FreeOnline & Sharinga Networks

Freeonline and Sharinga Networks were effectively two arms of a venture started by entrepreneurs Sydney Low and Bill Lang, both ex McKinsey, in 1999. Freeonline was a successful free-to-pay ISP, which at its peak had in excess of 300,000 active users (and significantly more registered users). Many of these users were ported across to low-paid plans with another ISP when the business shut down. Sharinga was the technology that underpinned the Freeonline service, enabling ISPs including Freeonline, and others, to market more effectively to their user base. Concert, a joint venture between AT&T and British Telecom, took a stake in the business as a key underpinning technology for a global VISP (Virtual ISP). The venture shut down in 2002 after Concert disbanded and post the "tech wreck".