AOL, Hughes to Test Joint Satellite Internet Service

America Online Inc., the world’s biggest online service, and Hughes Electronics Corp. plan to test a high-speed satellite Internet service in 16 cities including New York and San Francisco beginning this month.

Hughes owns DirecTV, the No. 1 satellite-television service. America Online and Hughes plan to begin selling their new AOL Plus Powered by DirecPC service later this year. AOL Plus will deliver information to personal computers 14 times faster than a standard telephone-line modem.

America Online invested $1.5 billion in Hughes last year to offer services on DirecTV. DirecPC expects to increase subscribers 25-fold to about 1.5 million in three years. DirecPC had about 60,000 U.S. subscribers at the end of April. America Online has about 22 million.

The DirecPC system blends satellite and telephone-wire technologies. America Online has asked current subscribers to test AOL Plus before it’s available in stores, CNet News.com reported. AOL customers must buy a satellite dish to use it, a spokeswoman said. Others will have to buy a satellite dish and subscribe to the Dulles, Va.-based company’s service.

America Online shares fell 25 cents to $53.12 on the New York Stock Exchange. El Segundo-based Hughes, traded as a separate class of parent General Motors Corp.’s stock, rose $7.31 to $105.75, also on the NYSE.