AWOS Telephone Service To Switch To Pay-Only

As AVweb told you a couple of years ago, it’s possible to listen to AWOS broadcasts via a toll-free telephone number through a company called anyAWOS. The idea was to have a short commercial message from sponsors to pay for the system but it apparently hasn’t worked out that way. In a note on its Web site, anyAWOS has announced that it will be charging subscription fees for using the system effective Feb. 6. “…anyAWOS is a private business and like any business, it has to make money to survive. We have received no funds from any external source to date. We have tried various means of subsidizing access to anyAWOS, but so far none has been successful.” anyAWOS has also approached the FAA, looking for a subsidy similar to that enjoyed by the privately operated DUAT service, but so far the FAA has turned the request down. The current “premium” service, free of advertising, costs $5.95 per month.