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3% of American Internet users still stuck with dial-up

Published Aug 21st, 2013 10:30PM EDT

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While many of us think of dial-up Internet service as a long-buried relic of years past, for many Americans it’s still a sad, slow reality. The Pew Research Center reports that around 3% of American Internet users are still using dial-up services as their means for going online, a percentage that hasn’t change since 2011. Given that the decline in dial-up subscribers has slowed dramatically over the past two years, it seems that the remaining 3% who still use dial-up have no options to subscribe to DSL or cable and are more or less stuck with the service if they want to go online. This may explain why AOL has actually been jacking up prices for dial-up users recently since its customers seemingly have nowhere else to go.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.