Power and Associates said that EarthLink ranked at the top or near the top for dial-up and high-speed Internet access, while AOL ranked comparatively low.
"The action taken today ensures that BT continues to recoup the cost of providing wholesale internet access, and that UK consumers continue to benefit from one of the world's most competitive dial-up internet access markets in the world, " said Oftel director general David Edmonds.
The five-year-old firm, a cable-TV operator with about 30, 000 Manila customers, began offering Internet-over-cable in July as an alternative to conventional dial-up access.