The Cloud (company)
 | |
| Industry | Public access Wi-Fi |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 22,000 |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Vince Russell (Managing Director) |
Number of employees | 100 |
| Parent | Sky plc |
| Website | www |
The Cloud is a provider of public access Wi-Fi hotspots in the UK and is a member of the Wireless Broadband Alliance.[1] It has over 22,000 Wi-Fi hotspots network access points in the UK. [2]
The Cloud has offices in St Albans, Munich, and Stockholm.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| Jan 2003 | The Cloud is founded |
| Mar 2003 | The Cloud's network begins roll-out |
| Apr 2003 | BT Openzone becomes the first Service Provider on the Cloud network |
| May 2003 | Network reaches 1000 sites |
| Dec 2003 | The Cloud wins the Brainheart European Wi-Fi Award 2003 |
| Jan 2005 | Roll out begins in Nordics |
| Sep 2004 | Integrated WLAN and 3G service launched for 02 |
| Feb 2005 | Airnyx acquired in Germany |
| May 2005 | Roll out begins in Germany |
| July 2005 | Net Chek-In acquired in Germany |
| Sept 2005 | Exilan acquired |
| Dec 2005 | The World Economic Forum Announces New Class of Technology Pioneers for 2006: The Cloud Networks Selected |
| Dec 2005 | Canova Wireless acquired in the UK |
| Apr 2006 | iPass joins the network |
| Sep 2006 | Telenor partners with The Cloud Nordics |
| Jan 2007 | Steve Nicholson joins the Cloud as CEO |
| Oct 2007 | McDonald’s takes free Wi-Fi mainstream with The Cloud |
| Jan 2008 | Acquisition of hotel Wi-Fi specialist GANAG in Germany |
| Oct 2008 | €17 million funding round from Ferd Ventures, existing investors and GP Bullhound |
| Dec 2008 | Roll out new user centric service platform |
| Jun 2009 | The Company moves its UK Headquarters to St Albans |
| Sep 2009 | Cloud network locator launched for the iPhone |
| Oct 2009 | Launch of new Palm Pre mobile smartphone with the Cloud / O2 |
| Jan 2010 | Naunton Dickins joins the company as UK Managing Director |
| Jan 2010 | FastConnect is launched to make Wi-Fi universally simple |
| Jan 2011 | Acquired by BSkyB[3] |
| Aug 2011 | The Cloud becomes exclusive free hotspot provider for Telefónica Germany [4] |
| Feb 2012 | Telefónica O2 UK discontinues free access to The Cloud for customers on unlimited Wi-Fi contracts |
| April 2012 | Sky starts offering free wireless internet to Sky Broadband customers in the UK via The Cloud [5] |
CEOs
- 2003 – 2007: George Polk
- 2007 – 2011: Steve Nicholson
- 2011 – present: Vince Russell
References
- ^ "About Us". The Cloud.
- ^ "When in Roam". The Cloud.
- ^ "The Cloud to become part of the BSkyB Group". UK: The Cloud / BSkyB. January 2011.
- ^ o2 starts offering The Cloud Wi-Fi to business customers, retrieved on September 12, 2011
- ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tech/news/a377347/sky-starts-offering-free-wireless-internet-in-the-uk.html