Juno to hook up with AOL

Internet service provider Juno Online Services said on Thursday it has inked a deal with AOL Time Warner to deliver high-speed Web access over the Time Warner Cable network.

Time Warner Cable will agree to market and sell Juno Express, a high-speed Internet access service, to its customers.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to approval by the Federal Trade Commission, the deal will go into effect after Time Warner Cable modifies its network to accommodate multiple ISPs. The companies expect the service to begin in the second half of the year.

The Juno deal is the second ISP agreement reached by Time Warner Cable. In November, the company signed a pact with EarthLink.

The Juno deal ends a trial program conducted by Time Warner Cable and the ISP in Columbus, Ohio, that began in July.

In the wake of the government scrutiny that surrounded the merger of America Online and Time Warner, many ISPs have benefited as a result of demands put on the company to keep its cable networks open to competing Internet service providers.