AOL: the subscription service for stupid people

WSJ.com - AOL Mulls Giving Away Service

In what would mark a dramatic shift in strategy, Time Warner Inc.’s AOL unit is considering offering its entire menu of services, including email, free of charge to anyone with a high-speed Internet connection, people familiar with the matter said.

Under the proposal, which AOL Chief Executive Jonathan Miller presented to top Time Warner executives in New York last week, AOL would stop charging a subscription fee for users who already have a high-speed Internet service or dial-up service from another provider. Subscribers who have traditional “dial-up” Internet access through AOL would still have to pay their monthly fee of as much as $25.90. Nearly one third of AOL’s customer base of 18.6 million already has high-speed access — but the company expects that 8 million of its existing dial-up customers would cancel their subscription to take advantage of the new offer.

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