Garry Betty, 49, CEO of Earthlink Internet firm

ATLANTA -- Garry Betty, the president and chief executive of EarthLink Inc., has died from complications of cancer, the Internet service provider said. He was 49.

Mr. Betty joined EarthLink in 1996 and oversaw the company's growth from a regional ISP with 500,000 subscribers to a national service provider with more than 5 million.

Mr. Betty was in the process of shifting EarthLink away from its main business as dial-up subscriptions dwindled. He recently led an effort to build municipal wireless networks in cities such as Philadelphia and New Orleans, according to the Washington Post.

Mr. Betty took a medical leave of absence in November.

"Garry was instrumental in building EarthLink into the company it is today," company chairman Robert M. Kavner said in a statement.

EarthLink said Mike Lunsford would remain as interim chief executive.

Before joining EarthLink, Mr. Betty was chief executive of Digital Communications Associates Inc. At the time, he was the youngest chief executive of a company on the New York Stock Exchange.