September 04, 2006
Attention Aol Subscribers - and anyone else who accesses the internet
Richard Kuper
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com
Recently the press reported that Aol was switching to a free service. Well, it seems that is not quite accurate. I will address that shortly. The more important question, before helping Aol subscribers figure out how or if they should switch to Aol free, is how do *you* access and use the internet?
Do you use the internet primarily to search for things, visit websites, and send and receive email? Then there are many choices at your disposal. And how do you access the internet? Do you dial in or do you connect via your cable, DSL, or similar provider? Perhaps you only connect via the free wireless services being offered in certain towns and cities, or maybe you only access the internet at your local library for free. The answers to such questions will help you choose what you really need.
Let's start with the free options. If you only access the internet by some free method (library, free wi-fi, free dialup) then you also do not need to pay for any email. There are a number of free online email services available, such as yahoo, hotmail, and gmail. Aol now also offers free email service. And like all the other free email services, the Aol free email service will not come with telephone support. You may also find that the other free email services are much simpler to use.
What about instant messaging? Well Aol instant messaging has always been free for anyone who wanted to use it, as has yahoo instant messaging and msn instant messaging and others.
If you don't connect to the internet for free, you probably connect to the internet via cable or DSL or a wireless service or perhaps via dial-up. There are many, many options available, and I won't be going through all of them. I'm in NYC, and the cable service in my area is Time Warner Cable. I'll use that as an example.
In NYC, Time Warner Cable offers several options to connect to the internet. They have Earthlink (you can also contact them directly if you prefer to connect via dial-up), which in addition to cable access also includes up to 20 hours a month of dial-up service at no extra charge (which can come in handy when the cable is down, or when traveling and the hotel doesn't have cable or wireless internet access); Roadrunner, which has no dial-up option but for an extra fee provides home wireless networking options; New York Connect (NYC only), which has a local dial-up option as well as an option for higher speed cable connections; and LocalNet (Hudson Valley only). Again, your service provider likely has different choices. Choosing the right one for you depends on a variety of factors, including your budget (you can get slower cable speeds from some service choices that are equivalent to DSL speeds, for example, for a lower cost than the higher speed cable options). And in all cases the monthly fee for internet access will be higher if you don't also subscribe to cable TV.
Staying with Time Warner as my example, I note that they no longer offer the Aol high-speed choice for connecting to the internet. For those who signed up for that service, there was apparently a low-speed option (or that may have been the only option). For customers who are currently on that plan, they cannot switch to the free Aol version and still be able to connect to the internet unless they first switch to one of the other connection options. Confused? OK. Let me take you through the Aol story as I understand it:
As stated earlier, the press and Aol made it sound like Aol was dropping its pay model and anyone who had Aol would no longer need to pay. That's not how it is. Here's the deal. If you can access the internet via any of the ways cited above, and for some reason you feel the need to continue to use the Aol interface to access the internet and email, you can switch to free Aol by logging into your Aol account, clicking on "Aol keyword" and then entering "CHANGE PLAN." Then click the button labeled "CHANGE TO FREE." Note that you need to log in with your "Master Account" in order to be able to do this. You can probably also do this by calling Aol.
So the Aol free offer is an "opt-out" offer. That means if you don't choose to opt out, they will continue to bill you. Oh, and if you just happened to pay this month's Aol bill, and you choose to opt-out, you will not be getting a refund. They will keep your money. (For an article about opting out versus opting in, see: Opting Out Vs. Opting In.)
To summarize, for the average consumer, there is no real reason to pay for email or instant messaging on top of paying for internet access. If you are an Aol subscriber, check your plan. With the exceptions cited above, a large majority of Aol subscribers no longer need to pay to continue to use the service, if they feel the need to use that service. But they must opt out. They will not automatically be switched to free service. The bottom line for you, as stated on Aol's website: "You can choose the free Aol option and stop paying for Internet access and customer support from Aol if you have another way to get online." What Is Included for Free? Again, per the Aol website: "Regardless of how you choose to get online, here's what you'll get for free from Aol: An email account with up to seven screen names, the Buddy List feature, Address Book, Aol software, comprehensive safety and security protection, Parental Controls, access to millions of online videos, Aol Radio with 20 XM Satellite Radio channels and more." Note that you can choose to be an Aol subscriber and never have to use their interface. You can always log into Aol email from Aol.com, and access Aol instant messaging online at aim.com (by choosing aim express from the services link to log in online from anywhere, or by downloading the aim product to your desktop.) It looks like you can even log into Aol email from aim.com now as well.
And for those who were curious about Aol but saw no reason to pay to find out, you can now sign up for free.
