The commission should consider steps that will immediately remove impediments to interoperability. Surely the environment for IM providers large and small will be better if this problem is solved promptly. Following last week's conditional FTC approval of the AOL-Time Warner deal, FCC approval now represents the final hurdle for the massive deal.
Competition is the backbone of our free-market economy.
While consumer advocates broadly praised the FTC for imposing a rigorous set of conditions on the deal, most agreed that the FCC still had work to do in ensuring that the merger does not stifle competition.