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AOL's Broadband Strategy: Kick Customers Off Broadband
from the let-them-eat-dialup dept
Just as AOL is reorganizing partly to respond to the loss of 2 million customers who are running to broadband providers, AOL has made the strategic move to tell their broadband customers they're switching them to dialup. That's right. If you're unlucky enough to be an AOL broadband customer in nine southern states, and you don't go out and find your own broadband provider by January 17th, AOL will automatically knock you down to dialup. Apparently, part of this reorganization must have included the creation of the "department of reverse psychology."
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Keeping broadband
Well, AOL's intent certainly isn't to make people switch from broadband to dial-up. They just want out of the wiring business. They finally figured out that the ILECs can do it a lot cheaper than AOL ever could. AOL is offering to help those customers switch to BellSouth DSL.
Yes, AOL probably stands to lose a number of those customers. Many will switch ISPs when they switch connection providers. But there probably aren't that many of those customers left, and they were probably lost anyway: $54/month is hopelessly non-competitive with ILEC DSL rates... BellSouth's own 1.5M/256K ADSL service is $33/month. Even if you gotta have your AOL and you add $15/month for AOL Bring Your Own Access, you're still only spending $48/month.
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AOL Broadband
I'm sure by now you know your article about AOL broadband isn't all true. They are not dropping braodband, just DSL in the area served by BellSouth. Users will have to switch to broadband or go back to dial-up. This is due to the cost of BellSouth. It is the most expensive and because of that, AOL has to charge it's users more than other DSL service. I have BellSouth DSL at work and AOL Broadband at home. The AOL is faster, probably another reason to discontinue.
It will only hurt AOL users in areas cable is not available.
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