Founded in 1994 by University of Florida students Manoj “Marty” Puranik and Jose Sanchez, Atlantic.Net began as a small internet service provider initially named Internet Connect Company Computers (ICC Computers).
The company was started in direct response to the limited internet access available at the university. Puranik and Sanchez established operations in Puranik’s dorm room and offered dial-up and web hosting services. At the time, most people were unfamiliar with internet and email access, and most of today’s dominant technology companies did not yet exist. Atlantic.Net was one of the world’s first internet service providers, and it continues to grow.
Rapid Growth Throughout the 1990s
Within a year ICC Computers expanded to eight employees serving 2,000 customers in the Gainesville, Florida, area. In 1996, Atlantic.Net expanded to Tampa and Orlando and, by 1997, completed its first strategic acquisitions of First Coast Internet and Worldwide Internet.
From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, the company acquired 13 internet service companies in strategically targeted and underserved second-tier markets and rural areas. With this growth also came enhanced service offerings, such as webmail, national dial-up service, DSL and true private networks. In 1999, it received CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) certification.
