UUNET

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UUNET

UUNET was one of the largest Internet service providers

Internet service provider

An Internet service provider is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem or dedicated high-speed interconnects....
and one of the nine Tier 1 network

Tier 1 network

A Tier 1 Network is an Internet Protocol which connects to the entire Internet solely via Settlement Free Interconnection, also known as settlement free peering....
s. It was based in Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia consistsof several County and independent cities in the U.S. state of Virginia in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C....
and was the first commercial Internet service provider. Today, UUNET is an internal brand of Verizon Business

Verizon Business

Verizon Business is one of three operating units of Verizon Communications Inc. It was created in 2006 when Verizon Communications, Inc. closed on its merger with MCI, Inc.....
(formerly MCI

MCI Inc.

MCI, Inc. is an United States telecommunications company that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. The corporation was the result of the merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications, and used the name MCI WorldCom followed by WorldCom before taking its final name on April 14, 2003 as part of the corporation's emergence f...
).

r to its founding, access to Usenet

Usenet

Usenet, a portmanteau of "user" and "network", is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It evolved from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name....
and E-mail

E-mail

ARPANET

The ARPANET developed by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the United States Department of Defense during the Cold War, was the world's first operational packet switching network, and the predecessor of the global Internet....
sites was accomplished using a cooperative network of systems running the UUCP

UUCP

UUCP is an abbreviation for Unix to Unix Copy Program. The term generally refers to a suite of computer programs and communications protocols allowing remote execution of commands and transfer of Computer files, email and netnews between computers....
protocol

Protocol (computing)

In computer science, a protocol is a convention or standard that controls or enables the connection, communication, and data transfer between computing endpoints....
over POTS

Plain old telephone service

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Encyclopedia

UUNET was one of the largest Internet service providers

Internet service provider

Tier 1 network

Northern Virginia

Verizon Business

Verizon Business is one of three operating units of Verizon Communications Inc. It was created in 2006 when Verizon Communications, Inc. closed on its merger with MCI, Inc.....
(formerly MCI

MCI Inc.

History

Background

Prior to its founding, access to Usenet

Usenet

Usenet, a portmanteau of "user" and "network", is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It evolved from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name....
and E-mail

E-mail

ARPANET

UUCP

Protocol (computing)

In computer science, a protocol is a convention or standard that controls or enables the connection, communication, and data transfer between computing endpoints....
over POTS

Plain old telephone service

Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in most parts of the world....
lines. During the mid-1980s, growth of this network began to put considerable strain on the resources voluntarily provided by the larger UUCP

UUCP

Node (networking)

In communication networks, a node is an active electronic device that is attached to a network, and is capable of sending, receiving, or forwarding information over a communications channel....
s. This prompted Rick Adams

Rick Adams (Internet pioneer)

Rick Adams was an Internet pioneer and the founder of UUNET, which, in the mid and late 1990s, was the world's largest Internet Service Provider ....
, 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

USENIX

The USENIX Association is the Advanced Computing Technical Association. It was founded in 1975 under the name "Unix Users Group," focusing primarily on the study and development of Unix and similar systems....
, UUNET Communications Services began operations in 1987 as a non-profit corporation providing Usenet

Usenet

Usenet, a portmanteau of "user" and "network", is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It evolved from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name....
feeds, E-mail

E-mail

Electronic mail, often abbreviated as e-mail, email, E-Mail, or eMail, is any method of creating, transmitting, or storing primarily text-based human communications with digital communications systems....
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

Internet protocol

Internet protocol may refer to:*The Internet Protocol, a specific protocol implementation in the Internet protocol suite*The Internet protocol suite, a set of communications protocols that are used for the Internet...
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 which include access at dial-up and broadband speeds as well as web hosting.

In the mid 1990s, UUNET was the fastest-growing ISP, outpacing MCI and Sprint. At its peak, Internet traffic was doubling every few months, which translates to 10x growth each year. The public disclosures of this growth substantially fueled the expectations of the dot.com and telecom companies of the late 1990s, leading to the dot-com bubble

Dot-com bubble

The "dot-com bubble" was a economic bubble covering roughly 1995?2001 during which stock markets in Western world saw their value increase rapidly from growth in the new quaternary sector of industry and related fields....
and crash in 2000/2001.

