The commission's staff has recommended that AOL be required to make its system work with at least one other provider, but the requirement would apply only to advanced instant messaging services offered over Time Warner's cable lines. How the agency defines advanced services is unclear. They could refer to features beyond text messaging, such as video teleconferencing, the sharing of files or messaging over interactive television. Today, consumers more commonly take advantage of the garden variety functions. Unlike e-mail, it's instantaneous and gets the recipient's attention right away.
People can communicate with international friends without the hefty phone bills.
And the service has taken hold with those who have hearing or speech disabilities. Company officials disagreed that AOL's market share was keeping out competitors. Another concern is that AOL could use its substantial customer base to tack on new advanced services and then charge for them. Rivals said the ability of various services to work together will become increasingly important in the future. Copyright 2000 Associated Press .