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Connect.com.au was one of the first commercial Internet service providers (ISP) to operate in Australia.[citation needed] The company was founded in 1991 by Hugh Irvine, Benjamin Golding and Joanne Davis,[1] in conjunction with a small group of highly technical staff including Chris Chaundy.

From the outset Connect aimed for supplying high end Internet services to the corporate and wholesale market, marking a stark contrast to the many small ISPs which grew out of the PSTN Bulletin Board systems or the APANA nodes. In addition to the comprehensive commercial services, Connect also supplied some additional services to both the Australian and International communities.

Free DNS services were provided to various smaller nation-states on the sub-continent and throughout the Pacific Rim, in many cases being the primary authoritative server for these countries until they could provide their own infrastructure. Some of these countries include, but are not limited to, Fiji, Kiribati, Nepal and Micronesia. In May, 1994, Connect.com.au became the first Internet Service Provider with a formal arrangement to use the university AARNet network as its internet backbone.[2]

Within Australia Connect became the registry for the .net.au namespace to reduce some of the burden of these domain registrations from Robert Elz. This coincided roughly with the establishment of the .com.au registry, Melbourne IT.[citation needed] Connect provided .net.au domains free of charge until a policy change allowed the introduction of registration fees in 1997. Domains registered prior to this change remained free until the .au namespace was deregulated in 2002.[citation needed]

During 1997 and 1998 connect.com.au lobbied the ACCC for equal standing with Telstra in relation to the inequity in the exchange of traffic between itself and Telstra, Optus, and Ozemail joined this connect.com.au initiated action. In 1998 The ACCC issued the first competition notice Against Telstra. The parties settled financially prior to the ACCC taking further action against Telstra.

Later, in 1998 connect.com.au faced industry criticism, due to the newly established traffic peering arrangement with other major ISPs. The "Big Four" ISPs at the time, Telstra, Optus, OzEmail and connect.com.au, formed a controversial arrangement where they agreed not to charge each other for data interconnection costs, while charging smaller ISPs a fee for the same service. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) declined to take action in the case.[3]

Acquisition

In 1995 Connect was sold to three major investors: National Australia Bank, Sirius Technologies and AAPT. AAPT executive John Stuckey was appointed Chief Executive Officer in December 1996.

In 1999 AAPT acquired the remaining two thirds of Connect, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. Their aim was to consolidate existing business Internet services with those provided by Connect and take advantage of the technically proficient technical team when launching their Smartchat brand. In 2000 AAPT was bought by Telecom New Zealand.

Founders

Following the sale of Connect in 1995, Hugh Irvine started an ICT and software development consultancy called Open Systems Consultants. This company specialises in the development and support of software for ISPs and Telecommunications providers, such as user administration and authentication software.

Chris Chaundy remained with Connect until the early 2000s, following which he joined Comindico. In 1999 both Irvine and Chaundy were inducted into the Australian Internet Awards' Hall of Fame.

References

  1. ^ Clarke, Roger. "A Brief History of the Internet in Australia". Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  2. ^ Goggin, Greg; Goggin, Gerard (2005). Virtual Nation: The Internet in Australia. Sydney: UNSW Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-86840-503-2. Retrieved 16 September 2008. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |chapterurl= (help)
  3. ^ Jenkins, Chris (19 January 2005). "ACCC steers clear of ISP peering". The Australian. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
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