How Aol Time Warner Will Shake Up The Net
There will be fewer ISPs, but a healthy rivalry will remain
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The interminable haggling by regulators over the long-pending merger between America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc. may seem like just the usual noise out of Washington. But as the Federal Trade Commission and the companies cobble together a settlement to unleash the $183 billion deal, the resulting blueprint could end up reshaping the future of the Internet industry.
The parties may not come to a final agreement until early December, but the elements of the regulatory compromise are now emerging. And they suggest hopeful news: The next generation of the Internet may not be as hypercompetitive as today's Web-access businesses, but neither will the lights go out on healthy rivalry.