AOL's U.S. dial-up access and advertising businesses will finally be divided, announced Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner's recently appointed CEO, Media Post reported Thursday.

During the fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday, Bewkes said his vision for the future of the company includes the possibility of spinning off its cable division.

AOL's dial-up access business has been recessing due to growth of high-speed Internet. During the fourth quarter of 2007, it shed 740,000 access subscribers, and the current total of 9.3 million subscribers is down 3.8 million from last year. Thus, AOL reported a 32 percent decline in revenues in the fourth quarter, but still posted an earnings increase of 29 percent, according to MediaPost.

It is obvious that AOL wants to separate its access business and the advertising and content businesses. In 2007, it sold its Web access businesses in the UK and France for a pre-tax gain of $769 million.

However, can the strategy really save AOL? Forrester Research analyst Sally Cohen was not very optimistic. "Bewkes is gearing up to push the advertising and content side of AOL, and he's thinking hard about its place in the portal world. But the fact is, AOL remains a distant fourth in the portal business, and the consumers who once used their subscription services have moved on to rival services," she said.

AOL's strategy may be more attractive to Wall Street and potential buyers. In late 2005, Google made a $1 billion offer for a 5% stake in AOL, valuing its Web unit at $20 billion. However, the likelihood of AOL being acquired is uncertain. "I'm not sure they're looking to be acquired right now," Cohen added.

During the 4Q of 2007, Time Warner's overall earnings dropped 41 percent, due to a larger gain from the sale of AOL's European dial-up access business. Omitting those gains, its adjusted profits increased 17 percent, thanks to cable and movie businesses, Media Post reported.

Going forward to this year, Time Warner said it expected a slow growth between seven and nine percent.