Don't give up. Prior to the flat rate, AOL users were frugal because time was money . A quick trip to the frige would result in logging off then signing back on snack in hand. With unlimited usage, AOLers would camp out. Once users start getting busy signals, they don't want to sign off after waiting a long time just to get onto the network.
Problems start to feed on themselves.
In addition, the lower pricing attracted 500,000 new AOLers in December alone, bringing the total subscribers to over 8 million. AOL could not handle the load. And the truth is ugly. From what I have been able to find, of its 7 million subscriber base, AOL could only service 220,000 callers at any one time. Their customer base has risen to 8 million users.