CompuServe, (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its acronym CIS), was the first major commercial online service in the Unite States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of information services such as AOL that charged monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates. Today the CompuServe Information Service operates as an online service provider and an Internet service provider, owned by AOL.