The Beginning
Win.Net
Internet is a pioneer in the Internet business.
We have been in operation since 1990.
Win.Net
began as a software development company. We developed
the 1st Windows application for accessing the Internet:
WinNET Mail. Win.Net provided Internet access services
to our WinNET Mail customers. Service was available from
everywhere in the United States via a toll-free 800
number. The software was also used by thousands through
arrangements with other providers located all over the
world.
Win.Net
opened in 1990 in San Francisco, CA. After the launch of
its WinNET Mail product in November 1992, the company
moved its offices to Louisville, KY in June of 1993.
With an 800 number based service, it was quite possible
to move with very little disruption to customers.
Over
time the WinNET Mail software became WinNET Plus and it
included E-mail, Usenet News, and Web browsing
capability. By 1996 Win.Net ceased development of the
WinNET Plus as it was clear by then that its functions
would become part of the standard operating system.
By 1996
Win.Net had focused its operations on providing Web
Hosting services to customers everywhere and dedicated
Internet Access services to customers in the Louisville,
KY area.
Phenomenal Growth
Win.Net
has sponsored and promoted the community’s efforts to
become America’s Most Wired City.
In 1998
Win.Net created the Louisville-NAP, a high speed Network
Access Point for the free exchange of Internet traffic
between Internet Service Providers and other area
institutions. This permits faster and more reliable
service for customers of all providers in the Louisville
area.
Together with Greater
Louisville, Inc., the Metro Chamber of Commerce, Win.Net
created the Get Wired program in 1999. Under this
program Win.Net offers Internet access and
web-development programs to all members of Greater
Louisville, Inc. (GLI). Working with its partners,
Win.Net sponsors a monthly Internet seminar to help area
businesses take the greatest advantage of the Internet.
Win.Net made a major
growth move in 2000 by acquiring Digicove, a full
service Internet Service Provider (ISP) located in
Southern Indiana. Digicove was formed in 1999 by the
merger of Aye.Net and Global Marketing Concepts. We next
acquired The Otherside in 2001, another Southern Indiana
ISP. With those moves, Win.Net gained thousands of
quality business and residential customers and
established ourselves as a major force in the Southern
Indiana market.
We again made a leap in
growth in 2002 by acquiring the customer base of Digital
Crescent (DCR.NET) in Frankfort, Kentucky. This move
allowed us to grow our service area to Central Kentucky
including the Frankfort and Lawrenceburg areas. In
2004, we saw two more great developments: (1) the
Get Net Initiative; and (2) the purchase of The Point, a
small ISP.
Get Net
Initiative:
In conjunction with the
Southern Indiana Chamber of Commerce (SICC), Win.Net
Internet took another step forward in providing
affordable access to Broadband Internet service for
businesses in Southern Indiana. The initiative was
called getNET.
Broadband access was
available for $199 per month. WinNet offered One
Southern Indiana (formerly SICC) members a new product
developed specifically to address the issue of
affordable access in Southern Indiana; the product is
called Extended Reach DSL-T1 Broadband
In a monthly seminar
series Win.Net and One Southern Indiana offered seminars
on a variety of Internet topics intended to help Indiana
businesses take advantage of the Internet in their
business.
Michael Tague, President
of Win.Net Internet: "For three years I have
participated in the SICC Technology Council looking at
the issue of affordable broadband access for Southern
Indiana. It has often been quite frustrating. The need
is there, but the solution has been elusive. Finally,
the pieces came together to solve this problem. The
pricing structure for getNET
will be the lowest in the Kentuckiana region."
Purchase of The
Point:
In December Win.Net
completed the acquisition of ThePoint, a small
Louisville based ISP. This transaction continues
Win.Net's expansion in the region
ThePoint, was an
established regional Internet Service Provider bringing
a variety of Internet services not only to the
Louisville Metro, (including Jeffersonville and New
Albany, IN), but also to Connersville, Bordon,
Henryville, New Washington, and Corydon, Indiana.
