AOL (America Online) was founded in 1985 and incorporated in Delaware on May 24, 1985. Its dial-up online service combined internet access with electronic mail, message boards, chat rooms and the Buddy List instant messaging feature, and reported approximately 23.2 million members worldwide as of June 30, 2000.
AOL shifted its primary strategic focus away from the subscription access business in August 2006 as broadband displaced dial-up, and its access subscriber base declined from then on. The dial-up service itself was discontinued on September 30, 2025. The AOL and CompuServe brands now operate as advertising-supported web properties.
Fuentes
- 01.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. America Online, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2000. Source for the 1985 founding ("Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc."; incorporated in Delaware on May 24, 1985), the 23.2 million AOL members as of June 30, 2000, and the service's electronic mail, message board, Buddy List instant messaging and chat features.
- 02.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AOL Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. Source for the decline in dial-up access subscribers and the August 2006 shift of AOL's primary strategic focus away from the subscription access business.
- 03.
McCarthy, K. (2025). AOL set to pull the plug on iconic dial-up internet service. ABC News. Source for the September 30, 2025 discontinuation of AOL's dial-up service and AOL's statement that it "routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet."