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AOL SIGNS PACTS WITH AT&T, GOTO AND OMNISKY

Regulatory Agencies At The Ready To Investigate
Perhaps in an effort to divert media attention—hey, it worked—from the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission's questioning of its proposed merger with Time Warner, America Online is partnering with some smaller media juggernauts.

In a stunning move that surprised industry watchers, AOL andGoTo.com, a search, comparison-shopping and auction-seeking service, have inked a multi-year, $50 million agreement. Through the deal, AOL will distribute GoTo's Pay-For-Performance listings on the search results pages of AOL, AOL.com and Netscape Netcenter. Okay, so industry watchers weren't stunned, but hey, that's a lot of dough changing hands just to get some advertising placed. Maybe the FTC should look into it.

Additionally, AOL now has an "AOL Mobile" service via AT&T's Digital PocketNet service, as part of its "AOL Anywhere" world domination campaign. Users of the service with Internet-ready cell phones will now have access to AOL email, MovieFone, MapQuest and Digital City. No word yet whether the European Commission thinks this is okay.

And for the big finale, AOL and OmniSky have reached a pact similar to AOL's AT&T deal. OmniSky offers wireless Internet services for handheld wireless devices—your Palm Pilots, your Handsprings, etc. As part of the deal, AOL will make a minority equity investment in OmniSky. That's just the kind of thing that regulators at the FCC should investigate.

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