AOL: The Internet Has Gone Completely Silent
In 1991, broadband was still just a concept of the future. The network pioneers relied on copper lines, noise, and sound to set bits in motion. AOL offered a complete package: dial-up software, exclusive content, and a community, which the network desperately needed at the time.
On the technical side, it was simple—and magical at the same time. The modem dialed in via a telephone line, negotiated the data transfer via beeping frequencies, and blocked any possibility of making a phone call. 14.4 kbit/s meant long loading times, and 56 kbit/s felt like high speed. ISDN later managed 64 kbit/s - without the familiar modem noises. Even 128 kbit/s was possible - but this also doubled the costs.
Marketing with silver linings
From the mid-90s, AOL distributed massive amounts of access CDs. In 1999, over a billion were distributed—a logistical tour de force and marketing coup. Anyone who held a particular version in their hands could secure a flat rate in Germany, for example, at a time when flat rates were in short supply.
The decline began with DSL
The turning point came in the 2000s. DSL brought megabit speeds without busy signals in the fixed network. Fiber optics finally made the modem superfluous. AOL attempted to reinvent itself as a media platform, but the golden age had passed.
Nevertheless, millions in the USA held on to the technology, partly due to a lack of alternatives, partly out of habit. There were still around 1.5 million customers in the system in 2021, even if only a few thousand went online via modem.
The last whistle
More than just a service will end on September 30, 2025. With the shutdown of modem dial-up in the USA, the characteristic concert of whistles, hisses, and clicks that marked the transition from analog to digital will fall silent. For technology nostalgics, it marks the end of the last truly known modem dial-up era.
Perhaps you still have an AOL CD lying in a drawer somewhere in your home. If you find it, you will hardly be able to use it, but it carries the soundtrack of an era. One day, it will probably be like the floppy disks and audio cassettes of today, which future generations will marvel at.
