Other computer pundits before me have pontificated on the demise of dial-up Internet service, such as that offered by SBC (now, AT&T), Earthlink, AOL and others. Although an estimated 23 million American households still use clunky, slow dial-up Internet service, a recent experience caused me to realize that it may be by design that the days of dial-up are numbered.
Some folks in northeast Norman had just purchased a new computer, and they asked me to get it ready for and onto the Internet. They already had an existing AT&T dial-up account in place. I’ve setup zillions of computers for dial-up service before, so this didn’t seem too challenging. Unfortunately, they didn’t know their accounts user name or password. This required a call to the AT&T Internet service helpline.
I’ve had to call the AT&T helpline before, so I already knew to find a comfortable chair before I called, as I would be on the phone for at least 30 minutes speaking to someone in Pakistan or India, for whom English is not his or her first language. Thirty minutes later, I had my customers’ login information, as well as the server information I needed to setup their email program. The modem dialed in and logged me on correctly. Unfortunately, the email server information that Ms. Padmavati had given me was wrong, as was the server information on the AT&T website. It was time to call India again.
Thirty minutes later, I had new information to apply, and this time I kept my new Hindi-speaking friend on the phone while I made sure that the information was correct. It was, so I proceeded to the AT&T dialup account website to setup a new password. The website address I’d been given took me to, of all places, Prodigy, a dial-up ISP bought and absorbed by the former SBC. It was the most dysfunctional website I’d been to in a long while, and then, it dawned on me: all of this poor service could be due to the fact that AT&T doesn’t really care too much about serving its dialup customers, just like Ford doesn’t make many parts for 1935 sedans.
As most new computers do not have floppy drives, parallel printer or serial ports, many also no longer have built-in modems. With broadband service getting cheaper, and gradually extending into under-served rural areas, many ISPs are deliberately making it difficult for customers to stay with dial-up. AOL has already raised its dial-up rates to equal its broadband offering (which is nothing more than cable or phone-company DSL with a tacked-on AOL fee). Other companies are said to be considering selling off their dialup business in order to pursue the more lucrative broadband market. AT&T now sells its basic DSL service for $12.99, which is less than my countryside customers were paying for dial-up. Like it or not, technology is once again changing, and many folks will be forced some day to change, as well.