ISPWorld – ISPs Say AOL Time Warner Refuses To Run DSL Ads.
While small to medium-sized ISPs wait for the rollout of open access, and to see if they'll have a meaningful role in the deployment of high-speed broadband services over cable, several ISPs have reported that Time Warner Cable, a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc., has refused their attempts to advertise their basic dial-up and DSL services.
According to the ISPs, not allowing them to advertise on Time Warner Cable's network is a continuation of an anti-competitive practice that began in upstate New York shortly after AOL and Time Warner announced their merger last year.
“We have been monitoring AOL Time Warner's behavior for some time and these examples of blatant abuse of market power do not bode well for the future of local and regional ISPs throughout the U.S.,” said Stephen Heins, director of marketing for Oshkosh Wisconsin-based NorthNet and chairman of the issues committee for the Wisconsin ISP Association.