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AOL scrambling to increase capacity
February 24, 1997
Web posted at: 8:00 p.m. ESTDULLES, Virginia (CNN) -- America Online is making strides to rebuild its network services since a wave of new subscribers stretched the system to meet an unprecedented demand last month, AOL spokesperson Trish Primrose said Monday.
Primrose said the company is spending $350 million to upgrade its service in an effort to satisfy the needs of their customers.
"We've increased the size of our customer service force by 400 to answer subscriber questions. We're adding modems and access lines, and next Wednesday we'll be breaking ground on a 180,000-square-foot data center that will double the amount of data space we have. It will also help connect people to the Internet more efficiently," Primrose said.
Steve Case, chairman and chief executive officer of America Online, Inc., is lending his face to a media campaign to assure users that his company is taking the necessary steps to relieve any problems the network has. Television commercials and print ads about AOL upgrades are appearing nationwide.
Primrose said AOL has set aside $24.3 million for refunds and credits to users.
In addition to the new data center, Primrose said AOL intends to lease supplemental modem capacity beginning in April. She said the network expects to be able to handle more than 16 million member sessions daily by the end of June.
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