Universo Online
Encyclopedia
UOL once known as Universo Online, is a Brazil
ian online service provider
and internet service provider
. It is the leader in Latin America
and the homepage portal is the biggest in the Portuguese
speaking world.
UOL is currently ranked at Alexa
TOP 100.
with Grupo Abril
(no longer a partner in the company) and Grupo Folha
. UOL has cemented its leadership with the biggest Brazilian publications: Revista Veja and Folha de São Paulo.
UOL competes with another large communication groups for Brazil's internet audience: Organizações Globo
(owner of the nation's top-rated television network) with Globo.com, Telefónica
-owned Terra
and Oi's iG, iBest, BrTurbo and Oi Internet.
UOL is ranked among the top 100 most visited websites according to Alexa
(as of Mar 2010 its position is #77). UOL provides local Internet access in more than 3,000 cities throughout Brazil and 14,000 cities abroad. The Company has approximately 1.3 million content paying broadband subscribers as of July 2009. Since September 1999, UOL has also operated a portal in Argentina, incorporating a local Internet Service provider in 2001. According to IBOPE//NetRatings, UOL had 17.6 million unique visitors in Brazil as of July 2009, maintaining its ranking position of the first among the largest content portals in Brazil and accounting for a 63% reach in this market.
UOL launched a variety of products in the last few years, as a price comparison service (Shopping UOL), auction site (TodaOferta), job search (Emprego Certo) among others.
On December 16, 2005, UOL started to being traded at BM&F Bovespa, but in August 31, 2011, its paret Folhapar assumed 100% control of the company, closing its capital on the stock exchange. Its stock was UOLL4.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian online service provider
Online service provider
An online service provider can for example be an internet service provider, email provider, news provider , entertainment provider , search, e-shopping site , e-finance or e-banking site, e-health site, e-government site, Wikipedia, Usenet...
and internet service provider
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...
. It is the leader in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the homepage portal is the biggest in the Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
speaking world.
UOL is currently ranked at Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
TOP 100.
Overview
UOL started operations in 1996 as a joint ventureJoint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with Grupo Abril
Grupo Abril
Grupo Abril is the second largest Brazilian media conglomerate with its headquarter in São Paulo. The group is the holding company of Editora Abril, who publishes the weekly newsmagazine Veja....
(no longer a partner in the company) and Grupo Folha
Grupo Folha
The Grupo Folha is a Brazilian conglomerate of publishing companies, including newspapers, publishing houses, print shops and so on...
. UOL has cemented its leadership with the biggest Brazilian publications: Revista Veja and Folha de São Paulo.
UOL competes with another large communication groups for Brazil's internet audience: Organizações Globo
Organizações Globo
Organizações Globo is the largest media conglomerate of South America, founded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1925 by Irineu Marinho. It also owns companies on the food industry and the real estate and financial markets....
(owner of the nation's top-rated television network) with Globo.com, Telefónica
Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...
-owned Terra
Terra (company)
Terra Networks, S. A., usually referred to as "Terra", is an Internet multinational company with headquarters in Spain. Part of Telefónica Group , Terra operates as a web portal and/or an internet access provider in the U.S., Spain, and 16 Latin American countries...
and Oi's iG, iBest, BrTurbo and Oi Internet.
UOL is ranked among the top 100 most visited websites according to Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
(as of Mar 2010 its position is #77). UOL provides local Internet access in more than 3,000 cities throughout Brazil and 14,000 cities abroad. The Company has approximately 1.3 million content paying broadband subscribers as of July 2009. Since September 1999, UOL has also operated a portal in Argentina, incorporating a local Internet Service provider in 2001. According to IBOPE//NetRatings, UOL had 17.6 million unique visitors in Brazil as of July 2009, maintaining its ranking position of the first among the largest content portals in Brazil and accounting for a 63% reach in this market.
UOL launched a variety of products in the last few years, as a price comparison service (Shopping UOL), auction site (TodaOferta), job search (Emprego Certo) among others.
On December 16, 2005, UOL started to being traded at BM&F Bovespa, but in August 31, 2011, its paret Folhapar assumed 100% control of the company, closing its capital on the stock exchange. Its stock was UOLL4.