Internet service provider Earthlink Inc. will no longer provide digital subscriber line service in Hawai'i as of April 1.

That's when Hawai'i's major telephone company Hawaiian Telcom will sever ties with prior owner Verizon Communications Inc. On that day Earthlink's agreement to provide local DSL service over Verizon telephone lines expires, said Deisha Galberth, a spokeswoman for Earthlink. Earthlink does not have a similar line-sharing agreement with Hawaiian Telcom.

DSL is one of several ways consumers connect their computers to the Internet. Others include cable and dial-up services.

Earthlink customers were notified of the pending loss of DSL service via a letter and e-mail, Galberth said. DSL customers can switch to a slower dial-up Internet connection, which has a regular rate of $21.95 a month, or they could switch to Earthlink via Time Warner Oceanic Cable, if available, at a regular rate of $41.95 a month.

Earthlink would not say how many customers it has in Hawai'i.

Hawaiian Telcom was created when Verizon Communications sold Verizon Hawaii to The Carlyle Group last year for $1.7 billion.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.