By the Numbers: Dialed down

33.2 million

The number of subscriptions AOL—formerly America Online—boasted for its dial-up internet service at the company’s height in 2001. From the hit movie You’ve Got Mail to the free trial discs cluttering many American homes, AOL’s dial-up service was an emblem of the early internet age. But after 34 years, the company announced it would disconnect the service Sept. 30.

163,401

The number of American households with only dial-up internet access—accounting for just 0.13% of internet-connected households—according to a 2023 Census Bureau report.

56

The average download speed in kilobits per second that AOL’s dial-up users achieved through telephone modems, a speed greatly surpassed by today’s typical broadband connection, which moves data at a rate more than 3,800 times faster.

50%

The share of all CDs produced worldwide at one point in the ’90s that were AOL free trial discs, according to former AOL marketing chief Jan Brandt.