DOES "OPEN ACCESS"
ONLY APPLY TO AOLTW?

On Wednesday (9/29), execs from America Online and Time Warner expressed concerns to the FCC about being forced to open their network to competing Internet services, when that condition is not imposed on rivals.

One of the points brought up by AOL CEO Steve Case and TW CEO Gerald Levin was that FCC officials did not impose "open access" requirements when AT&T acquired MediaOne Group, becoming the nation's largest cable company.

The FTC is also looking into the proposed AOL-TW merger and has expressed concern over the open-access issue.

On that front, Case and Levin have at least one ally on the Hill. Concerned about the far-reaching implications of such conditions imposed on one company, House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley penned a letter to FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky. "I am troubled that the FTC, an agency lacking communications expertise, is considering the adoption of merger-specific conditions affecting only one entity," Bliley wrote.

Bliley also sent a letter to the FCC, questioning that agency's authority to impose such a condition. "If the FCC were to impose open access standards as a condition for its approval of this merger," he wrote, "the FCC may well set a de facto industry-wide open access standard without the benefit of thoroughly considering the nationwide implications of imposing such conditions." And when you hear "de facto," you know something heavy is goin' down.

Spokesmen for both the FCC and FTC said Bliley's letters were under review.

The FCC is slated to address the broader issue of open access in the coming weeks, but is not expected to take action for many months. That could pose quite a problem for the FCC as it is expected to rule on the AOL-TW merger by the end of October.

Case said that if conditions are imposed only on the AOL-TW merger, it may lead other cable companies to keep their lines closed to Internet service providers.

"And that," an AOL spokesman said, "could only lead to chaos, panic and maybe even death!"