192.com

File:192.com-logo.jpg

192.com is a search engine for finding people, businesses and places in the UK. Founded in 1997, 192.com holds over 600 million records comprising current and historical UK electoral roll; telephone numbers; information on UK businesses; listings of company directors and the Births, Marriages and Deaths register since 1837. In 2006, 192.com launched a new UK mapping tool including complete Ordnance Survey street coverage and 12.5cm resolution aerial photography.

History

1997

• i-CD Publishing founded by Alastair Crawford without any funding and with the intention of developing the first alternative to BT Group’s phone book – 192.com

• The first CD-ROM (UK-Info) launched, containing over 30 million electoral roll records with telephone numbers; the first time the electoral roll information had been published on CD ROM. A proprietary compression algorithm had to be developed to pack all the information on one CD-ROM

• The Credit Agencies react by restricting access to future copies of the electoral roll database so i-CD Publishing is provided data in paper format following 440 formal requests - as required under the Representation of the People Act 1500 typists take 3.5 weeks to double key 44 million names and addresses. KPMG give it a 99.9% accuracy rating

• i-CD Publishing challenged the established incumbent companies that were using licensing issues to create barriers to entry and made public data affordable for everyone for less than £20

1998

• i-CD Publishing’s UK-Info Disk becomes the first non-games CD ROM to top the charts

• BT Group takes aggressive stance over the new directories threatening legal action. 192.com provides first real competition to BT

• i-CD Publishing lobbies OFTEL (now OFCOM) to force BT to license the directory database which it duly does

• Data Protection Act 1998 expanded on the 1984 Act, creating rights for those who have their data stored, and responsibilities for those who store or collect personal data

1999

• i-CD Publishing becomes the first licensee of BT Group's directory enquiry database OSIS - four years before deregulation of 118 voice services

2000

• Alastair Crawford named on the Sunday Times Rich List based on the assumed value of 192.com but he refuses to sell or raise money

• 192.com launched, offering free access to directory enquiry data, electoral roll and Dun & Bradstreet business data

• i-CD Publishing makes successful transition of CD ROMs to the internet

2001

• About.com names 192.com one of the top 3 search sites worldwide.

• .net magazine names 192.com as one of the 100 websites that “changed the Internet Forever” [1]

2002

• 192.com Business Services launches with the BBC as its first client

• i-CD Publishing faces its biggest challenge; Royal Mail issues a High Court lawsuit claiming Royal Mail own the postcode which is on every directory listing; an ambitious test case that claimed hundreds of millions of pounds

2003

• 192.com's registered user-base grows to 3.5 million (statement from 192.com)

• De-regulation of directory enquiries sees a massive drop-off in calls and a migration to the web. 192.coms web traffic increases by 300% over 18 months (statement from 192.com)

• A court clarified the rules for access to the full electoral register in order that i-CD Publishing could abide by those rules to offer its users access to the full electoral register [2]

2004

• After spending £1m on legal costs i-CD Publishing wins its two year battle with Royal Mail and wins costs[3]A review of how the address database is managed and licensed is ordered by Postcomm as a result of the hearing. The management of Royal Mail’s address management centre is overhauled

• 192.com voted 'best online directory site' at the 118 118 Tracker Awards, beating Yell, BT Group and Thomson

• 192.com's registered user base reaches 4.8 million (statement from 192.com)

2005

• 192.com launches Census data and Family Records. 192.com now holds 600 million people and business records (statement from 192.com)

• 192.com Business Services reaches 700 corporate customers (statement from 192.com)

2006

• 192.com launches online mapping service with street coverage and aerial photography

• 192.com launches Web Data – the first UK information source to combine offline directory data with web records extracted from the UK internet

• 192.com launches “Ban the Phonebook” campaign – calling on phone book delivery to become an opt in service to reduce paper waste

2007

• 192.com marks 10 year anniversary and repositions as UK’s first local search engine

• 192.com launches new maps – providing 12.5cm resolution

• The Guardian publishes "Free our Data" article detailing history of 192.com's 10 year campaign [4]

192.com can provide a log file of who has searched for a person [5] when requested by law enforcement agencies. Personal details can also be removed from the site by faxing a form to a fax number or writing to the company.

External links

• 192.com
• 192.com Business Services