“The merger of America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc. should
not receive Federal Communications Commission approval until the
FCC examines AOL’s policy of making its Instant Messenger service
incompatible with other companies’ similar services, according to
two companies experiencing the freeze-out.”
“Tribal Voice CEO Ross Bagully today told Newsbytes that
instant messaging is a communications wave of the future, and that
one company’s attempts to make itself the dominant brand raises
concerns similar to Microsoft Corp.’s dominance of the Windows
operating system.”
“He said that AOL’s refusal to allow interoperability could lead
to legal action, up to and including a potential Justice Department
complaint, adding that this issue shows a more abusive nature than
Microsoft’s Windows practices.”