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SEPTEMBER BROADBAND STUDY PREDICTED AOL DEAL -- SAME STUDY MAY NOW FORECAST NEXT MAJOR MOVE AOL WILL LIKELY LOOK TO WIRELESS January 12, 2000 - Broadband PARSIPPANY, NJ January 13, 2000 - A September study by NJ-based telecom research and consulting firm, PBI Media, foreshadowed AOL's (NYSE:AOL) recent $350 merger with Time Warner (NYSE:TWX). That same study may now offer insights into the next major deal along the information superhighway. "Our September Broadband study clearly identified AOL as a company in jeopardy if it didn't address its need for broadband access for its customer," said Rick Kent, Vice President, Global Professional Services at PBI Media, the world's largest research and consulting firm dealing exclusively in the telecommunications industry. "That same study also predicated cable would dominate the residential broadband market. "AOL's legal battles with telecom and cable leader AT&T (NYSE:T), its slowly evolving relationship with several of the regional bell operating companies including Bell Atlantic (NYSE:BEL), SBC (NYSE:SBC), and Bell South (NYSE: BLS) for the nationwide rollout of DSL service forced AOL to look at other cable operators such as Time Warner," said Kent. "Time Warner offers AOL both distribution and content, something other cable operators could not provide. This does not mean, however, that AOL is likely to abandon its DSL partnering efforts." "AOL will also continue to develop its broadband relationship with DirectTV (NYSE:GMH), although the results from that opportunity will be slow in materializing," said Kent. "AOL will, in all likelihood, look to mobile and fixed wireless technology which will bring AOL and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YAHOO) into a head to head clash." According to PBI Media study, satellite -for broadband Internet access -- offers longer-term potential as service providers plan two-way systems that would lead to mass acceptance. The time lag in entering the market, however, will prevent satellite from making a serious challenge to the domination of Broadband Cable in the residential market and DSL in the business market. "We can expect to see AOL aggressively seek out new deals and users in the mobile wireless market as interim broadband solutions such as 2.5 and 3G wireless technologies emerge in the market. Sprint (NYSE:FON) and Vodaphone/Air Touch (NYSE:VOD) are likely partners for this AOL strategy," Kent said. For more information on this study, click here. or contact our sales department at infotech@accessintel.com. |
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