192.com is an online directory for the UK, based in London.
Founded by British entrepreneur Alastair Crawford, 192.com Limited is the company behind the directory, which evolved from a CD ROM product called UK Info Disk,[1] the best selling non-game CD ROM product of its time. 192.com Limited was the first company to publish the Edited Electoral Roll in electronic media, previously the roll had been available for consultation only in public libraries and town halls. The company offered an alternative to British Telecom's previous monopoly of telephone directory enquiries.[1]
Today, 192.com Limited provides free online directory enquiries and competes with BT and the Yell Group for the directory enquiry market. It is currently the fastest growing DQ site, over 8 million unique users[2] a month consult 192.com.
192.com contains 700 million residential and business records.[3] Of these records, 200 million come from the 2002-2011 Edited Electoral Rolls. Recently, 192.com added 24 million records from the 2011 Edited Electoral Roll. 192.com’s other records come from Companies House Director Reports, the Land Registry, and Births Deaths and Marriages Data for England] and Wales going back to 1837. 192.com also offers a directory of UK businesses, providing company credit reports, financial statements, employee numbers, current and previous directors, web mentions and county court judgements.
Users can access 192.com directory enquiry data for free, but must purchase 192.com credits to access Edited Electoral Roll Records and most business reports; for example, company credit reports. The public can opt-out for free at source or alternatively on 192.com’s website by filling out a 'C01' form which can be downloaded online. 192.com is licensed and regulated by the Data Protection Act.
In 2010 192.com Limited launched i192 an app for iphones supplying free directory enquiries and 192.com's business and residential listings for mobile web users.
The 192.com website is instrumental reuniting missing family and friends, for example the Salvation Army use 192.com to reunite an estimate 3,000 families each year, and in 2010 it featured in the BBC 1 series Trackers as a tool for tracing lost family and forgotten financial assets. In 2010, 192.com enlisted the help of World Cup winner George Cohen, MBE to reunite the original football fans of 1966.
In 2011, 192.com got widespread press coverage for reuniting a 25-year-old woman with her father.
A more comprehensive list of reunions 192.com has achieved is available in the sites 'About Us' section.[4]
The Sun The Daily TelegraphThe Evening Standard Daily Mirror The Independent thisismoney.co.uk The Guardian online Pocket Lint References;
192.com is metioned in Shattered by Dick Francis, where the protagonist uses 192.com to trace a missing person.