the staff of the Ridgewood blog
FAIRFAX, VA — After more than three decades of screeches, static, and “You’ve Got Mail,” AOL is officially ending its dial-up internet service by the end of next month. The move closes a chapter of internet history that began in 1991, when AOL first brought millions of Americans online.
The news, first spotted by PC Gamer buried in AOL’s help pages, signals the final fade-out of a once-dominant technology. In its prime, AOL was the gateway to the web for households across the U.S., peaking with millions of dial-up subscribers in the late 1990s.
Dial-Up’s Decline
As recently as 2015, AOL still served 1.5 million customers willing to wait through the iconic connection tones before surfing the web. By 2021, that number had dropped to the “low thousands,” according to AOL — a reflection of the broadband and 5G takeover.
Still, dial-up isn’t entirely extinct. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) estimated that over 500,000 U.S. households were still using dial-up as recently as 2021.
Why Some Still Used Dial-Up
For rural communities lacking broadband infrastructure, dial-up remained a last resort. For others, it was about cost or habit. But with streaming video, online gaming, and AI tools becoming mainstream, the limitations of dial-up have made it nearly impossible to keep up with modern demands.
A Reminder of the Digital Divide
While the shutdown might feel symbolic, it also underscores a persistent reality: 4% of Americans — more than 13 million people — still don’t use the internet at all, according to Pew Research Center. For them, the gap between the connected and disconnected remains a significant barrier.
As the final AOL dial-up modems fall silent, a generation of internet nostalgia goes with them — but so does a reminder that access isn’t equal, even in 2025.
Follow the Ridgewood blog has a brand-new new X account, we tweet good sh$t
https://twitter.com/TRBNJNews
https://truthsocial.com/@theridgewoodblog
https://mewe.com/jamesfoytlin.74/posts
#news #follow #media #trending #viral #newsupdate #currentaffairs #BergenCountyNews #NJBreakingNews #NJHeadlines #NJTopStories
,