GeoNet was an early international on-line services network

Computer network

A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....

 built using microcomputer

Microcomputer

A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...

s. Based on software developed in Germany by GeoNet Systems GmbH in the early 1980s and completed in the early 1990s, it was one of the first networks to offer a comprehensive on-line services platform, and was early to market with a number of innovations. Unlike other "mailbox" systems at the time, GeoNet had a user-friendly command interface and made extensive use of distributed processing technology.

History

GeoNet became an important force in the European market within 15 months of introducing its first system in the early 1980s and by 1986 had an installed base of some 25 systems in 8 countries. By the early 1990s GeoNet systems had been established in Austria, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, UK, USA and USSR. Apart from the Austrian PTT and An Post

An Post

An Post is the State-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union...

 in Ireland, most of the operators were independent private companies.

System features and design

GeoNet systems were strongly interconnected using a proprietary pre-X.400

X.400

X.400 is a suite of ITU-T Recommendations that define standards for Data Communication Networks for Message Handling Systems — more commonly known as "email"....

 protocol, called "InterMail". The so-called "GeoMail" network constituted a worldwide "private domain", later interconnected with other public and private domains through X.400.

Later versions of GeoNet software ran under OpenVMS

OpenVMS

OpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase...

 on DEC

Digital Equipment Corporation

Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...

 hardware. The largest installations ran on Alpha clusters. GeoNet operated centralised system monitoring and maintenance from Germany.

Some of the many innovative features of the GeoNet systems:

• Cross-system accounting and clearing: the systems were able to bill for many different on-line activities, but also had a built-in micropayment clearing system whereby users of one system could use services offered on another and be billed accordingly.
• Unified database front end: the GeoNet philosophy was to offer users a "one-stop-shop" for on-line services. Users could access a wide range of remote on-line databases using a sophisticated gateway called Intelligent Interface, developed with a research grant from the European Commission. The cost of accessing remote databases was added to the user's bill.
• Unified messaging: GeoNet was one of the first systems to offer "unified messaging
  Unified messaging
  Unified Messaging is the integration of different electronic messaging and communications media technologies into a single interface, accessible from a variety of different devices....
  
  " (a term introduced by Ovum Ltd.
  Ovum Ltd.
  Ovum Ltd. is an independent analyst and consultancy firm headquartered in London, specializing in global coverage of IT, and telecommunications industries. It began operations in 1985 and by 2005 claimed to be the largest technology analyst firm that was headquartered outside of the United States...
  
   in the UK). The "one-stop-shop" metaphor was extended by allowing message exchange with fax
  Fax
  Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
  
  , telex
  Telex
  Telex may refer to:* Telex , , a communications network** Teleprinter, the device used on the above network* Telex , a Belgian pop group...
  
  , teletex
  Teletex
  Teletex was an ITU-T specification for a text and document communications service that could be provided over telephone lines. Teletex allowed for the transmission and routing of Group 4 facsimile documents...
  
  , SMS
  SMS
  SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
  
  , pager
  Pager
  A pager is a simple personal telecommunications device for short messages. A one-way numeric pager can only receive a message consisting of a few digits, typically a phone number that the user is then requested to call...
  
  , voice and Inmarsat-C
  Inmarsat-C
  Inmarsat-C is a two-way, packet data service operated by the telecommunications company Inmarsat. The service is approved for use under the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System , meets the requirements for Ship Security Alert Systems defined by the International Maritime Organization and is...
  
  . GeoNet was one of the first systems to introduce a fax-out service, and also one of the first systems to offer private fax-in numbers, allowing users to send and receive faxes from wherever they could get a connection to their mailbox.
• Multilingual user interface, in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
• Forerunner of instant messaging
  Instant messaging
  Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
  
  : users could "chat" live on line.

Operators

The UK systems GEO2 and MCR1 were run by Poptel

Poptel

Poptel was a British internet and on-line services provider that was run by an employee cooperative from 1986 to 2002.In the 1980's Poptel offered on-line communications and information services to international NGOs, working in particular with the Interdoc group...

 which aimed its services at non-commercial organisations, and the distinctive GeoNet addressing format (eg GEO2:TONY.BLAIR

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

 – a well-known user in the early 1990s) was widely recognised in NGO and labour movement

Labour movement

The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...

 circles.

In addition, Computer Access (originally Hackney Computer Access)* [see http://www.access-it.org.uk] created the Hackney HOST using the GeoNet technology, using this to tackle digital exclusion within East London and the Lea Valley

Lea Valley

The Lea Valley, the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area...

, under the aegis of City Challenge funding.

The system in the USSR, MOS1, was established at the height of the "glasnost

Glasnost

Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...

" period and relayed information about the attempted coup in 1991

Soviet coup attempt of 1991

The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , also known as the August Putsch or August Coup , was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev...

to the Western media.

The GeoNet name is now used by a German ISP, GeoNet.de GmbH, which still offers the unified messaging services developed by the former GeoNet Systems GmbH, in addition to standard ISP services.