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If, in a year, you can get instant messages on your dental fillings, dont say we didnt warn you.
At 23.2 million subscribers, America Online is the worlds largest Internet service provider. Add to that figure ICQ users, CompuServe Interactive Services users, Netscape Communications registrants and millions of hits on Digital City, MapQuest, etc.
With the addition of Time Warner, AOL has more than 100 million subscriber relationships, and is intent on monetizing every single one of them.
Last fall, before the mergers completion, AOL Chairman Steve Case made the rounds of investment conferences to discuss how the merged companies would compete, using Time Warner media to drive awareness and build brand, and AOLs interactive platforms to do transactions.
So far, so good. Despite enormous merger-related charges and a weaker advertising climate, AOL Time Warner had $2.1 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in its first married quarter.
Led by CEO Barry Schuler, AOL — the ISP — is forging ahead with AOL Anywhere, its initiative to reach consumers on devices ranging from phones to TVs.