Netcom (USA)
Encyclopedia
NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Inc. was an Internet service provider
headquartered in San Jose, California
.
It was established in 1988 by Bob Rieger, an information systems engineer for Lockheed
and Bill Gitow of System V. Netcom started off in San Jose, California
as a service to allow local students to access university networks off-campus. The original accounts were all dialup shell account
s on Xenix
Intel 80386
Tandy
PC
's, with email addresses in the format of user@netcom.com. Netcom soon served 95% of the San Francisco Bay Area
.
When first launched, Rieger was the only system administrator
for the company. Users would call him early in the morning to fix Internet access issues until he hired night staff. In 1992, the company was incorporated.
As the World Wide Web became more popular, and users were looking for an easy way to surf the Web, Netcom released a Windows 3.1 based program called NetCruiser (originally it was to be called Internet Xpress, but there were legal issues with calling it by that name, so it was changed in the latter part of development - although the email addresses were still kept user@ix.netcom.com). The NetCruiser service became very popular and made Netcom one of the leading Internet service providers by the mid 1990s. Netcom also had business T1, Frame Relay, UUCP and dedicated dialup services.
In February 1995, computer security researcher Tsutomu Shimomura
monitored Netcom's network to track down an unknown attacker who electronically broke into his computer. While monitoring their network, he discovered the person who compromised his computer was Kevin Mitnick
.
Netcom became headline news when the Church of Scientology
sued Netcom for copyright infringement. On February 13, 1995, armed police officers and attorneys from the Church of Scientology raided the home of Dennis Erlich, a former minister of the Church of Scientology. Mr. Erlich was charged with copyright infringement of the Scientology's Advanced Technology documents, and Netcom On-line was sued by the Church because a BBS owned by Tom Klemesrud hosted the alleged infringing postings. This case caused an uproar in the Internet industry since Netcom didn't actually post the content, did not know that the material was under copyright, and could not control what customers could do with their service. Netcom and Klemesrud eventually settled out of court (see Scientology vs. the Internet for more information).
In December 1995, Netcom Canada, a subsidiary of Netcom On-line, was launched in Toronto
, Ontario
, with Ron Close as its CEO. Netcom Canada boasted a Canada-wide network, and allowed U.S. Netcom customers to access their Internet accounts via their network using either NetCruiser or any PPP dialer. It was the first Internet service provider in Canada to become EBITDA
positive.
In May 1996, Netcom Internet Limited, a subsidiary in the United Kingdom
, was launched. In 1997, Internetcom do Brasil SA was founded as a joint project between Netcom On-line and Itanet, a Brazilian telephone company.
In 1996 the company called itself the world's largest ISP, with some 500,000 subscribers.
In 1997, Rieger turned the presidency of Netcom over to David W. Garrison, formerly of SkyTel. Under his direction, the company ventured into the business services market with web hosting and hi-speed business connectivity products. On October 13 of the same year, ICG Communications announced in a press release that it had "entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger with NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Inc.". In February 1999, ICG sold off the Netcom's U.S. subscribers and other assets to MindSpring
for $245 million in cash and stock. MindSpring
later merged with EarthLink
in 2000. Netcom Canada was bought by and was eventually merged with Metronet (the first Canadian CLEC), and AT&T Canada
, with the combined entity acquiring the AT&T Canada
name (later, in the summer of 2003, this entity dropped the AT&T name and rebranded itself as Allstream). Meanwhile, at the time of the MindSpring acquisition, Netcom Internet Limited in the United Kingdom became GTS Netcom, and in March 2003, it became part of the Viatel Group along with another business ISP, Cybernet.
On January 12, Netcom Internet Ltd was rebranded to Viatel.
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
headquartered in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
.
It was established in 1988 by Bob Rieger, an information systems engineer for Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
and Bill Gitow of System V. Netcom started off in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
as a service to allow local students to access university networks off-campus. The original accounts were all dialup shell account
Shell account
A shell account is a user account on a remote server which gives access to a shell via a command-line interface protocol such as telnet or ssh....
s on Xenix
Xenix
Xenix is a version of the Unix operating system, licensed to Microsoft from AT&T in the late 1970s. The Santa Cruz Operation later acquired exclusive rights to the software, and eventually superseded it with SCO UNIX ....
Intel 80386
Intel 80386
The Intel 80386, also known as the i386, or just 386, was a 32-bit microprocessor introduced by Intel in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistors and were used as the central processing unit of many workstations and high-end personal computers of the time...
Tandy
Tandy Corporation
Tandy Corporation was a family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Tandy was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store, and acquired RadioShack in 1963. The Tandy name was dropped in May 2000, when RadioShack Corporation was made the official name.-History:Tandy began in 1919...
PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
's, with email addresses in the format of user@netcom.com. Netcom soon served 95% of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
.
