The End of an Era: From Dial-up to Digital/Farewell to ‘You’ve Got Mail’

The scratchy, electronic squealing and static that signaled your entry into the World Wide Web is fading into internet history forever as America Online (AOL) said goodbye to dial-up service Sept. 30, 2025.

The farewell to dial-up might generate either nostalgia for a bygone era or a shrug, depending on your feelings about technology or whether or not you’ve seen the movie “You’ve Got Mail.” Long gone are the days of connecting a modem to your home phone’s land line – back in the “late 1900s,” as your Gen-Z family member might say. In today’s world of tech neck, doomscrolling, artificial intelligence and chatbots, ending dial-up service reminds us how far we’ve come and how fast.

Over the past two decades, internet connectivity has advanced rapidly, with broadband and wireless internet technologies making dial-up obsolete. Previously tough-to-reach areas are getting connected, too, and Colorado is leading the way in bridging the digital divide that remains in rural areas and tribal nations. Right now, 95.4% of Coloradans have broadband access, and OIT is aiming for 99% by the end of fiscal year 2027.

Meanwhile, OIT's network optimization projects are strengthening state network infrastructure and replacing aging equipment, key components of remediating tech debt. Cloud-based services, enterprise wireless and software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) technologies are future-proofing our network, transforming existing infrastructure and paving the way for a digital government built for everyone.

OIT project teams are dedicated to optimizing Colorado's networks and services for high-speed performance, a significant leap from the sluggish dial-up era—a time we recall with a mix of nostalgia and excitement for what’s next.