 UUNET Technologies Logo | |
| 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) |
| Internet history timeline |
Early research and development:
Merging the networks and creating the Internet:
Commercialization, privatization, broader access leads to the modern Internet:
Examples of Internet services:
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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]
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 UUNET. 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]
