The long-rumored demise of dial-up internet may well be underway. According to an article in the New York Times, the big three ISPs (AOL, EarthLink, and MSN) are all reporting slowing subscriber growth or loss of subscribers in the most recent reporting periods. Meanwhile, broadband operators are seeing increases in subscribers. The article believes these are intrinsically linked.

Left out are subscriber numbers for United Online which provides considerably less expensive nationwide access than the three major competitors, and local ISPs that tend to offer services in areas not otherwise served by regional or national ISPs.