Ohio inventions and firsts · First · 1979
CompuServe consumer online service
Compu-Serv Network began in Columbus in 1969 as a business time-sharing service; in 1979, with Radio Shack's MicroNET, it opened to home users. It was sold to AOL in 1998 and 'Classic' ran until 2009; GIF was developed for it.
At a glance
- Year
- 1979
- Company
- CompuServe
- Place
- Columbus, Franklin County ZIP 43215 · Columbus · Franklin County
The story
In 1969 a life insurance company in Columbus, Golden United Life, started a computer services subsidiary. CompuServe began as a time-sharing business: companies rented time on its big computers. John R. Goltz was the first president, but Jeff Wilkins replaced him within the first year.
The company noticed its computers sat idle at night and on weekends. In 1979 it offered MicroNET to home users through Radio Shack. On July 1, 1980 this became the CompuServe Information Service, a dial-up online service for consumers. H&R Block bought the company in 1980 for $25 million when it had fewer than 1,000 subscribers.
By 1987 there were 380,000 subscribers. CompuServe pioneered forums, the CB Simulator chat system and the GIF image format. At its peak around 1995, it had about three million users worldwide.
AOL's low prices and marketing took its customers in the 1990s. In 1998 WorldCom arranged a deal in which AOL got the consumer service. CompuServe Classic shut down on June 30, 2009.
Timeline
- 1969: CompuServe starts in Columbus as a subsidiary of Golden United Life Insurance. (Columbus, OH) source
- 1979: MicroNET is offered to home users through Radio Shack. (Columbus, OH) source
- 1980-07-01: The CompuServe Information Service begins for consumers. (Columbus, OH) source
- 1980: H&R Block buys the company for $25 million. (Kansas City, MO) source
- 1987: CompuServe has 380,000 subscribers. source
- 1995: At its peak, about three million users. source
- 1998: AOL acquires the consumer service in a WorldCom-brokered deal. source
- 2009-06-30: CompuServe Classic ceases operation. source
What it changed
- About three million users at the 1995 peak.
- Created the GIF image format and early online forums.
Why it matters
Early ISP.
Who gets the credit is disputed
The Ohio claim. Compu-Serv Network began in Columbus in 1969 and opened to home users in 1979, and it is described as an early consumer online service.
The other claims. Whether it was the first consumer online service is contested, since The Source also launched in 1979, a claim not checked here.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