When first launched, Rieger was the only system administrator
System administrator
A system administrator, IT systems administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network...
for the company. Users would call him early in the morning to fix Internet access issues until he hired night staff. In 1992, the company was incorporated.
As the World Wide Web became more popular, and users were looking for an easy way to surf the Web, Netcom released a Windows 3.1 based program called NetCruiser (originally it was to be called Internet Xpress, but there were legal issues with calling it by that name, so it was changed in the latter part of development - although the email addresses were still kept user@ix.netcom.com). The NetCruiser service became very popular and made Netcom one of the leading Internet service providers by the mid 1990s. Netcom also had business T1, Frame Relay, UUCP and dedicated dialup services.
In February 1995, computer security researcher Tsutomu Shimomura
Tsutomu Shimomura
is a Japanese scientist and computer security expert based in the United States, who became an instant celebrity when he, together with computer journalist John Markoff, tracked down and helped the FBI arrest hacker Kevin Mitnick....
monitored Netcom's network to track down an unknown attacker who electronically broke into his computer. While monitoring their network, he discovered the person who compromised his computer was Kevin Mitnick
Kevin Mitnick
Kevin David Mitnick is a computer security consultant, author, and hacker. In the late 20th century, he was convicted of various computer- and communications-related crimes. At the time of his arrest, he was the most-wanted computer criminal in the United States.-Personal life:Mitnick grew up in...
.
Netcom became headline news when the Church of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
sued Netcom for copyright infringement. On February 13, 1995, armed police officers and attorneys from the Church of Scientology raided the home of Dennis Erlich, a former minister of the Church of Scientology. Mr. Erlich was charged with copyright infringement of the Scientology's Advanced Technology documents, and Netcom On-line was sued by the Church because a BBS owned by Tom Klemesrud hosted the alleged infringing postings. This case caused an uproar in the Internet industry since Netcom didn't actually post the content, did not know that the material was under copyright, and could not control what customers could do with their service. Netcom and Klemesrud eventually settled out of court (see Scientology vs. the Internet for more information).
In December 1995, Netcom Canada, a subsidiary of Netcom On-line, was launched in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, with Ron Close as its CEO. Netcom Canada boasted a Canada-wide network, and allowed U.S. Netcom customers to access their Internet accounts via their network using either NetCruiser or any PPP dialer. It was the first Internet service provider in Canada to become EBITDA
EBITDA
EBITDA is an acronym for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is a non-GAAP metric that is measured exactly as stated. All interest, tax, depreciation and amortization entries in the income statement are reversed out from the bottom-line net income...
positive.
In May 1996, Netcom Internet Limited, a subsidiary in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, was launched. In 1997, Internetcom do Brasil SA was founded as a joint project between Netcom On-line and Itanet, a Brazilian telephone company.
In 1996 the company called itself the world's largest ISP, with some 500,000 subscribers.
In 1997, Rieger turned the presidency of Netcom over to David W. Garrison, formerly of SkyTel. Under his direction, the company ventured into the business services market with web hosting and hi-speed business connectivity products. On October 13 of the same year, ICG Communications announced in a press release that it had "entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger with NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Inc.". In February 1999, ICG sold off the Netcom's U.S. subscribers and other assets to MindSpring
MindSpring
MindSpring Enterprise was a major Internet service provider headquartered in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Mindspring merged with EarthLink on February 4, 2000, with the company retaining the EarthLink name...
for $245 million in cash and stock. MindSpring
MindSpring
MindSpring Enterprise was a major Internet service provider headquartered in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Mindspring merged with EarthLink on February 4, 2000, with the company retaining the EarthLink name...
later merged with EarthLink
EarthLink
EarthLink , is an Internet service provider headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It claims 1.94 million subscribers.- Business :EarthLink provides a variety of Internet connection types, including dial-up, DSL, satellite, and cable. Both dial-up and high speed Internet access are available...
in 2000. Netcom Canada was bought by and was eventually merged with Metronet (the first Canadian CLEC), and AT&T Canada
AT&T Canada
AT&T Canada was a Canadian long-distance telephone service provider, the Canadian subsidiary of American telecommunications company AT&T Communications between the early 1990s and 2003. It was then renamed Allstream, as a result of AT&T's declining participation in the company. AT&T sold its...
, with the combined entity acquiring the AT&T Canada
AT&T Canada
AT&T Canada was a Canadian long-distance telephone service provider, the Canadian subsidiary of American telecommunications company AT&T Communications between the early 1990s and 2003. It was then renamed Allstream, as a result of AT&T's declining participation in the company. AT&T sold its...
name (later, in the summer of 2003, this entity dropped the AT&T name and rebranded itself as Allstream). Meanwhile, at the time of the MindSpring acquisition, Netcom Internet Limited in the United Kingdom became GTS Netcom, and in March 2003, it became part of the Viatel Group along with another business ISP, Cybernet.
On January 12, Netcom Internet Ltd was rebranded to Viatel.