South Africa, like much of the world, has largely moved past dial-up.
AOL, which started as American Online and gave the world “You’ve Got Mail” in 1993 – later likely inspiring the 1998 hit movie of the same name – is saying goodbye to dial-up internet in a symbolic move.
On its support page, AOL – also remembered for its iconic greeting as well as features like instant messaging, user-friendly interfaces and chat rooms – says it has discontinued dial-up internet, which will no longer be available from the end of next month. This, it notes, is part of an ongoing effort to assess its products and services.
Linda Morris, Smart Technology Centre MD, says the decision “marks the end of an era and reflects how far global internet infrastructure has come. It’s a reminder of the importance of modernising legacy systems and adapting to current user needs.”
While the announcement has been broadly welcomed, dial-up is still an option in South Africa. At least one provider, Internet Services & Technologies, still offers dial-up starting at R80 a month.
In March last year, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) reported in its 2024 State of the ICT Sector Report that in 2023, total fixed internet and data revenue rose 45.85%, from R20.9 billion in 2022 to R30.5 billion.
Yet, over a five-year period, growth was negligible. Total fixed internet and data revenue increased by just 3.3%, while revenue from fixed internet services grew 3.57%, the authority notes. ICASA classifies “fixed-line” voice and data connections as including traditional landline telephony and broadband internet via wired connections.
Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, says while “dial-up is dead…it lives in the shadows, serving rural communities beyond broadband’s reach, keeping legacy systems alive, and acting as a solid backup when high-speed links fail”.
“Dial-up may be slow, but it is cheap, dependable and useful in places where newer tech has not arrived.”
He points out that infrastructure limitations for fibre or mobile broadband in rural areas are another key reason for its continued use.
Certain industries “still use equipment designed decades ago to work over dial-up, including old point-of-sale machines, building security systems, utility meters, or industrial control units. Replacing them can cost more than keeping them going.”
Dial-up also offers a low-cost fallback for organisations that need a redundant connection. “A dial-up line can still handle essential low-bandwidth tasks like sending text-based data or e-mails,” Goldstuck says.
For users with very light internet needs, such as checking e-mail occasionally or synchronising basic data daily, “dial-up can be much cheaper than broadband and works with basic hardware”. He notes, however, that such hardware will become increasingly difficult to source.
Hennie Francis, CEO of the Amazon Web Services Community in South Africa, says: “Finally! It’s a very good memory but welcome to 2025.”
He adds the move will give smaller providers the chance to “play with better and more reliable technology,” as there is a push toward wireless fibre.
“Considering how technology has advanced, especially the pending introduction of 6G, the existence of dial-up connections has had a shelf life for a while,” says Jacqui Muller, iTVersity Belgium Campus researcher.
“Many people have likely forgotten it still exists, especially as Telkom said some years ago that it isn’t replacing copper lines because of copper thieves.”
Morris notes that South Africa, like much of the world, has largely moved past dial-up. Broadband such as ADSL, fibre, LTE and 5G is now the standard, even in many rural areas.
“Dial-up is no longer offered by almost all local internet service providers. AOL is a US-centric brand and never had a significant footprint in South Africa’s consumer internet market,” she says.
Most South Africans wouldn’t be using AOL software or services, particularly AOL Dialer or AOL Shield, Morris adds. “This is also symbolic of how technology is constantly evolving – while not directly impactful locally, the move is symbolic.”
