Manchester Host

The Manchester Host was an early example of a municipal networking project. Its aim was to foster social and economic development in Manchester, England by encouraging the use of on-line communications and information services by businesses, public sector and voluntary organisations.

The project was launched in 1991 by a partnership of Manchester City Council, Manchester Polytechnic (later Manchester Metropolitan University), and Poptel. At its core was an email and database service, accessible locally via dial-up and via the international X.25-network globally. The email service used equipment provided by German company GeoNet. A free-text database was accessed by what we'd now call a 'search engine' provided by a company called Memex.

The project involved a number of parallel activities including the establishment of "Electronic Village Halls": drop-in centres where users could learn about the new online communications and information ("telematics") technology; and the creation of the Manchester Community Information Network.

The Manchester Host has been cited as an important example of the use of technology for economic development.[1][2][3][4]

References

  1. ↑ Dr Vassilys Fourkas, The Development and Operation of Virtual Manchester(s) Dec 2002, Retrieved Dec 2010
  2. ↑ OECD WORKSHOP ON INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT Paris 1996, retrieved Dec 2010
  3. ↑ Knowledge Politics, Manchester and ICT for regeneration Oct 2007, retrieved Dec 2010
  4. ↑ Steve Woolgar, Sociedad virtual?: tecnología, "cibérbole", realidad 2005

External links