Dulles, Va. - The CEO of Earthlink (NASD: ELNK) told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that his company is contemplating a possible bid for the dial-up Internet business of AOL.

"We think it's worth aggressively pursuing," Rolla Huff told The Journal, adding that such a bid would depend on the outcome of recent talks between AOL parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and potential suitors Microsoft and Yahoo.

"There's a lot of things in play here that are moving around."

Both dial-up businesses have experienced sharp losses in subscribers in recent years, with the emergence of faster broadband services.

During Earthlink's quarterly earnings conference call on Tuesday, Huff said that his company is "best positioned to be the consolidator in this industry."

Huff declined to reveal whether Earthlink currently is in talks with Time Warner.

AOL has deemphasized its dial-up business in recent years in favor of a more lucrative online advertising model.

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