ATLANTA -- US Internet service provider MindSpring Enterprises said Monday that America Online's breathtaking takeover of Time Warner could create a huge media group that would frighten away some consumers and advertisers.
AOL (AOL), the largest Internet access provider in the United States, said it would buy Time Warner, the world's largest media company, for a record US$164 billion in stock, dwarfing a series of mergers that have swept through the media business in recent years.
The combined company will create a media conglomerate that allows delivery of programming from Time Warner's stable of brands onto the Web and gives AOL access to Time Warner's US cable television network to offer high-speed Internet access.
"This is a pretty big and scary ship they are putting together and I don't think anybody likes to feel like they only have one alternative or one choice in life," MindSpring chief executive Charles Brewer told Reuters.
Atlanta-based MindSpring (MSPG) is scheduled to become the nation's second largest Internet service provider when a $1.6 billion merger with EarthLink Network is approved as expected by shareholders next month.
Brewer said he was concerned about the impact of AOL's deal on a campaign to open access to high-speed Internet systems, although he added the takeover would not change MindSpring's strategy of providing a viable alternative to its rival.
MindSpring, along with consumer groups, telephone companies, and AOL, has been lobbying at the local and national level to have regulators force cable companies to open access to wires that enable Internet connections at speeds 50 to 100 times faster than those made over telephone lines.
The cable companies have required customers wanting high-speed access to buy Internet services like email and Web page hosting from a provider owned by the cable companies, such as ExciteAtHome or privately held RoadRunner.
Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited.
