Arcor (Telecommunications)
Encyclopedia
Arcor is the second-largest fixed phone line provider in Germany. The company has been renamed to Vodafone AG & Co. KG on 8/1/2009. It is owned solely by Vodafone
since May 2008, when Deutsche Bahn
(18.17%) and Deutsche Bank
(8.18%) sold their shares to Vodafone.# Its headquarters are in Eschborn
near Frankfurt
. Arcor is one of the few telecommunication
companies in Germany that operate an ISDN network independent from the incumbent Deutsche Telekom
.
Arcor has 2.1 million ADSL customers and 1.1 million ISDN customers. Arcor was the first German telecommunications provider offering a phone flatrate for the ISDN line.
, now belonging to Vodafone
and Deutsche Bank
, a multinational bank from Germany. After the participation of the telecommunications company of the Deutsche Bahn
, called DBKom, the company with its official name Mannesmann Arcor AG & Co. KG was formed in 1996. After the buyout of Mannesmann by Vodafone
the company was renamed as Arcor AG & Co. KG.
Since April 2005 Arcor also offers IP telephony.
On May 19, 2008, British-based Vodafone
bought out the minority partners in its Arcor fixed-line telecommunications operations in Germany to Deutsche Bahn and Deutsche Bank and secured full control.
sites (for example YouPorn
) on the routing level. According to Heise.de this is due to a request received by the company by a competing pornography service that is claiming the respective sites have no or inadequate age verification measures according to German laws.#
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
since May 2008, when Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
(18.17%) and Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
(8.18%) sold their shares to Vodafone.# Its headquarters are in Eschborn
Eschborn
Eschborn is a town near Frankfurt am Main in the Main-Taunus district, Hesse, Germany. As of 2009, it had a population of 20,789, but boasts fulltime employment of over 30,000 people...
near Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. Arcor is one of the few telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
companies in Germany that operate an ISDN network independent from the incumbent Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
.
Arcor has 2.1 million ADSL customers and 1.1 million ISDN customers. Arcor was the first German telecommunications provider offering a phone flatrate for the ISDN line.
History
Arcor was the result of a joint venture by MannesmannMannesmann
Mannesmann AG was a German corporation with headquarters in Düsseldorf. The company was founded in 1890 originally to produce seamless steel tubes. It was traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company had 130,860 employees worldwide and revenues of €23.27 billion.Over time, Mannesmann...
, now belonging to Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
and Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
, a multinational bank from Germany. After the participation of the telecommunications company of the Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
, called DBKom, the company with its official name Mannesmann Arcor AG & Co. KG was formed in 1996. After the buyout of Mannesmann by Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
the company was renamed as Arcor AG & Co. KG.
Since April 2005 Arcor also offers IP telephony.
On May 19, 2008, British-based Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
bought out the minority partners in its Arcor fixed-line telecommunications operations in Germany to Deutsche Bahn and Deutsche Bank and secured full control.
Censorship controversy
In September 2007 various computer-magazines reported that Arcor is blocking their ISDN/DSL subscribers from accessing a small number of pornographyPornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
sites (for example YouPorn
YouPorn
YouPorn is a free pornographic video sharing website. Since starting in August 2006, it has become the most popular pornographic website. In November 2007, it was reported to be the largest free pornographic website on the Internet...
) on the routing level. According to Heise.de this is due to a request received by the company by a competing pornography service that is claiming the respective sites have no or inadequate age verification measures according to German laws.#