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● required to market and offer AOL''s digital subscriber line (DSL) services to subscribers in Time Warner cable areas where affiliated cable broadband service is available in the same manner and at the same retail pricing as they do in those areas where affiliated cable broadband ISP service is not available.”
C. the Fate of the AOL Time Warner
After the merger, AOL Time Warner has not been ‘prosperity’ as imagining. On April 2002, AOL Time Warner took a $54 billion (USD) quarterly loss—the biggest quarterly loss in US history. On 30 January 2003, AOL Time Warner announced that it reported a $45.5 billion quarterly loss to account for the declining value of its AOL property (an annual loss of nearly $100 billion (USD)—the largest annual loss ever in corporate history).
“AOL” was voted to remove from AOL Time Warner corporate name by its board of directors. On 19 September 2003, AOL Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons said: “We believe that our new name better reflects the portfolio of our valuable businesses and ends any confusion between our corporate name and the America Online brand name for our investors, partners and the public” in a press statement.
It is really in doubt where the AOL Time Warner—the largest media company in history will go to.
III. TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT 1996 (US) AND FCC
The Proposed Order just is effective for a term of five years. In legislation, Telecommunication Act 1996 (1996 Act) provided some provisions about competition which covers three domains of communications: local and long-distance telecommunications services, broadcasting, and cable and video services. The FCC also has a power to reduce the monopoly and creating efficiently a fair competitive and open market in telecommunications. As following this paper will issue about the roles of FCC and the 1996 Act in some individual cases.
A. AT&T
AT&T is the largest cable TV company in US. Concerned the cases of AT&T v Lowa Utilities Board and AT&T/TCI v City of Portland, what kind of roles do the FCC and the 1996 Act play?
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