AOL claims speed crown

AOL 9.0 Optimized is the latest version of the Internet giant's proprietary online service. The service, currently in beta for Windows 98, 2000 and XP users, will come bundled with software that caches information from Web pages on users' hard drives in order to serve Web pages faster. This software is one technique that AOL is employing to boost subscriber loyalty and to attract new users, something EarthLink and United Online have already been doing.

The study is being released as the Internet giant unveils its most ambitious service upgrade to date. AOL is hoping to stem the flow of subscribers and advertising dollars out of its service by beefing up its online service with new features and perks. Subscribers have been defecting to broadband providers and cheaper dial-up services, leading AOL to report two consecutive quarters of subscriber declines.

In Tuesday's study, AOL will report that its service downloads Web pages faster and more reliably than rivals EarthLink, NetZero and MSN. The study, conducted by researcher VeriTest, compares the respective services that employ Web page caching software to speed up downloads.

The result showed that AOL 9.0 Optimized, which includes a caching feature called Top Speed, completed a higher percentage of Web page downloads within 10 seconds than Earthlink Plus and NetZero HiSpeed. MSN, which does not have a speedier Web cache version, was also measured in the test.

Each service downloaded Web pages from 19 different sites -- including CNET.com and ZDNet.com, both owned by News.com parent CNET Networks -- at least 71 times per site. All services were narrowband ISPs, according to the study.

United Online said the study was a validation of accelerated dial-up Internet service providers (ISPs).

"AOL and others introducing accelerated dial up products that they claim perform exceptionally well is a great thing for the dial-up industry," said Mark Goldston, the chief executive and chairman of United Online. "For us, it will be a great credibility strike because… they're out there for $23.90 (£15.02) charging you for accelerated dial up product and we're out there for $14.95. We've just now inherited a phenomenal benchmark for accelerated dial-up with AOL that we can be compared against."

Web acceleration software can speed up Web page downloads by up to 5 times, according to services that use them. Unlike broadband, where ISPs offer connections that can handle more data faster, caching technology resides on the client side and only applies to Web pages, not files such as music or emails.

Competitors such as EarthLink and NetZero have offered versions of their dial-up service with Web acceleration software for most of the year. The two services offer these versions as premium offerings for higher fees than their standard prices. EarthLink charges $28.95 a month, up from its standard $21.95 rate, though it offers a six-month promotion. NetZero offers its HiSpeed product at $14.95, up from its standard $9.95 monthly fee.

AOL's accelerator service is bundled into AOL 9.0 Optimized, which charges the standard $23.90 a month.

"The VeriTest results underscore our focus on offering features and enhancements in AOL 9.0 Optimised that let members get the most from being online," David Gang, executive vice president of AOL products, said in a statement.

AOL last quarter reported it lost 846,000 US subscribers, declining quarterly from 26.2 million to 25.4m.