L.A. Approves Cable License Transfer From Time Warner to America Online

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the transfer of the local Time Warner cable franchise to America Online. America Online must get cities across the country to transfer local cable licenses as part of its pending purchase of the world’s largest entertainment company. The City Council did not stipulate as a condition of the transfer that America Online open the cable system to rival Internet service providers. The council decided to deal with the so-called open access issue separately rather than single out any particular cable operator. Alex Padilla, chairman of the council’s Information Technology Committee, plans to formally announce a policy on open access Wednesday at the regularly scheduled meeting of his committee.