About 750,000 Embarq DSL customers will lose a part of their online identities this spring, as the local telephone provider ends its email contract with EarthLink.

Starting in April, Embarq customers with email addresses ending in @earthlink.com will be switched onto @embarqmail.com accounts. Messages sent to the old addresses will continue to be forwarded until October 31, at which time users will need to either subscribe to an EarthLink email plan for $3.95/month, or lose their email addresses completely.

For most people it will be pretty painless, and it will be a significant upgrade for them,” commented Embarq spokesman, Tom Matthews, noting that the new Embarq Mail service will come with a number of convenient new features.

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