Freedom2surf
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| Freedom To Surf | |
| Image:F2s2.gif | |
| Type | LTD |
|---|---|
| Founded | 4 June 1997 |
| Headquarters | Stoke Mandeville |
| Key people | Maria Capella Managing Director |
| Industry | Internet Service Provider |
| Products | Broadband Services |
| Website | [1] |
Freedom To Surf Ltd is a British company owned by PIPEX Communications which is engaged in business in the internet and telecommunications sector offering products such as ADSL, Webhosting, Domain Names and Wifi access to its customers.
Contents |
[edit] Company History
freedom2surf was conceived on 4 June 1997 by Chris Panayis and Nick Panayis, and originally started by offering free webspace to its customers. In December 2001 this was dropped with all existing free hosters given a deadline of 28 February 2002 before any accounts not upgraded to paid accounts were deleted. Following the demise of the free hosting service, freedom2surf's main business areas were supplying paid-for web hosting, domain names and broadband. The company gained a reputation for supplying great value and reliable services across its products portfolio and was one of the first ISPs to bring affordable 2Mb connections to the UK by undercutting some of its bigger name rivals.
[edit] Launch of Wires Only Product
In January 2002 freedom2surf was one of the first UK ISP's to offer a self install ADSL Solution, before introducing what was to become its flagship product for the next year in February, the Pure IP 512K unlimited service at a price point of £22.50, which really kicked off the start of a new era for freedom2surf emerging from the shadows of a free webspace provider to a fully fledged ADSL ISP.
[edit] Awards
In 2005, freedom2surf received awards from PC Advisor for the best product of the year for their Connect ADSL Broadband packages, a highly commended award from PC Pro magazine for its ADSL services as well as a readers' award from PC Advisor for the standard of web hosting provided to customers.
[edit] Easynet LLU
In April 2005, freedom2surf signed a deal with Easynet to supply broadband over its LLU network. This deal paved the way for freedom2surf to deliver its broadband over two wholesalers (in addition to BT Wholesale). The main advantage at the time, was Easynet could supply 8Mb broadband while BT Wholesale could not. Under freedom2surf's pricing model at the time, this led to an industry-first price for broadband of that speed, and the majority of the market later caught up with the introduction of BT Wholesale's 8Mb service, also known as "MAX", in March 2006.
[edit] Acquisition by Pipex
On October 18 2005 freedom2surf and its 47,000 broadband customers were bought by PIPEX Communications for £10m. The company now shares management and many staff, with sister Pipex ISP, Nildram, and is part of the Pipex Business Services division of the company.
On April 28, 2006, Freedom2Surf ceased operating from St Albans in Hertfordshire, the place of its birth, and moved to Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, where the operation re-started on May 2 following the bank holiday weekend. The location is where they would join other members of the PIPEX Communications group with relatively few of the original staff making the move to the new location. The rest of the staff that didn't make the move were offered voluntary redundancy, and a select minority were offered a re-location opportunity in the more local Pipex office based in Welwyn Garden City.
