Earthlink named Rolla Huff as the new CEO of the company...Huff succeeds former CEO Garry Betty, who died in January from complications of cancer at the age of 49. Huff was the CEO of the voice and data services company Mpower from 1999 to 2006 and was also the president of Frontier Corp. until it was acquired in 1999. He is known for his willingness to cut loose unprofitable projects, reports AP, and that means that the future of its municipal wireless Internet projects and Helio, its costly MVNO joint venture, might undergo close scrutiny, the story suggests.

Donna Jaegers, a telecoms analyst with Denver-based Janco Partners, said that “Earthlink’s challenge is to make these new ventures work at Helio and Wi-Fi, or to cut the cord...And the good thing about Rolla is he’s not afraid to cut losses.” Huff will also be serving as Earthlink’s representative on Helio’s board. More details in release.