* [Please post your job openings here] *
R.L. Kuper, Inc. - Management Consulting
The Kuper Report
http://TheKuperReport.com
Recently the press reported that Aol was switching to a free service. Well, it seems that is not quite accurate. I will address that shortly. The more important question, before helping Aol subscribers figure out how or if they should switch to Aol free, is how do *you* access and use the internet?
Do you use the internet primarily to search for things, visit websites, and send and receive email? Then there are many choices at your disposal. And how do you access the internet? Do you dial in or do you connect via your cable, DSL, or similar provider? Perhaps you only connect via the free wireless services being offered in certain towns and cities, or maybe you only access the internet at your local library for free. The answers to such questions will help you choose what you really need.
Let's start with the free options. If you only access the internet by some free method (library, free wi-fi, free dialup) then you also do not need to pay for any email. There are a number of free online email services available, such as yahoo, hotmail, and gmail. Aol now also offers free email service. And like all the other free email services, the Aol free email service will not come with telephone support. You may also find that the other free email services are much simpler to use.
What about instant messaging? Well Aol instant messaging has always been free for anyone who wanted to use it, as has yahoo instant messaging and msn instant messaging and others.
If you don't connect to the internet for free, you probably connect to the internet via cable or DSL or a wireless service or perhaps via dial-up. There are many, many options available, and I won't be going through all of them. I'm in NYC, and the cable service in my area is Time Warner Cable. I'll use that as an example.
In NYC, Time Warner Cable offers several options to connect to the internet. They have Earthlink (you can also contact them directly if you prefer to connect via dial-up), which in addition to cable access also includes up to 20 hours a month of dial-up service at no extra charge (which can come in handy when the cable is down, or when traveling and the hotel doesn't have cable or wireless internet access); Roadrunner, which has no dial-up option but for an extra fee provides home wireless networking options; New York Connect (NYC only), which has a local dial-up option as well as an option for higher speed cable connections; and LocalNet (Hudson Valley only). Again, your service provider likely has different choices. Choosing the right one for you depends on a variety of factors, including your budget (you can get slower cable speeds from some service choices that are equivalent to DSL speeds, for example, for a lower cost than the higher speed cable options). And in all cases the monthly fee for internet access will be higher if you don't also subscribe to cable TV.
Staying with Time Warner as my example, I note that they no longer offer the Aol high-speed choice for connecting to the internet. For those who signed up for that service, there was apparently a low-speed option (or that may have been the only option). For customers who are currently on that plan, they cannot switch to the free Aol version and still be able to connect to the internet unless they first switch to one of the other connection options. Confused? OK. Let me take you through the Aol story as I understand it:
As stated earlier, the press and Aol made it sound like Aol was dropping its pay model and anyone who had Aol would no longer need to pay. That's not how it is. Here's the deal. If you can access the internet via any of the ways cited above, and for some reason you feel the need to continue to use the Aol interface to access the internet and email, you can switch to free Aol by logging into your Aol account, clicking on "Aol keyword" and then entering "CHANGE PLAN." Then click the button labeled "CHANGE TO FREE." Note that you need to log in with your "Master Account" in order to be able to do this. You can probably also do this by calling Aol.
So the Aol free offer is an "opt-out" offer. That means if you don't choose to opt out, they will continue to bill you. Oh, and if you just happened to pay this month's Aol bill, and you choose to opt-out, you will not be getting a refund. They will keep your money. (For an article about opting out versus opting in, see: Opting Out Vs. Opting In.)
To summarize, for the average consumer, there is no real reason to pay for email or instant messaging on top of paying for internet access. If you are an Aol subscriber, check your plan. With the exceptions cited above, a large majority of Aol subscribers no longer need to pay to continue to use the service, if they feel the need to use that service. But they must opt out. They will not automatically be switched to free service. The bottom line for you, as stated on Aol's website: "You can choose the free Aol option and stop paying for Internet access and customer support from Aol if you have another way to get online." What Is Included for Free? Again, per the Aol website: "Regardless of how you choose to get online, here's what you'll get for free from Aol: An email account with up to seven screen names, the Buddy List feature, Address Book, Aol software, comprehensive safety and security protection, Parental Controls, access to millions of online videos, Aol Radio with 20 XM Satellite Radio channels and more." Note that you can choose to be an Aol subscriber and never have to use their interface. You can always log into Aol email from Aol.com, and access Aol instant messaging online at aim.com (by choosing aim express from the services link to log in online from anywhere, or by downloading the aim product to your desktop.) It looks like you can even log into Aol email from aim.com now as well.
And for those who were curious about Aol but saw no reason to pay to find out, you can now sign up for free.
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