The announcement could ease the concerns of antitrust regulators and competitors about the pending merger, and ends speculation that AOL Time Warner would pull out of the open access fight. AOL chairman Steve Case and Time Warner chief executive Gerald Levin are slated to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee today to address the merger. The Senate Commerce Committee will also hold a hearing on the merger on Thursday. Two weeks ago AOL ended its aggressive lobbying push asking for legislation to open cable lines. Nationwide, the battle over open access has pitted AOL, other Internet service providers and consumer groups against the cable industry in the market for high-speed Internet services.
Consumers using other broadband services, or telephone connections, can choose from among many ISPs.
Consumers will not be required to purchase service from an ISP that is affiliated with AOL Time Warner in order to enjoy broadband Internet service over AOL Time Warner cable systems. The memo also opened the door for outside ISPs to sell AOL Time Warner's broadband access to consumers. Furthermore, AOL Time Warner will not block ISPs from streaming video data over its network. Despite the outline issued today by the companies, many questions remain unanswered, Forrester's Kasrel said. The memo did not provide any specific details on how AOL Time Warner will form relationships with outside ISPs that want access to its cable network.