LONDON (Brand Republic) 鈥 US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, is expected to give clearance to the AOL/Time Warner merger this week, removing the deal鈥檚 final hurdle in what has become a 12-month ordeal for the two companies.
The FCC is expected to impose conditions upon the merger, which could see the US鈥檚 largest ISP allow its instant messaging service to talk to rival services.
Microsoft, Yahoo!, AT&T and Excite@Home are believed to have been lobbying the FCC to ensure that AOL鈥檚 21m customers are allowed to communicate with their subscribers over existing and future networks.
The FCC is also thought likely to rule that AOL should only open up its 鈥渁dvanced鈥 messaging service, which will be offered over Time Warner鈥檚 high-speed cable network.
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