Web Hosting Talk : Other Forums : Web Hosting Lounge : Oldest Hosting Company

[allan]

Which is the oldest hosting company? To create an even playing field, I am going to base company existence on whois data. So, based on whois data, who is the oldest hosting company?

The oldest I have found is Conxion:

   Record expires on 03-May-2006.
   Record created on 02-May-1994.

Can you do better?

[Acroplex]

Well, IBM has a hosting department.

Record expires on 20-Mar-2005.
Record created on 19-Mar-1986.

[TheDoctor]

Which is the oldest hosting company?

The way hosting companies come and go it's some sort of record if they last out the year. A lot are like magicians ... they keep dissapearing.

[clocker1996]

if ibm has a "hosting department" -- i doubt it was around in 1986

[Acroplex]

Are you saying Conxion did that in '94 ?

[allan]

Originally posted by timechange
Are you saying Conxion did that in '94 ?

As far as I know Conxion has always been a hosting company, so it could be. I know UUNET started their hosting division in 1995, so the timing is about right.

[Acroplex]

I think the oldest hosting company has to be NocSol

[StarGate]

Originally posted by timechange
I think the oldest hosting company has to be NocSol

Nah, 1996 is not "old"

[roly]

I think AT&T does hosting, registered 1986

[allan]

Originally posted by roly
I think AT&T does hosting, registered 1986

But they weren't doing hosting in 1986 . Let me refine my request a little bit: I am interested in finding the oldest company whose primary revenue source is hosting. AT&T/Sprint/IBM etc all provide hosting, and have been around for a long time (at least AT&T and IBM have), but hosting is not their primary revenue source.

[Aussie Bob]

I asked a question like this a while ago. I think the majority came back with the older ISPs that started offerring hosting services.

[allan]

Originally posted by Aussie Bob
I asked a question like this a while ago. I think the majority came back with the older ISPs that started offerring hosting services.

Right, that's why I refined my statement -- I want people to have to think .

[sHosts]

I wondor who were the pioneer members to this board. Like the first 10..hehe=]

I'm sure theres a way to find out in members area..

[El Nino]

colossus.net has been around since 11/28/1995, definatly a different approach to hosting but it must be working!

[akashik]

There's the tough call. Many companies have had a domain registered for close to a decade, but as to what they were doing online back then is hard to qualify. As Bob mentioned there was a thread about this recently and mentioned StarGate. The have one of the oldest domains online, but that domain was originally used for a different purpose, and bought from the original registrar.

As a result the usual avenues of checking aren't always the most accurate (ie. whois check). While the history of the internet is recorded fairly extensively, it's a history that tends to state the basics rather than going into detail.

Greg Moore