UUNET, founded in 1987, was one of the largest
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
s and one of the early
Tier 1 network
A Tier 1 network is an Internet Protocol (IP) network that can reach every other network on the Internet solely via settlement-free interconnection (also known as settlement-free peering). Tier 1 networks can exchange traffic with other Tier 1 net ...
s. It was based in
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
and was one of the first commercial Internet service providers. Today, UUNET is an internal brand of
Verizon Business
Verizon Business (formerly known as Verizon Enterprise Solutions) is a division of Verizon Communications based in Basking Ridge, New Jersey that provides services and products for Verizon's business and government clients around the world.
It ...
(formerly
MCI).
History
Background
Prior to its founding, access to
Usenet
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
and e-mail exchange from non-
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical fou ...
sites was accomplished using a cooperative network of systems running the
UUCP
UUCP is an acronym of Unix-to-Unix Copy. The term generally refers to a suite of computer programs and protocols allowing remote execution of commands and transfer of files, email and netnews between computers.
A command named is one of the prog ...
protocol
Protocol may refer to:
Sociology and politics
* Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states
* Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state
* Etiquette, a code of personal behavior
Science and technolog ...
over
POTS lines. During the mid-1980s, growth of this network began to put considerable strain on the resources voluntarily provided by the larger UUCP
hubs. This prompted
Rick 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.
Early existence
With funding in the form of a loan from
Usenix, UUNET Communications Services began operations in 1987 as a non-profit corporation providing
Usenet
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
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 an
IP 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 at
dial-up
Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) by dialing a telephone number on a conventional telepho ...
and
broadband
In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
speeds as well as
web hosting
A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that hosts websites for clients, i.e. it offers the facilities required for them to create and maintain a site and makes it accessible on the World Wide Web. Companies providing web h ...
. 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.
In the mid-1990s, UUNET was the fastest-growing ISP, outpacing MCI and
Sprint. 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 the
dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet.
Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
and crash in 2000/2001.
Mergers and acquisitions
In 1996, UUNET was acquired by MFS 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, it likely influenced Worldcom's decision to pursue MFS.
In 1996, UUNET was acquired by
WorldCom
MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...
on 26 August 1996, as part of WorldCom's purchase of MFS Communications Company.
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 largest
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...
in history.
In 2005, its Internet service and infrastructure, assigned
AS701, maintained the highest outdegree of any ISP.
Verizon
In 2006, WorldCom was purchased by
Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas i ...
and now operates under the
Verizon Business
Verizon Business (formerly known as Verizon Enterprise Solutions) is a division of Verizon Communications based in Basking Ridge, New Jersey that provides services and products for Verizon's business and government clients around the world.
It ...
name.
Spam
After it had been sold and resold during the onset of the
dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet.
Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
, UUNET acquired the nickname ''SpewSpewNET''. This nickname was given because UUNET had become a home for many distributors of
spam
Spam may refer to:
* Spam (food), a canned pork meat product
* Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages
** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages
** Messaging spam, spam targeting users of instant messaging ( ...
, including distributors of both
Newsgroup spam
Newsgroup spam is a type of spam where the targets are Usenet newsgroups.
Spamming of Usenet newsgroups actually pre-dates e-mail spam. The first widely recognized Usenet spam (though not the most famous) was posted on 18 January 1994 by Clarenc ...
and
E-mail spam
Email spam, also referred to as junk email, spam mail, or simply spam, is unsolicited messages sent in bulk by email (spamming).
The name comes from a Monty Python sketch in which the name of the canned pork product Spam is ubiquitous, unavoida ...
. UUNET also became known for providing
bulletproof hosting
Bulletproof hosting (BPH) is technical infrastructure service provided by an Internet hosting service that is resilient to complaints of illicit activities, which serves criminal actors as a basic building block for streamlining various cybera ...
to many
web pages whose chief form of advertisement was spam. Because UUNET started with a loan from
Usenix and controlled the e-mail addresses for
moderated
Moderation is the process of eliminating or lessening extremes. It is used to ensure normality throughout the medium on which it is being conducted. Common uses of moderation include:
*Ensuring consistency and accuracy in the marking of stud ...
Usenet
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
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, a
Usenet death penalty
On Usenet, the Usenet Death Penalty (UDP) is a final penalty that may be issued against Internet service providers or single users who produce too much spam or fail to adhere to Usenet standards. It is named after the death penalty (the state-sanc ...
