Paradise.net
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
TelstraClear's Paradise.net is a New Zealand ISP offering dial-up and high-speed internet. It is the second largest ISP in New Zealand (combined with TelstraClear's Clear.Net), and a competitor of Xtra, an ISP owned by Telecom.
Paradise was founded in Wellington in November 1997 by businessman Shane Cole. Initially, dialup service was offered in Wellington only. Paradise quickly became a leading dialup ISP in the Wellington region. Service was expanded to Auckland and Christchurch in 1998. A reselling agreement was also entered with Telstra Saturn in 1998, which meant that customers who subscribed to Telstra Saturn's cable telephone and cable TV service could also get Paradise included on their phone bill (either dialup or cable modem service).
Nationwide dialup access was provided in 1999, and Paradise was one of the first ADSL providers in 1999, after Telecom Xtra. The company experienced rapid expansion at this point, and staff numbers increased by a large proportion. The helpdesk began 24 hour service in April 2000.
In late 2000, the company was sold to Telstra Saturn, formed after the merger of Telstra NZ and Saturn. Most of the staff were retained, and were relocated to Telstra Saturn's new purpose built call centre located near the Stadium, on Wellington's waterfront. The Paradise brand was absorbed and retained into the new company, and stayed after the purchase of Telstra Saturn by Clear Communications in December 2001, forming TelstraClear.
TelstraClear decided to merge the Paradise helpdesk with its existing Clear.Net helpdesk in Auckland. Most of the Paradise helpdesk staff were made redundant. Some opted for relocation, and the helpdesk was moved from Wellington to Auckland in early 2002. Some servers remained in Wellington however.
Today, Paradise remains a brand inside the TelstraClear umbrella, and has surpassed the 100 000 subscriber mark. Only a handful of the existing staff remain, most of them working in the networks side of the company.
