Cable and phone companies just about own the Internet connection business. The top sellers of high-speed service are all companies that had wires going into homes before there was any Internet. The two biggest Internet service providers that don't own wires, AOL and Microsoft's MSN, have given up selling monthly broadband, resorting to hawking software alone. The slower, dial-up access business that remains is shrinking by 10% a year. The dour outlook doesn't faze Charles (Garry) Betty. The 47-year-old chief executive of EarthLink is staking his company on making a profitable switch from dial-up to broadband. Research firm IDC says EarthLink is the number four ISP. The company has always positioned itself as the reliable choice for surfing sophisticates, sparing them the pandering and carnival barking that AOL inflicts on its subscribers.
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