First off, subs do matter. It is one of the key numbers by which any on-line service is measured. If it was not for a large membership, companies such as Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, CUC, Tel-Save, CBS, etc. etc. etc. would not sign agreements. Membership does and will always matter. The more members, the more audience, the more possible commerce revenue. Location, location, location...it applies to the internet as well.
There should be no problem with the deal going through. There are enough small providers to warrant that no monopoly will exist with a AOL-CSRV deal. It will go through.
Also, you can't just look at the subs that AOL will acquire from CSRV when studying this deal. Some would say that the 5 year agreement for access service is even sweeter. It is now up to WCOM and the portfolio to keep up with technology that everyone keeps eluding to. Modems, 56k, ADSL, etc. will all become available.
There is a lot of information to digest concerning this deal, and more deals to be made in the pipeline.
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