EarthLink, which claims to be the nation's largest independent Internet service provider, will begin offering Internet access via cable modems to customers of Charter Communications, the 10th largest cable company in the country.

The agreement nationalizes a project that both parties initiated in Southern California a year ago. Known as Charter Pipeline Powered by EarthLink, the service provides high-speed connections in Los Angeles, Riverside and Pasadena, Calif., St. Louis and parts of Connecticut.

The new agreement eventually will cover Charter's 19-state operating area and give it a potential market of 1.8 million customers. EarthLink currently has 710,000 subscribers and 1500 points of presence.

Service in the Pasadena market is via two-way return cable, while Pipeline's other markets offer telco return. "Everybody would like to have two-way, but the reality is that more than 80% of cable plants are just not equipped to do it now," said an EarthLink spokesman.

The lowest service tier in Pasadena costs $34.95 a month, plus a $15 monthly modem rental fee, for 256 kb/s upstream access and 56 kb/s downstream. The highest service level costs $500 a month for 2 Mb/s downstream access and 1 Mb/s upstream.

The agreement gives EarthLink a higher profile than it would have in an agreement with companies such as Road Runner or MediaOne, said Bob Fox, vice president of Mercer Management Consulting. "It also gives Charter a leading name in the ISP world-with industry-leading customer and technical support-without having to be in the Internet business."