America Online (AOL) has enhanced its broadband service
and has kicked off a series of ad campaigns promoting the enhanced
high-speed offering.
The company is set to roll out its latest version of AOL 8.0
for Broadband on 31 March, in the hope of adding more to its
broadband subscriber numbers. Although the internet service
provider (ISP) has over 35 million subscribers worldwide, the
majority are dial-up users.
"This is a new and differentiated offering," AOL Broadband head
Lisa Hook said.
The service emphasises security, with a firewall and parental
controls, as well as advanced e-mail features, expanded content and
an increased ability for users to share content, Hook said.
AOL will also run a promotion for existing narrowband
subscribers to switch to the company's bring-your-own-access
broadband service, charging $9.95 (£6.30) a month for the rest of
the year - $5 less than the normal rate.
When the company launched its 8.0 service late last year AOL
head Jon Miller laid out what he said was a "clear and unwavering"
broadband strategy, emphasising how important it was for the
financially challenged company to access the high-speed market to
spur the company's growth.
However, Hook said that the service was not an effort to shift
its narrowband subscribers to broadband, rather to "move with its
members".
She cited subscribers' increased demand for news, radio and
on-demand access to information.
"We're starting to see subscribers use broadband like a
newspaper - demanding one-click access," she said.
The service boasts the highly anticipated AOL Communicator
feature, which sits on a user's desktop and allows them to monitor
and check their e-mail while they do other tasks.
The service also includes expanded news content, such as a live
feed from ABC News on the war in Iraq, as well as Instant Greetings
and the ability to share radio stations with other users.
According to Hook, these improvements are just the beginning of
the broadband offerings that the company has in store.
"This is not a company that is putting one product a year into
the market anymore," she said. "You'll see continuous
improvements."