Poptel
| Type | Worker cooperative |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Manchester, United Kingdom |
Poptel was a British internet and on-line services provider that was run by an employee cooperative (worker cooperative) from 1986 to 2002.
In the 1980's Poptel offered on-line communications and information services to international NGOs, working in particular with the Interdoc group. Poptel was a partner in the Manchester Host and the Kirklees Host and became known as provider of Internet services to the Labour Party (UK). Working with the National Cooperative Business Association of the US, it launched the successful bid to create a top level Internet domain for use exclusively by cooperatives - ".coop" .
Poptel was "demutualised" and broken up into smaller businesses in September 2002. Staff from the web development department formed a new co-operative, Poptech (now Fused Technologies) and OSG Co-op (now Midcounties Co-operative) took over the .coop registry operation.
[edit] History
Poptel's first on-line service, based on the GeoNet platform, was launched in March 1986. The Manchester Host was launched in 1991.
[edit] External links
- Interdoc the first international NGO computer network
- .coop top level domain website
- Case study: Poptel by journalist Andrew Bibby, c.2001
- Poptel: how one workers' co-op was taken over by its investors by Andrew Bibby, first published in the Financial Times, 2003
- Where are they Now List Of Ex Poptel Members
- Fused Technologies formerly Poptech
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