AOL chief upbeat on wireless

Case sees partnering as keys to seamless link NEW ORLEANS -- Wireless Internet access will succeed only if it's a natural extension of the online experience, America Online

Friday, March 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Case sees partnering as keys to seamless link

NEW ORLEANS -- Wireless Internet access will succeed only if it's a natural extension of the online experience, America Online chief executive Steve Case said Wednesday.
Consumers "don't want to buy a phone or a Palm Pilot or a box that connects to their TV and have to start over again," Mr. Case said in a keynote discussion at Wireless 2000, the mobile phone industry's largest trade show, sponsored by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.

AOL's strategy is "partner, partner, partner," Mr. Case said. And that's evident in the number of agreements that the largest online services provider announced at the trade show, including deals with Sprint PCS, Nokia, Motorola and other companies. "Is there anybody you haven't partnered with that's here at the show?" CTIA president Tom Wheeler asked Mr. Case.

AOL, which recently agreed to buy Time Warner, adding huge cable and entertainment assets, doesn't believe it needs to own the wireless systems that carry its service, Mr. Case said. "We want to work with as many companies as want to work with us to create what I think is a lot bigger opportunity," allowing consumers to access e-mail, instant messaging and other online services when they walk away from their PCs.

Some mobile phone companies, including Vodafone Airtouch, have said they intend to own their wireless portals rather than link up with AOL or other online service companies.
Japan's dominant cellular company has attracted millions of customers to a wireless information service it owns, and they're also spending more money on voice cell phone calls.

Mr. Case said that experience doesn't translate to the U.S. market, where many more consumers have online access on their personal computers.