AOL set to dump veteran brands

Two of Britain's oldest internet access services, Netscape Online and Compuserve 2000, will be fazed out by AOL UK this summer as it prepares to recruit more subscribers to broadband.

An AOL spokesman said Compuserve 2000 and Netscape Online would be terminated by the end of June. He would not disclose the number of subscribers affected, saying only that it represents "a small minority."

AOL, the UK's second-biggest Internet service provider with 1.7 million paying subscribers, does not include Netscape and Compuserve customers in its official AOL customer tally.The AOL spokesman added that the affected customers would be offered a free trial of AOL in the meantime.

Compuserve Classic, which has hundreds of thousands subscribers in the UK, would not be impacted by the decision, the company said.

In Britain, the company has invested heavily to promote the AOL brand over the past two years. The spokesman said AOL will begin advertising an AOL-branded broadband Internet service in the coming weeks as well. AOL is betting heavily that broadband services will help the loss-making AOL Europe unit turn a profit.