium Member
join:2002-08-20
Chicago, IL

kaisa

Premium Member

quote:
AOL Broadband President Lisa A. Hook called broadband "a side issue" and proudly declared that narrowband was "going to be around forever". Lisa Hook however won't be; she was fired this week, along with 700 AOL employees from their Virginia Headquarters in just the latest effort to right a capsizing ship.

I literally lol'd

csbadboyz
Csbadboyz
Premium Member
join:2003-11-14
Sanford, FL

1 recommendation

csbadboyz

Premium Member

Re: :x

My Chairman brought in his desktop from home, and it was overflowing with garbage generated by AOL. He has since dumped AOL, and gone to bellsouth dsl.

Aol is in the right place now, the bottom of the ocean.

IhatemyISP
MM1 Corbski
Premium Member
join:2003-01-27
Hampton, VA

IhatemyISP

Premium Member

Oh great, just what we need, more AOL zombies converting...

I better stock up on some cheese...

BM Fan
join:2004-08-20

1 recommendation

BM Fan

Member

I don't use aol, never have. it has never been available in my area without a long distance call. that being said i learned early on, you best best it to go with a local dial up provider. you get better support and a more stable connection.last year sbc dls became available in my area and i haven't looked back since.as far as aol goes I don't see anything evil about there service.it's like internet for computer illiterate people nothing wrong with that.it has its place

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

AOL killed itself, it refused to move on. Now its forced to, hey aol heard of akami.com

woody7
Premium Member
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA

1 edit

woody7

Premium Member

DieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDie
DieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDie
DieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDie
just die already

PhoenixDown
FIOS is Awesome
Premium Member
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY

PhoenixDown

Premium Member

I use to have compuserve and then America Online for a time. I don't think they were that bad but they lost thier vision and thier focus and the millions of subscribers they had left because AOL simply couldn't cater to thier needs any longer.

The merger with TW could have been something phenominal but without vision or purpose they lost thier opportunity to become something again.

I dont use AOL anymore so it doesnt matter as much for me, but what of the subcompanies like Winamp and Moviefone? Will we lose them too because of the incompetence up top?

•••••••••

jopfef
Home of The Rat Patrol
MVM
join:2001-03-31
Saint Louis, MO

jopfef

MVM

I've been pulling AOL users off AOL for years now, and have yet to have one go back to AOL. Once they get the hand of the REAL Internet, they never want to go back.

Vamp
5c077
Premium Member
join:2003-01-28
MD

Vamp

Premium Member

I don't see how it is possible for aol to build a broadband infrastructure now... The only way would be reselling or if they just buy out an entire ISP (We better all hope that doesn't happen)

•••••

Musicscom
Premium Member
join:2004-08-24
Washington, DC

Musicscom

Premium Member

with their AOL stock and Time Warner stock, it's about time they paid the piper.

Steve Case got out when he saw the writing on the wall. Unfortunately, the droids and deadheads at Time Warner don't have the same common sense.

While AOL was the greediest ISP in history, Time Warner makes them look like a mom & pop operation. I did like the famous quote from Miss Lisa though, talk about something coming back to haunt you; what century does this "president Lisa" live in? Certainly not this one.

Time Warner is right in their league; least common denominator television, crap shows, crap magazines, and crap news. And don't forget crap movies and crap music.

A newspaper chain and a movie company really have no business in diversifying into Internet business anyway. A newsman knows absolutely nothing about how computers and Internet connectivity work, and actors and producers know even less.

Is it time to dump both stocks? You betcha!

Anyone who would sink half a billion into a burning building needs the boot from uptown Manhattan; all the way to Peoria!

These new old "young" CEO's haven't got a clue. Like Miss Lisa, what planet are you from dear?

Or did she make off with a nice golden parachute for all of the dismemberment she caused?

AOL could not go broadband. They never saw this. AOL's view has been, and probably always will be, myopic. AOL is the anti-social kid on the block, and refuses to play with any of the other kids. Time Warner is no different.

Remember when James Warner ran Warner along with his brothers? Probably not, but back then they actually cared about people and their employees and the public. Not anymore. And the public no longer cares about them. Except for those pensioners that still think they're going to retire on AOL stock. Ah, gambling, it doesn't matter if you call the casino the NYSE or NASDAQ, the results are the same: the house always wins and you always lose, in the long run. No one knows this better than a Wall Street broker who has convinced millions to buy paper stock. Like that of Yahoo, another loser in the long run.

Hey, if you want to gamble your life savings on a company with no real assets, fine; but don't cry when the NYSE screams "Banco!"

By the way, AOL still owes me $56.00

And their service was the worst I've ever used, with the possible exception of AOL's twin, Comcast.

Hayward0
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium Member
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL

Hayward0

Premium Member

Re: All them greedy little buggers . . .

said by Musicscom:

Steve Case got out when he saw the writing on the wall.
Well I would hope so, it was his own handwriting

jobs
@168.143.x.x

jobs

Anon

Think of all the jobs lost; time for government subsidies, don't you think?

davidw77
@12.9.x.x

davidw77

Anon

I wish they would send those cds out on cd-rw disc. they I could use them.

•••
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