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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | Auckland,New Zealand (1994) |
| Headquarters | Auckland,New Zealand |
| Owner | Vodafone NZ |
Number of employees | 100 |
| Website | www.ihug.co.nz |
ihug was New Zealand's third largestISP (behindXtra andTelstraClear), before it was bought, then absorbed by Vodafone New Zealand (the country's largest mobile phone operator, later renamedOne NZ). According to 2005 estimates, it had over 100,000 internet and phone subscribers. Before 2000 ihug was New Zealand's largestISP but as other ISPs began offering flat rate services, some customers opted to transfer to those providers.
ihug originally stood for Internet Home Users Group, even though the name was seldom used. It was also known asThe Internet Group or 'TIG' in Australia. ihug was sold toiiNet in 2003 before being sold to Vodafone in 2006 after interest from thenTelevision New Zealand subsidiaryTHL and competitorOrcon. Its headquarters were inAuckland,New Zealand. The former CEO wasMark Rushworth, who became Manager of Marketing at Vodafone NZ.
The company also ran a small subscription television service in Auckland for a short period.
After Vodafone retired the ihug brand in April 2008, existing customers were moved to Vodafone's own internet services, although customers had the choice of retaining their email addresses[1] until Vodafone later stopped providing email services.