20th August 2012 - Adam Internet Pty Ltd (www.adam.com.au) is proudly celebrating 25 years of connecting South Australians.
What started as a hobby has turned into one of the leading Internet Services Providers (ISP's) and iconic brand names of South Australia. Adam Internet employs around 200 South Australians and services thousands of residents and businesses across the state.
Over the years Adam Internet has seen remarkable changes in the industry and expanded their product portfolio from a basic dial-up internet service to now include home entertainment through fetchtv, residential Voice Over IP telephony, the state of the art Adam Data Centre and Adam Business Cloud - with more products and services to be launched this year.
So, how did a hobby turn into one of the leading companies in South Australia?
Greg Hicks, Founder and Executive Chairman looks back over the last 25 years. "Adam Internet was started from just a hobby that quickly turned into a passion and has grown into the business we have today. It started around 27 years ago when about nine friends and I bought our first Amiga computers. After some time we decided to advertise in the paper and officially launch the Adelaide Amiga Club. The response to the advertisement was amazing and over time, we had thousands of people as part of the club".
From the Adelaide Amiga Club, came the Bulletin Board Service. Founded by Greg Hicks, the Bulletin Board Service quickly outgrew South Australia and became one of the largest Bulletin Boards in Australia.
"The Bulletin Board Service was a huge success. Initially this was launched for Adelaide as an extension of the Adelaide Amiga Club. Members would simply 'dial in' to the service - located on a PC in Adelaide. Almost overnight this grew around Australia, although people still needed to dial in to the service in Adelaide. The internet changed all of that and after about a year from the launch of the service, it could easily be reached from around the world. People didn't have to dial in to the service in Adelaide - but could connect via the Internet".
Following the huge success of the Bulletin Board Service, Greg Hicks could see the possibilities of the internet and in 1987 'Adam' was born. The name 'Adam' was taken from where it all began, where the hobby turned into a passion - taking the 'Ad' from Adelaide and the 'am' from Amiga.
In the 25 years since the creation of Adam Internet, there have been huge developments in internet services.
"Back in the mid/late eighties computers were big machines, not a device you held in your hand, or sat on your lap - and you had to effectively call or dial-up the internet. Connecting to the internet was slow, manual and a lot more expensive. Every 'call' to the internet would cost the customer a local call, so to check email just 10 times a day would cost around $75 per month, with a quota of around 30MB per year. People can now access the internet from almost anywhere, using a range of devices. Plans can start at around $35 per month and customers can go up to 1 Terabyte per month.
The last 25 years have seen a huge change in technology and how people and businesses use the internet. Who knows exactly what the next 25 years will bring. At Adam Internet we're excited to be launching new services and looking at ways that customers can benefit from the internet. The Adam Data Centre and Adam Business Cloud expand our service offering and with new residential services just around the corner, all I can say is, watch this space!"
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About Adam Internet
Adam Internet provides high quality Internet services to residents, businesses and enterprise organisations across South Australia. Our services expand beyond the standard ADSL2+ broadband connection to include wireless and mobile broadband, TV and VOIP services, Data Centre, Business Cloud and Private Networking Solutions to name a few.
With over 25 years' experience, Adam Internet is now recognised as one of the top 10 largest ISP's (Internet Service Provider) in Australia. Adam Internet continues its impressive growth, employing around 200 staff and servicing tens of thousands of customers across South Australia.
The organisation has remained at the leading edge of technology and ahead of competition by partnering with key suppliers, returning profits back into South Australia's economy by investing in communications infrastructure, and delivering excellent customer support and value to its clients.
For more information on Adam Internet visit www.adam.com.au or call (08) 8423 4000