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As of the last time I checked my Worldnet (AT&T's dialup Internet Service) e-mail (which was earlier this week) there were no details available. But from what I have gathered, AT&T is going to discontinue its diaup internet services sometime in 2010. Hasn't happened yet, but I will post as soon as more details come out. I have used Worldnet practically since its beginnings, but I must admit that I never access this service via dialup modem anymore. So as far as I'm concerned, there's plenty of time to get all of my contacts switched over to my new Google G-Mail account. The days of dialup in the USA are numbered, as more and more remote locations get Cable, DSL, 3G, 4G and Fiber Optic Internet Services. AT&T does DSL and FIOS (Fiber Optic), so I'm guessing their dwindling revenues finally forced the demise of Worldnet. It was a great service, but now it's going away. Along with vinyl records and 8 Track Cassette Tapes. Sorry, folks, but them's the breaks!
It's hard to fathom all these customers going away when so many companies are trying so hard and spending so much money to attract customers. Att with their worldnet service should be able to make more than enough money by selling this "audience" to on line advertisers. I wonder how many are in the exact same boat as you and me. Meaning have used their service since it came out but now and for years have only used the e-mail portion and have not used the dialup for years. Too bad there doesn't seem to be anyone at ATT to talk to about this. All we would like to do is be able to keep our e-mail ids.
ReplyDeleteAnother Lost Customer to Gmail
For their e-mail service alone, Worldnet is way behind Yahoo, G-Mail, and MS Live Mail, IMHO. I have POP-3 access with Thunderbird for G-Mail, so the gathering and sending of mail works for me just about the same way it did for Worldnet.
ReplyDeleteThe real losers in all of these changes will be people who had web pages posted and must now look for new hosting services, and rural customers who do not have access to broadband Internet services.
Transferring e-mail addresses and forwarding new e-mail are easy enough to accomplish with any of the remaining e-mail providers. I really don't see many problems there.
I would personally never do business with AT&T for mail services or web hosting alone, as other providers are better and offer more tools. But for DSL Internet, AT&T is the only phone line company which actually owns any lines or equipment in the Chicago metro area, so they are the only land-line way to go where I live.
What the FCC plan to increase broadband Internet coverage in the USA fails to do, is to increase local competition. In fact, like the Universal Coverage of the Obama Health Care Plan, a Single-Provider system seems to be the government's goal. Less work and more efficiency for them maybe, but less choice and higher prices, taxes and fees for us residential consumers.
And the FCC/Microsoft plan to "quarantine" allegedly infected computers, shut out certain types of traffic, monitor Internet communications, and use ISPs to tattle-tale to greedy Hollywood corporations about alleged copyright violators... all without due process! Just don't get me started!
We need to reorganize the Internet, yes. But with the government, Hollywood corporations and the ISPs playing the role of Big Brother -- HELL NO!!
But I digress. It is sad to lose dialup providers, because this means less local competition, complete loss of services to large geographic areas of the USA, and higher consumer prices for services. And more restrictions on use of these services.
That is the real tragedy of the closing down of Worldnet and similar services.
This is parallel to the loss of analog broadcast television. The government advertised how much better the picture quality would be -- but only where it is available. Over the air television is already dead in rural areas, and soon will be dead in some cities, if current trends continue. Thanks, Uncle Sam!
If you think the loss of rural Internet and television services is no big deal, just look at journalism. Print news media are dying from loss of advertising revenues, not because of loss of readers in rural areas. And where do non-readers get our news? Television, and not Cable or Satellite. When TV news goes away, where do we get news? The Internet. And when the Internet abandons Rural America, where does their news come from?
That is a matter of National Security, and the FCC is simply not doing things right to address the growing problems. That is the real risk of serving only those who pay the most and cost the least to connect.