(UDP) was issued against UUNET. A week later, the UDP was lifted. In 1998 UUNET threatened legal action for hosting a
GIF
The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , see pronunciation) is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released on 15 June 1987. ...
image with "SPAMUNET" on it.
Timeline
*1987 – UUNET Communications Services is founded and passes its first traffic via the
CompuServe
CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS) was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the oth ...
Network on 12 May using
UUCP
UUCP is an acronym of Unix-to-Unix Copy. The term generally refers to a suite of computer programs and protocols allowing remote execution of commands and transfer of files, email and netnews between computers.
A command named is one of the prog ...
(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-creates
MAE-East
The MAE (later, MAE-East) was the first Internet Exchange Point (IXP). It began in 1992 with four locations in Washington, D.C., quickly extended to Vienna, Reston, and Ashburn, Virginia; and then subsequently to New York and Miami. Its name sto ...
, for a time the world's busiest Internet exchange and "center of the internet"
*1994 –
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
paid $16.4 million for a 15 percent share of the company
*1995 – In May, UUNET is listed on the
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
stock market in an
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
that would become part of the beginning of the
dot-com boom
The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet.
Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compos ...
.
*1995 – UUNET Technologies Inc places a takeover bid against
Unipalm Pipex Unipalm was a U.K.-based company that operated between 1986 and 2003 that specialised in networking different computers together using TCP/IP technology and was an early promoter of internet technology.
History
Unipalm Ltd was founded as a softwar ...
.
*1996 – UUNET Technologies agreed to a merger with the Microsoft backed
MFS Communications Company
MFS Communications Company, Inc. (Metropolitan Fiber Systems) was a competitive local exchange carrier that owned and operated local network access facilities installed in and around major U.S. cities and several major European cities. MFS also po ...
.
*1996 –
Metropolitan Fiber Systems
MFS Communications Company, Inc. (Metropolitan Fiber Systems) was a competitive local exchange carrier that owned and operated local network access facilities installed in and around major U.S. cities and several major European cities. MFS also po ...
(MFS) acquires UUNET for $2 Billion on 12 August 1996. This marked the day UUNET stopped existing as an independent company.
*1996 –
WorldCom
MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...
acquires MFS on New Year's Eve – 31 Dec. at 11:58 p.m EST for $12.4 billion
*1997 –
Usenet death penalty
On Usenet, the Usenet Death Penalty (UDP) is a final penalty that may be issued against Internet service providers or single users who produce too much spam or fail to adhere to Usenet standards. It is named after the death penalty (the state-sanc ...
(UDP) issued against UUNET, and lifted a week later
*1997 – On 10 November,
WorldCom
MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...
and
MCI announced their US$37 billion merger including combining internetMCI & UUNET Internet operations.
*1998 – The combined
MCI WorldCom
MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...
opens for business on 15 September after being given the go-ahead from the
DOJ, subsequent to divesting internet MCI.
*1998 –
WorldCom
MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...
acquires CompuServe Network Services from
H&R Block
H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch.
As of 2018, H&R Block operates approxim ...
and
ANS Communications from
AOL
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017â ...
. Both become part of UUNET in 1999.
*1999 – On 5 October, MCI Worldcom announces its intentions to buy
Sprint for $129 billion.
*2000 – The
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
and
DOJ denied the MCI WorldCom / Sprint merger on Antitrust Grounds.
*2001 – The UUNET brand is folded into
WorldCom
MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...
's product line and disappears
*2002 – WorldCom
files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a result of a
massive $11 billion accounting scandal.
*2003 – The UUNET brand re-emerges as
WorldCom
MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...
's wholesale-only brand.
*2004 – WorldCom
emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and renames itself to
MCI, 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.
See also
*
List of companies headquartered in Northern Virginia
References
External links
Tim O'Reilly discusses UUNET as an open source-derived business. Includes some history.Discussions about UUNET spamin
ews:news.admin.net-abuse.email news:news.admin.net-abuse.emailUsenet message in comp.org.usenix announcing UUNET creation (29 Jan 1987)Estimated spam Business on UUNET
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uunet
1995 initial public offerings
Internet service providers of the United States
Telecommunications companies established in 1987
MCI Communications
Spamming