Win.Net's purchase of ThePoint complemented existing
business and expanded market share.
“Win.Net has been
successful all these years because of the excellent
people working here. Their attention to detail, their
concern for the customer, and their dedication to
providing quality service have given us our success. It
is because of their efforts that Win.Net has loyal and
happy customers and we look forward to serving our new
customers from ThePoint,” said Michael Tague, President
of Win.Net.
We feel the future looks
bright for our locally owned and operated company. We
invite you to join us and experience the Win.Net story
for yourself.
Win.Net Creates
a New Company:
In
2002 Win.Net became a Competitive Local Exchange
Carrier, (CLEC), making it possible to take advantage of
huge savings on telephone access. A CLEC is really a
mini telephone company which can provide customers with
normal telephone service along with additional assorted
services such as voicemail, caller ID, call forwarding,
and more; all providing additional potential sources of
revenue.
Unfortunately, becoming a CLEC is a very daunting
endeavor for most. Michael Tague, President of Win.Net
Internet saw that a number of ISP's were not taking
advantage of the opportunities of becoming a CLEC
because of the mountain of paperwork involved as well as
the amount of time it would take. So he decided to
create American CLEC as a consulting
company to assist ISP's through the paperwork and
governmental requirements of becoming a CLEC.
Mr. Tague wanted to break the four main myths that
seem to keep ISP's from becoming a CLEC:
#1 It takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to become
a facilities-based CLEC.
#2 One must have high priced telecommunications
lawyers, consultants, and staff to start and
operate a CLEC.
#3 It takes two years minimum to become operational as
a CLEC.
#4 You can save just about as much as a customer of a
CLEC as being one.
“We
want to make it fun” says Tague, “We go to the client's
ISP, talk about their network and then prepare a
detailed proposal for them. Everything is laid out; the
transition costs, itemized savings, and fees.” An
interesting approach by American CLEC is that there is
little up-front costs, most of the fees are paid on the
back end out of the savings gained by the client. This
arrangement pretty much guarantees that if the client
doesn't save money they aren't out any expense.
American CLEC takes the client from
zero to a fully operational facilities based CLEC in
about nine months. “We leave you with a fully
operational CLEC that will save you thousands and
thousands of dollars.” said Mr. Tague.
Many don't understand why an ISP would even want to be a
CLEC until they see the cost savings. By becoming a CLEC
an ISP can save as much as 85% on a each circuit, and
realize an overall savings of 40% to 50%. That's
thousands of dollars saved each and every month, which
is something most people can readily see as important.
Present and Future
Win.Net Internet is the
leading Web Hosting Internet Service Provider, and is
also among the largest providers of Dedicated Internet
Access (T1, DSL, and ISDN), to Southern Indiana,
Louisville, and Central Kentucky area homes and
businesses.
We have provided Internet
classes free of charge for years. These classes have
trained thousands how to use the Internet, develop Web
sites, and to make the most of the Internet for
themselves and their companies. We are also taking our
classes “on the road” so we can reach people in Central
Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
We have developed our own
brands with our Lightspeed T1 and Lightspeed DSL
products. This allows us to separate ourselves from our
competition by offering “our own” products to our
customers.
Win.Net added the ability
to provide superior filtering of spam and viruses which
adds to our already superior services. Spam and virus
filtering allows our customers to have “peace of mind”
in knowing that their email is virus free and filtered
to keep out the spam mail and virus attacks that are so
common today. One of the important features is the
customer’s ability to set the filter to the level of
protection that they desire.
We continue to challenge
ourselves to grow, and by spreading the fixed cost of
doing business among a larger customer base we will help
to keep services for all customers at an affordable
level. Win.Net cares about all our customers and
treats them like family. If you would like to
learn more about us or our services, take a look around
our site. You can also reach us at 502-815-7000 x
5 or 1-800-WIN-NET-2.
Return to Top
