AOL to manage Carphone Warehouse site

DESPITE THE mess the Carphone Warehouse got itself into with its free broadband access for Talk, Talk customers, the company has just added another 2.1 million customers to its woes by buying the UK arm of AOL.

The company has apparently paid £370million/$688 million for the privilege of acquiring some 1.5 million AOL broadband customers along with 0.6 million dial-up customers.

The good news from the Carphone Warehouse's perspective is that it has gained control of AOL's broadband network. If the deal gets the regulatory nod, this will make the Carphone Warehouse the third largest broadband supplier in the UK, after BT, of course.

The other benefit for the Carphone Warehouse is that AOL will be supplying content. It will be providing a co-branded portal and manage the online advertising sales for Carphone Warehouse's combined broadband customer base through a revenue-sharing agreement.

Commenting on the deal Jon Miller, CEO with AOL LLC, claimed, "Under the partnership announced today, AOL will expand the size of its audience in the UK as a Web-services business. This is an ideal outcome for AOL, for Time Warner."

It certainly does seem a beneficial arrangement for both parties involved. µ