04/10/97 Brownout cuts off AOL e-mail [FOR THREE DAYS!!]
16:19 EDT
Associated Press
NEW YORK - The Cyberspace postman hasn't been good to America Online subscribers this week.
Computer problems at the nation's largest online service left tens
of thousands of Internet users unable to send e-mail messages to AOL's
8 million subscribers for three days.
AOL said the e-mail brownout was triggered on Monday by an unusual
spike in the number of Internet users trying to send messages to its
customers, whose online addresses end in "aol.com." The increased
volume overwhelmed its computers that relay Internet e-mail. Frustrated senders received electronic notes informing them the messages could not be sent.
The Dulles, Va.- based company said it had largely fixed the problem
by Thursday, by adding computers and software to operation sites in
northern Virginia. No e-mail was lost because computers stored the
messages, which are being resent, said AOL spokeswoman Tricia Primrose.
Still, woes lingered, in part because computers at senders' sites
have long lines of messages waiting to be sent. Two attempts on Thursday to send an online message from The Associated Press to an AOL spokeswoman resulted in a note saying that the attempt to connect with the user was unsuccessful.
The online snag was the latest to emerge from a sharp increase in
AOL subscribers over the last four months, since the online service
began offering unlimited online usage for $19.95 a month. The dramatically increased usage strained AOL's network, resulting in busy signals for frustrated subscribers trying to log on.
The reason for Monday's sharp increase in e-mail volume wasn't known,
but was part of a broader trend. Since December, Internet mail has
doubled to a daily average of 10 million pieces going to AOL subscribers, Primrose said.
In general, the network bottlenecks have lessened as AOL adds more
modems and other high-tech gear in a $350 million drive to meet the
surge in demand.
But in an acknowledgment that problems persist, AOL last week agreed
to extend a refund agreement to disgruntled customers to cover snags
in February and March. Previously, it had only offered refunds for
problems in December and January.
Amazing it took so long to make the wire. And at this point
its only AP, not Reuters, Bloomberg, or DJ. |
