Hoping to at least slow the rush of AOL customers towards the exit, America Online Inc. will launch a new discount Internet service to compete with Juno, NetZero and other low-cost providers.
The $9.95-per-month service, debuting early next year, will use the Netscape brand and will provide users with a single e-mail address. It`s similar to two other discount AOL services -- CompuServe and Wal-Mart Connect, which sells for $9.94 per month.
AOL, which sells for $23.90 per month once you get past all the promotions and supposedly free trials, has lost more than 1 million customers in recent months. Though some are defecting to broadband providers, many are going to cheaper dial-up services, primarily Juno and NetZero, both owned by United Online.
Despite its losses, AOL remains the largest Internet service provider with about 25 million U.S. subscribers, though United Online has been growing fast and now has about 2.6 million.
AOL says it will market the new service primarily to AOL customers who call to cancel their AOL service. It will also promote it to those visiting the Netscape site.
AOL has long made it difficult for subscribers to cancel and recently offered to settle federal charges that it continued billing subscribers who had closed their accounts. It`s impossible to close one`s account online. Customers must go through a complex telephone procedure that pits them against customer service reps whose mission is to persuade them to keep their subscription active.
|
15.10.2003
AOL Will Offer $9.95 Dial-Up Service
Hoping to at least slow the rush of AOL customers towards the exit, America Online Inc. will launch a new discount Internet service to compete with Juno, NetZero and other low-cost providers.The $9.95-per-month service, debuting early next year, will use the Netscape... |
|
16.10.2004
Earthlink Will Offer BPL Internet Service in New York
• Dallas Area to Get Power-Line Internet• Up the Broadband Creek Without a Signal• Google Buys Stake in Power-Line Internet Company• FCC OKs Internet Service Over Power Lines• Earthlink Will Offer BPL Internet Service in New York EarthLink... |
|
11.01.2005
Comcast To Offer Phone Service
Comcast is the latest cable giant to jump into the local phone market. The nation`s largest cable provide will start offering phone service via the Internet later this year to customers who subscribe to its high-speed Internet system.Comcast`s entry presents a stiff... |
|
20.04.2005
Verizon Will Offer Stand-Alone DSL Service
Verizon says it will phase in a policy of allowing customers to buy stand-alone high-speed Internet service. Qwest is currently the only major local telephone company that will sell DSL service to customers who do not have a local telephone number at the same... |
|
04.08.2004
Internet Phone Service: Curse or Cure?
The Internet has changed the way we live, not always for the best. But it has the potential to make amends in a big way if it delivers on what many experts believe is its potential to provide cheap, reliable telephone service.Verizon, the nation`s largest... |
|
