EarthLink to Offer Net Over AOL Cable Lines

EarthLink Inc. said it will offer its high-speed Internet services to some AOL Time Warner cable customers starting in September--news that sent shares of the AOL rival up 6%.

EarthLink’s deal to provide Internet service in Columbus, Ohio, and Syracuse, N.Y., was the first fruit of an open-access pact struck in November as part of the approval process for America Online Inc.’s purchase of Time Warner.

Regulators had mandated that AOL Time Warner sign up rival Internet service providers to offer high-speed services over Time Warner’s cable lines before offering such services from AOL.

Shares of EarthLink rose 91 cents to $16.54 on Nasdaq. AOL Time Warner, the nation’s No. 2 cable operator, closed off 45 cents at $49.36 on the New York Stock Exchange.