IiNet
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- The title of this article is incorrect because of technical limitations. The correct title is iiNet.
iiNet Limited Template:Asx is one of Australia's major Internet Service Providers. Focusing primarily on ADSL-based Internet access, it is currently ranked Australia's third largest ISP. The company trades under a number of names such as ii, Froggy, ihug and OzEmail.
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History
iiNet was founded in 1993 by Michael Malone and Michael O'Reilly who started the business in a suburban garage in Perth, Western Australia as iiNet Technologies Pty Ltd. It began as one of the first Australian ISPs to offer live TCP/IP Internet access, as opposed to store-and-forward techniques (such as MHSnet) used by other ISPs. It was the first ISP to offer PPP access in Australia, and the first to base operations on the then new Linux operating system.
In the mid 1990s, the company experimented with related services such as iiCon - a web design joint-venture with a leading Perth design company, and Intuition - an Internet training school. Whilst they were initially successful, the company ultimately closed them down to focus on core Internet service provision.
The company outgrew its suburban home in 1995 and was one of the first ISPs to make the migration to CBD office accommodations. Its early growth during the Internet boom was hampered by the ability of the local telecommunications provider to deliver enough telephone lines to cope with demand.
Western Australia's Largest ISP
A growing demand on infrastructure, as well as a rapidly increasing number of staff saw the company relocate again in 1997 to the prestigious QV.1 building. Shortly after it was instrumental in forming the Western Australian Internet Exchange in the same premises.
1999 marked a turning point for the company. Founding partner Michael Malone purchased the company outright and listed it on the Australian Stock Exchange under ticker symbol IIN. The new found capital was used to acquire its two major local rivals in Western Australia - Wantree Internet and Omen Internet.
After the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, the company fared poorly on the markets - however consistently remained profitable and used the time to strengthen its service and reposition itself as a telco-quality provider.
Maturing into a national carrier
The company created a new registered telecommunications provider iiTel, later renamed Chime (believed to be the best sounding word in the English language), that sought to improve Internet access prices by making wholesale telephone access much cheaper. This was possible through new interconnection agreements mandated by the Australian Government's deregulation of the telecommunications industry.
Based on its new abilities, and after consolidating its local position, iiNet focused on expanding to national coverage in the early 2000s through strategic acquisitions and natural growth. Acquisitions included:
- RuralNet (Mildura and regional Victoria)
- Tas Access (Tasmania)
- Granite Internet (Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia)
With the advent of ADSL access, iiNet was at the forefront of price and service wars and was rewarded with a substantial amount of business in the emerging broadband industry. The take-up moved the company from a provider of dial-up Internet in one state to a dominant Internet provider across all of Australia.
Growing overseas
In 2003, iiNet made its biggest acquisition to date, purchasing key New Zealand provider ihug. The move cemented its position as one of the primary providers in the Australia-New Zealand Internet market.
Recent initiatives by the company included their own voice telephony offering iiPhone, as well as announcing in July 2004 that they will begin offering services on their own telephone exchange equipment, rather than relying on purchasing wholesale services from Telstra.
In November 2004, iiNet made the decision to rebrand its business simply to 'ii' due to the services being provided by the company expanding beyond internet access. The internet divisions retained the names iiNet, ihug and Froggy.
2005
In late 2004 and early 2005, iiNet moved to introduce their own infrastructure into telephone exchanges Australia-wide. This move allowed iiNet to be the first Australian DSL carrier to offer speeds of over 1.5 Mbit/s to customers (their connections automatically send data at up to 8 Mbit/s*, depending on line condition and other factors). This new infrastructure also allowed iiNet to offer increased telecommunication services.
- iiNet has since released 12/1 Mbit DSL to customers connected to iiDSLAMs, using ADSL2. Trials of ADSL2+ (with maximum speeds of 25/1 Mbits) are speculated (or maybe just wished for by the Whirlpool community) before the end of the year.
On February 15, 2005 the company announced that it had arranged an acquisition of OzEmail from parent company MCI in a deal valued at AUD 110 Million. This deal increases its number of subscribers to 620,000.
External links
- iiNet official Website (http://www.iinet.net.au)
- iiNet forum on Whirlpool (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=72)
- iiNet listing on Broadband Choice (http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc-isp.cfm?id=15)