Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : Binary Hodgepodge -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ~digs who wrote (591)	6/4/2003 2:15:50 AM
From: ~digs	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6763

AOL subscriber defections top 1 million WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - America Online has lost more than one million dial-up customers since a dramatic decline in its subscriber base began late last year, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the figures. The Internet unit of AOL Time Warner (NYSE:AOL - News) is rapidly losing customers to lower-priced Internet services as well as to higher-priced high-speed cable and telephone providers, the paper said. AOL Time Warner's chief financial officer Wayne Pace told a media conference this week that the fall-off in subscribers was much steeper than AOL had projected, the newspaper reported. An America Online spokesman was not immediately available for comment early on Wednesday. The report said customers were swapping the $23.90-per-month AOL service for low-cost providers led by United Online Inc (NasdaqNM:UNTD - News), which owns NetZero, Juno and other bare-bones services that charge $9.95 a month for Internet access. Those signing up for higher priced fast Internet connections at home were buying directly from cable and telephone companies, the newspaper said. About half of AOL's customers were leaving for high-speed services, while 20 percent appeared to be leaving for low-priced alternatives, Youssef Squali, an analyst with First Albany Corporation, told The Post. America Online remains the largest U.S. provider of Internet access with about 26 million customers. But over the past two quarters, the company has lost more than 700,000 dial-up subscribers, The Post reported. Squali said First Albany was now projecting that America Online would lose hundreds of thousands of additional dial-up subscribers this quarter and more than one million subscribers in 2003. biz.yahoo.com