America Online Inc has quietly stopped offering a complete broadband package, requiring subscribers to instead obtain their high-speed Internet connections directly from a cable modem or DSL provider.
The reversal in strategy stands as another black mark against the purported wisdom of the US$160 billion merger between America Online and Time Warner at the height of the Internet boom, a deal the companies had described as a perfect marriage of new and old media with the means to deliver it.
The decision to stop selling bundled service -- an AOL-branded cable or DSL connection combined with AOL's walled garden of content -- follows a strategic realignment that began in December, 2002, AOL spokeswoman Anne Bentley said on Friday.
The change, which took effect late last month, does not affect customers who bought the package before then.
Although AOL would not provide a detailed breakdown, relatively few of the company's 3 million broadband subscribers had the US$54.95-a-month package. Most had AOL's "bring your own access" service for US$14.95 a month and obtained access separately, Bentley said.
In addition to the broadband customers, AOL has about 21 million dial-up subscribers in the US.
Dave Burstein, editor of the online DSL Prime newsletter, termed the termination of bundling an admission of defeat.
Microsoft Corp's MSN online service also withdrew from selling broadband access last year, though customers can buy a bundled access-and-content package directly from partners Qwest and Verizon.
Burstein questioned whether that many more customers would want to buy AOL content on top of access from another provider.
"Selling access, you had to buy something from them," Burstein said. "That was a real service. ... Now they are essentially another Web site."
But Bentley said uncoupling access from content permits nationwide marketing of "AOL for Broadband," a service with richer audio and video content for high-speed.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
TARIFF TALKS: The US secretary of commerce is eyeing more than US$300 billion in investments and said Taiwan would train US workers, but Taipei has denied the latter US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the US is expecting a large investment pledge from Taiwan in trade talks, while President William Lai (賴清德) listed areas that need improvement in order for projects to be completed. “We’re in the midst of discussions,” Lutnick said on Wednesday. “But the fact is, this administration’s goal is to bring semiconductor manufacturing to America.” Lai on Wednesday said Taiwan is supportive of US President Donald Trump’s goal of reindustrializing the US, including efforts to ramp up semiconductor production. Such a goal would require the US to reduce its reliance on Taiwan as a key source
Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) and Luxshare Precision Industry Co (立訊精密) plan to add millions of gaming devices to Vietnam’s annual output, according to documents they submitted to local authorities, reinforcing the country’s role in the global supply of game consoles. Vietnam assembles a variety of electronic products destined for foreign markets, including smartphones, computers and tablets. Information on its production of consoles is not public, but Foxconn EV Energy & Component (Vietnam) Co, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese manufacturer, has capacity to produce up to 4 million gaming devices in a factory in Northern Vietnam, according to a company document from
RSS