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When Did Compuserve, AOL and Prodigy Begin to Offer Internet Online Services?

When Did Compuserve, AOL and Prodigy Begin to Offer Internet Online Services? thumbnail
Internet startups like Prodigy, CompuServe and AOL were some of the first ways that users connected to the Internet.

CompuServe, AOL and Prodigy were three of the first Internet service providers in America, each offering varying services even before the advent of the World Wide Web in the mid-90s.

  1. AOL

    • The first incarnation of AOL was launched in the early 1980s as Control Video Corporation, offering a service called Gameline, which allowed Atari 2600 users to download games over their phone line. Gameline proved to be unsuccesful and in 1985 the firm was rebranded as Quantum Computer Services. That same year it launched Q-Link, an online service for the Commodore 64. In 1991, the company was renamed again, this time as America Online. Versions of the service for DOS computers rolled out at the same time.

    CompuServe

    • CompuServe started in 1969 as a general computer service company. In 1979 the company began offering online services, which including online forums, email and electronic bulletin boards. Later services included online shopping, stock quotes and news wire services.

    Prodigy

    • Prodigy was founded in 1984 as a joint venture of IBM, Sears and CBS, although CBS later dropped out. Prodigy's online services first went live in 1988 in Atlanta, San Francisco and Hartford, Connecticut. Throughout the late 80s and early 90s, Prodigy slowly expanded across America, with services that included message boards, email and online news services.

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  • Photo Credit internet image by Soja Andrzej from Fotolia.com

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