UUNET Technologies, Inc., formerlyUUNET Communications Services, was an American commercialInternet service provider. Founded in 1987, it was one of the first and largest commercial ISPs and one of the earlyTier 1 networks. It was based inNorthern Virginia. Today, UUNET is an internal brand ofVerizon Business (formerlyMCI).^{[citation needed]}

UUNET Technologies, Inc.

UUNET Technologies Logo
Trade name	Verizon Enterprise Solutions Verizon Business
Formerly	UUNET Communications Services (1987–1989)
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	1987; 38 years ago (1987)
Defunct	2006; 19 years ago (2006)
Fate	Acquired byVerizon Communications in 2006
Headquarters	Ashburn, Virginia, U.S.
Products	Conferencing, Contact Centers, Data and IP Services,Internet access, IT Solutions and Hosting, Managed Networks, Premises Equipment (CPE), Security, Voice,VoIP,Wireless
Parent	Verizon Communications (2006–present)
Website	uu.net at theWayback Machine (archived 2001-11-01)

Prior to its founding, access toUsenet and e-mail exchange from non-ARPANET sites was accomplished using a cooperative network of systems running theUUCPprotocol overPOTS lines. During the mid-1980s, growth of this network began to put considerable strain on the resources voluntarily provided by the larger UUCPhubs. This promptedRick Adams, a system administrator at the Center for Seismic Studies, to explore the possibilities of providing these services commercially as a way to reduce the burden on the existing hubs.

With funding in the form of a loan fromUsenix, UUNET Communications Services began operations in 1987 as a non-profit corporation providingUsenet feeds, e-mail exchange, and access to a large repository of software source code and related information. The venture proved successful and shed its non-profit status within two years. At the same time, the company changed its name to UUNET Technologies. In 1990, UUNET launched its AlterNet service, which provided access to anIP backbone independent of the constraints of those operated by the government. That network lives on in a much larger form and serves as the core of a set of products that include access atdial-up andbroadband speeds as well asweb hosting. UUNET raised $6 Million from Accel Partners, Menlo Ventures, and New Enterprise Associates in 1993 and $8.2 million in 1996 for expanding its network and hiring new executives with experience in marketing.^[1]

In the mid-1990s, UUNET was the fastest-growing ISP, outpacing MCI andSprint. At its peak, Internet traffic was briefly doubling every few months, which translates to 10x growth each year. However, the continuing UUNET claims of such growth (long after it had fallen to lower, albeit still substantial levels) artificially fueled the expectations of the dot-com and telecom companies of the late 1990s, leading to thedot-com bubble and crash in 2000/2001.^[2]

In 1996, UUNET was acquired byMFS on 30 April 1996. This was an independent acquisition unrelated to the acquisition of MFS by WorldCom. However, as MFS was a public company and the acquisition made the company a Wall Street darling,^[3] it likely influenced WorldCom's decision to pursue MFS.^[4]

In 1996, UUNET was acquired byWorldCom on 26 August 1996, as part of WorldCom's purchase of MFS Communications Company.^[5]

In 2001, UUNET was fully integrated with WorldCom and the name was dropped from all official documents.

In 2002, the owner of UUNET at that time (WorldCom) filed for what was then the largestChapter 11 bankruptcy protection in history.

In 2005, its Internet service and infrastructure, assignedAS701, maintained the highest outdegree of any ISP.^{[clarification needed][6][7]}

In 2006, WorldCom was purchased byVerizon Communications and now operates under theVerizon Business name.

After it had been sold and resold during the onset of thedot-com bubble, UUNET acquired the nicknameSpewSpewNET. This nickname was given because UUNET had become a home for many distributors ofspam, including distributors of bothNewsgroup spam andE-mail spam. UUNET also became known for providingbulletproof hosting to manyweb pages whose chief form of advertisement was spam. Because UUNET started with a loan fromUsenix and controlled the e-mail addresses formoderatedUsenet groups, it was hard to block email traffic to or from Usenet. In 1997, UUNET had lost so much credit that on 1 August, after finding alternate routes for moderated newsgroups, aUsenet death penalty (UDP) was issued against UUNET.^[8] A week later, the UDP was lifted.^[9] In 1998 UUNET threatened legal action^[10] for hosting aGIF image with "SPAMUNET" on it.^[11]

• 1987 – UUNET Communications Services is founded and passes its first traffic via theCompuServe Network on 12 May usingUUCP (Unix to Unix Copy Protocol).
• 1989 – UUNET becomes a for-profit corporation.
• 1990 – UUNET launches AlterNet.
• 1991 – UUNET participates in the founding of the Commercial Internet Exchange Association.
• 1992 - UUNET with MFS co-createsMAE-East, for a time the world's busiest Internet exchange and "center of the internet".
• 1994 –Microsoft paid $16.4 million for a 15 percent share of the company.
• 1995 – In May, UUNET is listed on theNASDAQ stock market in aninitial public offering that would become part of the beginning of thedot-com boom.
• 1995 – UUNET Technologies Inc places a takeover bid againstUnipalm Pipex.^[12]
• 1996 – UUNET Technologies agreed to a merger withMFS Communications Company.^[13]
• 1996 –Metropolitan Fiber Systems (MFS) acquires UUNET for $2 Billion on 12 August 1996. This marked the day UUNET stopped existing as an independent company.
• 1996 –WorldCom acquires MFS on New Year's Eve – 31 Dec. at 11:58 p.m EST for $12.4 billion.
• 1997 –Usenet death penalty (UDP) issued against UUNET, and lifted a week later.
• 1997 – On 10 November,WorldCom andMCI announced their US$37 billion merger including combining internetMCI & UUNET Internet operations.
• 1998 – The combinedMCI WorldCom opens for business on 15 September after being given the go-ahead from theDOJ, subsequent to divesting internet MCI.^[14]
• 1998 –WorldCom acquires CompuServe Network Services fromH&R Block andANS Communications fromAOL. Both become part of UUNET in 1999.
• 1999 – On 5 October, MCI Worldcom announces its intentions to buySprint for $129 billion.
• 2000 – TheEuropean Commission andDOJ denied the MCI WorldCom / Sprint merger on Antitrust Grounds.
• 2001 – The UUNET brand is folded intoWorldCom's product line and disappears.
• 2002 – WorldComfiles for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a result of amassive $11 billion accounting scandal.
• 2003 – The UUNET brand re-emerges asWorldCom's wholesale-only brand.
• 2004 – WorldComemerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and renames itself toMCI, still using the UUNET brand for wholesale business.
• 2005 – MCI again drops the UUNET brand for wholesale business. The name is no longer in use.
• 2006 – Verizon acquires MCI, including its UUNET subsidiary, now known as Verizon Business. AS701 remains the backbone of Verizon Business although its origin dates back to 1990 when it was under the UUNET flag.

• List of companies headquartered in Northern Virginia

• Tim O'Reilly discusses UUNET as an open source-derived business. Includes some history.
• Discussions about UUNET spam innews:news.admin.net-abuse.email.
• Usenet message in comp.org.usenix announcing UUNET creation (29 Jan 1987)
• Estimated spam Business on UUNET