Mergers and acquisitions

In 1996, UUNET was acquired by WorldCom

Worldcom

Worldcom may refer to:* MCI Inc.* Worldcom Public Relations GroupExternal References:...
as part of WorldCom

Worldcom

Worldcom may refer to:* MCI Inc.* Worldcom Public Relations GroupExternal References:...
'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 (MCI Inc.

MCI Inc.

1990s

The 1990s or Nineties was the decade that ran from January 1, 1990 to December 31, 1999. During this time, the widespread adoption of personal computers, the Internet, and the increased economic productivity led to the equity market booms around the world, and caused an influx of wealth to the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia....
, UUNET was known as a haven for hosts who send large quantities of spam. In the early 2000s

2000s

2000?2009, the current decade, runs from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009. The decade has been dominated by several wide-ranging topics, including international trade and a growing concern over Energy crisis, the explosion in telecommunications, further integration and dependence on technology, concerns with international terrorism and wa...
, UUNET took several measures to reduce the amount of spam that traverses its global backbone.

, its Internet service and infrastructure, assigned AS701

Autonomous system (Internet)

Within the Internet, an Autonomous System is a collection of connected Internet Protocol routing prefixes under the control of one or more network operators that presents a common, clearly defined routing policy to the Internet, cf....
maintained the highest outdegree of any ISP.

Verizon

In 2006, WorldCom was purchased by Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc. is an United States Broadband Internet access and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average....
and now operates under the Verizon Business

Verizon Business

Verizon Business is one of three operating units of Verizon Communications Inc. It was created in 2006 when Verizon Communications, Inc. closed on its merger with MCI, Inc.....
name.

Spam

SpewSpewNet

After it had been sold and resold during the onset of the dot-com bubble

Dot-com bubble

Spam (electronic)

Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: Messaging spam, Newsgroup spam, spamdexing, spam in blogs, wiki spam, Classified advertising spam, mobile phone spam, Forum...
, including distributors of both Newsgroup spam

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 was posted on by Clarence L....
and E-mail spam

E-mail spam

E-mail spam, also known as junk e-mail, is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by e-mail....
. UUNET also became known for providing bulletproof hosting

Bulletproof hosting

Bulletproof hosting is a service provided by domain web hosting which allows their customer considerable leniency in the kinds of material they may upload....
to many web page

Web page

A web page or webpage is a resource of information that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser.This information is usually in HyperText Markup Language or eXtensible HyperText Markup Language format, and may provide Navigation bar to other web pages via hypertext Hyperlink....
s whose chief form of advertisement was spam. Because UUNET started with a loan from Usenix

USENIX

E-mail

Usenet

Usenet, a portmanteau of "user" and "network", is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It evolved from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name....
Usenet

Usenet

Usenet, a portmanteau of "user" and "network", is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It evolved from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name....
groups, it was hard to block Usenet from and/or e-mail traffic to it. In 1997, UUNET had lost so much credit that on August 1^st, after finding alternate routes for moderated newsgroups, a Usenet death penalty

Usenet Death Penalty

On Usenet, the Usenet Death Penalty is a final penalty that may be issued against Internet service providers or single users who produce too much Spamming or fail to adhere to Usenet standards....
(UDP) was issued against UUNET. A week later, the UDP was lifted. In 1998 UUNET threatened legal action for hosting a GIF

GIF

The Graphics Interchange Format is a Raster graphics that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
with "" on it.

Verizon

Although UUNET was purchased by Verizon on 2007-06-08, it still is the ISP for many spammers. Verizon has been working to significantly reduce this. As of April 2006 Spamhaus listed 83 known spam sources under the responsibility of Verizon Business. Now Verizon has 27 listings (down from more than 200 when it had just bought the remnants of MCI).

