But Ms. Quint maintained that because Dialog was for professionals, unlike consumer-oriented on-line services like Compuserve and Prodigy, compliance with the new fee structure might be strong.

The company currently offers a free consumer-oriented service, called Phonebooth Free, but the real draw is its business-focused OnDemand package.

For consumer-oriented services, such changes are safe enough.

PRODIGY is a fairly new consumer-oriented service that takes most of the fuss out of communicating by computer.

It grew rapidly largely due to its consumer-oriented services which proved to be popular at the time.

Information is of central importance in a consumer-oriented service.

Steven Gordon, another Dial and Dine owner, acknowledged in a telephone interview that the company "walks a fine line" between providing a consumer-oriented service and restaurant promotion.

The Videotex Industry Association estimates that there are 40 consumer-oriented services, such as Compuserve and the Source, in the United States, with a total membership of 750,000.

Google, the dominant Internet search company, is planning to raise the stakes in its intensifying competition with Yahoo and Microsoft by unveiling a new consumer-oriented e-mail service.

He said business-to-business on-line services, like Lexus/Nexus and Dow Jones, brought in higher revenues than the consumer-oriented services and at higher profit margins.