PowerTech Information Systems AS is an Oslo-based Norwegian Internet service provider founded in 1993.

History

PowerTech was founded in fall 1993, in tiny quarters in Storgata, Oslo, by teenagers Øystein Homelien, Lars Nøring, Harald Paulsen, and Henry Dramstad. They had dropped out of school and were all still minors; Nøring's father became chairman of the company for legal reasons.Gunhild M. Haugnes
"Nerder med ni liv: Tidlig på 90-tallet droppet fire unge tenåringer skolen for å skape sitt eget IT-eventyr. Og etter ti vellykkede år i tidenes mest turbulente bransje peker pilene fortsatt i været for de unge gründerne i Powertech,"
'' Aftenposten'' January 26, 2003 In an interview with '' Aftenposten'' in 1994, they said "their biggest dream was to give the Internet to the people." (They were also interviewed that year by Alf Tande-Petersen in the program "Opp Med Norge" on NRK.Magnus A. Koren and Sverre Rørvik Nilsen
"Satset på internett i 1994: Oslo-selskapet Powertech, som tilbyr bredbåndstilgang og hosting-tjenester, omsatte for 81 millioner i 2009. De da mindreårige gründerne ble intervjuet av Tande P allerede i 1994,"
E24 Næringsliv, January 12, 2010 ) They initially provided internet service only to individuals, but later changed their focus to small- to mid-sized companies; they now primarily provide commercial broadband and hosting services, mainly to companies in Oslo and

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

. Initially, the founders drew only minimal salaries from the company, and in 1996/97, the company took out a large loan to replace aging equipment. In 2003, three of the founders were still active with the company, which had annual revenues of approximately 30 million kroner ($5,173,047 USD, per 2012 currency exchange rates), had received outside investment of some four million kroner, and was still 50% owned by the four founders and their families. In 2008, including two subsidiaries, the company had approximately 30 employees;Marius Jørgenrud
"Powertech er femten år: En av landets aller første nettleverandører fyller rundt tall"

Digi.no ''Digi.no'' is a Norway, Norwegian online newspaper covering news within information technology and telecommunications. It is published in Oslo by Teknisk Ukeblad, Teknisk Ukeblad Media. The publication has eight journalists. The editor in chief i ...

, November 21, 2008 in 2009, revenues were approximately 81 million kroner ($13,794,792 USD, per 2012 currency exchange rates). PowerTech's original rival was OsloNett, which was started by IT professionals from the University of Oslo and was later acquired by

Telenor Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwide, ...

. Numerous other ISPs appeared in Norway in 1996/97, most of which no longer exist. The company was part owner with '' Dagbladet'' of the internet portal Start.no, which is now the

Start Network Start Network AS is a Privately held company, private company that owns and runs the internet service provider Start.no in Norway. In addition to the premium portal site at start.no the company offers several levels of service, including free Int ...

; Scandinavia Online bought PowerTech's share in 2008. Start Bredbånd (broadband) and Whitebird New Media, former subsidiaries, were absorbed into PowerTech on December 1, 2009. The company was sold to Broadnet in February 2016.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.powertech.no/ Internet service providers of Norway 1993 establishments in Norway Privately held companies of Norway