Timeline

1987 - UUNET Communications Services is founded and passes its first traffic via the CompuServe
CompuServe

CompuServe, , was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of information services such as AOL that charged monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates....
Network on May 12 using UUCP
UUCP

UUCP is an abbreviation for Unix to Unix Copy Program. The term generally refers to a suite of computer programs and communications protocols allowing remote execution of commands and transfer of Computer files, email and netnews between computers....
(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
1994 - Microsoft
Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a multinational corporation computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of computer software products for computing devices....
paid $16.4 million for a 15 percent share of the company
1995 - In May, UUNET is listed on the NASDAQ
NASDAQ

The NASDAQ is an United States stock exchange. It is the largest Electronic trading screen-based Stock trading market in the United States....
stock market in an initial public offering
Initial public offering

Initial public offering , also referred to simply as a "public offering" or "flotation," is when a company issues common stock or Share to the public for the first time....
that would become part of the beginning of the dot-com boom.
1995 - UUNET Technologies Inc places a takeover bid against Unipalm Pipex.
1996 - UUNET Technologies agreed to a merger with the Microsoft backed MSF Communications Company.
1996 - Metropolitan Fiber Systems
Metropolitan Fiber Systems

Metropolitan Fiber Systems Inc, later known as MFS Communications Company, was a last mile provider of business grade telecomunication products such as long distance, and Internet access through its own fiber rings in major central business districts throughout North America and Europe....
(MFS) acquires UUNET for $2 Billion
1996 - WorldCom
Worldcom

Worldcom may refer to:* MCI Inc.* Worldcom Public Relations GroupExternal References:...
acquires MFS on New Years Eve - Dec. 31st at 11:58 p.m EST for $12.4 Billion
1997 - Usenet death penalty
Usenet Death Penalty

On Usenet, the Usenet Death Penalty is a final penalty that may be issued against Internet service providers or single users who produce too much Spamming or fail to adhere to Usenet standards....
(UDP) issued against UUNET, and lifted a week later
1998 - On September 15, WorldCom
Worldcom

Worldcom may refer to:* MCI Inc.* Worldcom Public Relations GroupExternal References:...
and MCI
MCI Inc.

MCI, Inc. is an United States telecommunications company that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. The corporation was the result of the merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications, and used the name MCI WorldCom followed by WorldCom before taking its final name on April 14, 2003 as part of the corporation's emergence f...
announced their US$37 billion merger to form MCI WorldCom after being given the go-ahead from the DoJ.
1998 - WorldCom
Worldcom

Worldcom may refer to:* MCI Inc.* Worldcom Public Relations GroupExternal References:...
acquires CompuServe Network Services from H&R Block
H&R Block

H&R Block is a tax preparation company in the United States, claiming more than 22 million customers worldwide, with offices in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom....
and ANS Communications from AOL
AOL

AOL LLC is an United States global Internet services and media company operated by Time Warner and was headquartered in Loudoun County, Virginia until late April 2008 when it was moved to new offices at 770 Broadway in New York City....
. Both become part of UUNET in 1999.
1999 - On October 5, MCI Worldcom announces its intentions to buy Sprint for $129 Billion.
2000 - The European Commission
European Commission

The European Commission is the executive of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Treaties of the European Union and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and DOJ
United States Department of Justice

The United States Department of Justice is a United States Cabinet department in the United States government of the United States designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans ....
denied the MCI WorldCom / Sprint merger on Anti-Trust Grounds.
2000 - The UUNET brand is folded into WorldCom
Worldcom

Worldcom may refer to:* MCI Inc.* Worldcom Public Relations GroupExternal References:...
's product line and disappears
2003 - The UUNET brand re-emerges as WorldCom
Worldcom

Worldcom may refer to:* MCI Inc.* Worldcom Public Relations GroupExternal References:...
's wholesale-only brand
2004 - WorldCom
Worldcom

Worldcom may refer to:* MCI Inc.* Worldcom Public Relations GroupExternal References:...
renames itself to MCI
MCI Inc.

MCI, Inc. is an United States telecommunications company that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. The corporation was the result of the merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications, and used the name MCI WorldCom followed by WorldCom before taking its final name on April 14, 2003 as part of the corporation's emergence f...
, 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 to this date.
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.

External links

in [news:news.admin.net-abuse.email news:news.admin.net-abuse.email].