DULLES, VA – MAY 19:
An employee walks by a large banner displaying the AOL logo at AOL headquarters on May 19, 2010 in Dulles, VA. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images
In the hazy impressions of memory, some may even recall it fondly: The AOL dial-up internet service that those of a certain age associate with the World Wide Web is coming to a close.
The company, also known by its “You’ve got mail” greeting and the CD trial discs — so many CDs — made the announcement on its website.
“AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. This service will no longer be available in AOL plans,” the web provider said.
Absent the wireless signals of the modern day, dial-up connected to the internet using a conventional telephone line, emitting a distinctive, high-pitched chirping sound in the process.
AOL, now part of Yahoo, said the dial-up service, along with the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, will be discontinued on Sept. 30.
America Online was famous for its free trial discs, which seemed to be everywhere in the 1990s when the internet was gaining steam in households across the United States and beyond.
It changed its name to just AOL in 2006. Verizon sold AOL and Yahoo to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion in 2021.
