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AOL broadband

About AOL

Definitely the Marmite name in fixed-line broadband terms, AOL will be described as the best or worst broadband provider in the UK, depending on who you talk to. It was the first ISP to include a wireless router as standard with all its broadband packages, and it claims its "easy-to-install software" means connection couldn't be easier. While it also claims 'award winning' customer support, calls to it aren't free - nor is there a 24-hour service. That said, for the novice - and families in particular - AOL can be a sound choice. The start-up pack includes anti-virus and firewall software, as well as spam filters, pop-up blockers and parental controls.

AOL, originally America Online, launched its first US online service as far back as 1985. It landed in the UK in 1996, building a huge user base thanks to attractive pricing and aggressive advertising (it used to be a challenge to buy a magazine that didn't have a 'free' AOL installation CD glued to the front). The AOL Broadband name was acquired by The Carphone Warehouse Group in December 2006, with the AOL UK base being acquired from AOL Inc shortly afterwards. It now runs alongside Carphone's other fixed-line broadband operations, TalkTalk and Tiscali. This takes Carphone's total fixed-line broadband subscriber base to around 4.5 million (with close to 1.7 million on AOL), just behind market leader BT.

Be aware that you need Windows XP/Vista or Apple MAC OSX 10.3 or above to install AOL's software, as well as the usual BT landline.

Customer reviews

Show all 134 AOL broadband reviews»

  • unhappy

    by david at 18:40 on 29 Aug 2010 | registered | 1 postReport abuse

    I know it is a BT line fault just like i did previously but will the script monkeys listen .... course not !
    Trouble is they have to pay for the BT openreach engineer so they try to put you off just like they have been instructed to by their managers.
    Last time i had to call in a IT engineer so i would have someone with authorative knowledge to speak to them..... funny enough they listened. Fault was in a BT line .....
  • neutral

    by Lorraine at 13:09 on 24 Aug 2010Report abuse

    I've been with AOL over 10 years & was very happy with their service, probably because I never had any connection problems, however recently it has become very slow & frequently loses connection. The software is always failing & the reconnecting, in fact I often have Internet Explorer open to read my mail via webmail as I get fed up of the software restarting. Tech support is a joke, they are all reading from the same crib sheet! Unfortunately I still have 6 month left on a new 18 month contract so would change if I could. Today it has gone down again, when i left home this morning i had no connection so i am now crossing my fingers that it will be back on once i get home. Thank goodness for internet connection at work with BT I can check my ebay auctions & reply to my emails
  • unhappy

    by Deb at 00:09 on 22 Jul 2010Report abuse

    Avoid at all costs!
    How this company is still in business is beyond me! After 7 months of connection problems and hours wasted talking to tens of level 1 and 2 technicians who verbally admit fault is with their servers but fail to type it into the notes, (because this would allow me to be released from my contract) I have finally switched to O2, it's amazing, I haven't been disconnected once and can actually stream and download for the first time in nearly a year!! Shame on you AOL!
  • neutral

    by Derrick Goodwin at 12:13 on 30 Jun 2010 | registered | 1 postReport abuse

    I've just upgraded on my AOL a/c to Platinum 2. That includes the line rental, mostly free calls and supposedly faster speeds. The speed of upload and download are about the same as before. An IT expert friend has told me that unless you live in or next door to the telephone exchange you will never get the speeds advertised. Why do these companies do this?

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