Now, Time Warner Is A Phone Company

For a company that generates more than its share of noise, Time Warner Inc.'s silence was deafening. The Federal Communications Commission had set Oct. 28 as the deadline for companies to register for its December auction of wireless communications licenses. Since Time Warner had been an early champion of this new type of mobile-phone technology, called personal communications services (PCS), rivals expected it to be a lively bidder. Instead, Time Warner let the deadline pass without a peep. While other cable-TV and telephone companies scrambled to set up alliances, Time Warner said it didn't plan to bid for any of the 99 major PCS licenses.

What gives? Has Time Warner, the very avatar of a diversified communications company, decided to kiss off one of the telecommunications industry's hottest frontiers?