Internet Provider Ending Services in Louisiana and Texas

(KMDL-FM) For some residents of Louisiana cities such as Lake Charles, Lafayette, Alexandria, and Shreveport, it will mean the end of an era. The same could be said for internet users in Texas towns like Houston, Beaumont, Lufkin, Tyler, and Abilene. There are changes coming with the way we get online.

Once upon a time, there was no "online" to get onto. Yes, it's hard to believe there was actually a time before the Internet and all of those incredible posts and stories did not affect our day-to-day life.

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We had to wait until the following day to be offended by what a politician said, or we'd have to wait until the weekend to see what new movies were coming to our town's theater. But thanks to the Internet, we can get angry and book theater tickets all while illegally using our mobile phone in traffic.

What Major Change Was Just Announced by America Online?

Of course, the only thing worse than slow internet service is no internet service, and for hundreds of thousands of Americans, that access to the "online" is about to change. You're familiar with America Online? AOL was the "Mack Daddy" of the Internet just a couple of decades ago.

There was a time when we all had numerous AOL startup disks that we had pilfered from the local grocery store or that were sent to us in the mail. Believe it or not, there are still some people who not only use AOL but also a service from AOL that most of us moved on from a decade or so ago.

All good things must come to an end, I suppose, and AOL has revealed that after more than three decades, the company will discontinue its Dial-Up Internet. You've got until September 30th to come up with a new way to log on, according to a press release from the company.

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How Many People Still Use Dial-Up Connections to Get Online?

Based on U.S. Census Bureau data as of 2023, there were just under 200,000 individuals who were still connected to the internet via a dial-up connection. This change by AOL will certainly lessen that number. The company cited changes in technology and the disappearance of landlines for telephone connections as reasons for their decision. 

Just for clarity, we want to make sure you understand that AOL Internet service is not going away. Only the dial-up Internet service is being discontinued. If you've moved past dial-up modems years ago, then you're fine.