Speakeasy (ISP)

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Speakeasy, Inc.

Type of Company	Private
Founded	Seattle, Washington (1996)
Headquarters	Seattle, Washington
Key people	Michael Apgar, Chairman & founder Bruce A. Chatterley, President & CEO
Industry	Internet & Communications
Products	ISP, VoIP
Revenue	$65.60 million USD (2005)
Employees	280 (2005)
Website	www.speakeasy.net

Speakeasy, Inc. is a broadband internet service provider and Voice over IP carrier based in Seattle, Washington. They are known for their liberal usage policies for home users whereby subscribers are explicitly permitted to run any number of servers ^[1] and are permitted to resell their connectivity to others through the "NetShare" service.^[2] They are also known for their support of Linux and BSD-derivative operating systems, and were the first provider to offer a customized version of Mozilla Firefox to customers, in January 2005. ^[3]

[edit] History

In 1994, Gretchen Apgar and husband Mike opened a cybercafe in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood with Mike's brother Tyler. Business at the Speakeasy Café did well, and as time went on, Speakeasy evolved into a smaller ISP serving the greater Seattle area.

In late 1999, the company expanded to a national level, offering DSL services throughout the United States.

In 2001, in the face of the collapse of many ISPs as a possible result of the dot-com bust, Speakeasy had marketed a program to allow for simple transfer of accounts, starting with the announcement of the failure of Flashcom, a former DSL internet provider. That same year, the cybercafe burned down in an electrical fire, forcing the company to focus on the internet business. ^[4]

In September 2003, Bruce Chatterley was made CEO of the company. As of 2006 Mike remains on as chairman of the board.

In summer of 2004, the company announced simultaneously their entry into VOIP, and their Onelink package, which allows a DSL subscriber to maintain an ADSL without the requirement of a telco line.

In spring of 2006 Mike stepped down as chairman and moved on to a startup company Ookla that he created while at Speakeasy. Mike still remains on the board and takes an active role in the company.