LineOne
 | This article includes a list of generalreferences,butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations.(September 2022) |
 | |
| Company type | Defunct |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet&Communications |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Internet service |
LineOnewas anInternet Service Providerin theUnited Kingdomin the 1990s. LineOne was a joint venture ofNews International,United News & MediaandBritish Telecom.It then became the UK branch ofTiscali,which is nowTalkTalk.
As of October 2017, the "lineone.net" domain is still active for email (username@lineone.net) and website hosting (website.lineone.net/~username). More recently (October 2019), TalkTalk has notified LineOne customers that from 10 December 2019, unless they pay £5 per month or £50 per year or sign up to the TalkTalk broadband service, they will lose most Talk Talk features, will only have access to their mails through webmail and will start closing down free e-mail accounts.
History
[edit]Before LineOne was launched in 1997 as a joint venture betweenNews InternationalandBritish Telecom,it was known asSpringboard Internet Servicesand previously to that Delphi. This is not to be confused with, although it's related to, the company known as Delphi in the United States which had been purchased by News Corporation shortly before, and then sold on, and whose embryonic UK offerings were overseen by News International. Andrew Burke was the founding CEO and had previously run News International's Internet Publishing division responsible for putting The Times, Sunday Times, The Sun, News of the World and Today onto the web as well as Delphi in the UK.
The official LineOne launch coincided with the publication of the 1997 Sunday Times 'Rich List'. The set up software was given away free with each copy of that weekend's Sunday Times. At this time the Helpdesk was run by BT from their office in Colindale, North London.
In 1998,United News & Mediabought a 33% stake in the company for an undisclosed sum.
LineOne offered customers 0845 (Local Rate) access to the Internet (which required a monthly subscription) as well as offering e-mail and web hosting services, which were included in the subscription fee.
Freeservelaunched in 1998, and was the first major ISP to offer a subscription free dialup service that only charged the standard per minute local call rate for access. LineOne was forced to follow suit with the same service to stem the flow of dialup customers and pressured BT into providing the infrastructure, which it did so and at considerable expense to LineOne.
From LineOne to Tiscali
[edit]In March 1999,News Internationalsold its shares in LineOne as it was concentrating on its own internet services, makingBritish TelecomandUnited News & Mediaeach 50% owners of LineOne. LineOne moved its offices to Blackfriar's Bridge from the offices they once occupied next to News International's printworks in Wapping.Ajay Chowdhuryfrom United News & Media took over as CEO of LineOne and together with a new team including Mary Turner from AOL and Andy Harwood built LineOne into one of the largest ISP's and most trafficked portals in the UK. Chowdhury left in 2000 to set up NBC Internet Europe and Mary Turner was appointed the General Manager of LineOne.[1]
LineOne was then put up for sale after it became obvious that everyone involved was not going to make the hundreds of millions of pounds that LineOne was originally valued at in the middle of thedot-com bubbleand it was bought by Italian telecommunications giantTiscalion 26 April 2001 for GBP £62,000,000 (EUR €100,000,000).[2]
It was rumoured that before this sale, another large telecommunications giant had offered three to four times as much a year earlier and that by holding out for more money, the LineOne management missed the boat.
At the time of acquisition, LineOne had 1.85 million subscribers, though the number of active users was probably around the 800,000 mark at the time.
In June 2009, The UK operations ofTiscaliwere sold toTalkTalk Group,part ofThe Carphone Warehouseplc. The LineOnepoint of presencecontinues to be served by this company.[3]The acquisition was completed on 6 July 2009.[4]
References
[edit]- ^BT and United News & Media put LineOne ISP up for sale[dead link]By Bill McIntosh, The Independent, 1 December 2000
- ^bosses to head Tiscali's UK ISP[permanent dead link],Tim Richardson, The Register, 15 May 2001
- ^UPDATE 1-Carphone wins EU approval for Tiscali UK buyReuters. 30 June 2009
- ^- Completion of Tiscali Acquisition[permanent dead link]accessed Feb 2010
External links
[edit]- Review of lineone.netatRobtex,accessed February 2010.