What Was The First Commercial Email Service

MCI Mail was one of the first always commercial email services in the Usa and one of the largest telecommunication services in the world.^[1] Operated past MCI Communications Corp. from 1983 to 2003, MCI Post offered its customers a low cost and effective solution for sending and receiving electronic mail.^[2]

History [edit]

The MCI Mail service was launched on September 23, 1983, in Washington, D.C., during a printing conference that was hosted past MCI's founder and Chairman, William G. McGowan.^[1] MCI Mail service was the first commercial e-mail service to use the internet. The service was officially decommissioned by MCI at 11:59 p.m. ET on June 30, 2003.^[three]

Founders [edit]

William 1000. McGowan [edit]

William Thousand. McGowan, MCI's founder and chairman, joined the corporation in 1968.^[1] In the early on stages of creation, McGowan and his beau contributors got their inspiration from corporations such as Telenet and Western Union's EasyLink.^[4] With a primary goal of broadcasting MCI Postal service services on an international level, he headed a lobbying campaign to fight for the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) approval to expand.^[one] Upon approval by the FCC to begin working, McGowan knew he had to keep up with the challenges and threats that its biggest competitor, AT&T, imposed.^[v]

Robert Harcharik [edit]

Robert Harcharik was the President of Tymnet when he was recruited to MCI to develop what he called a "digital postoffice." Eventually this service became known as MCI Mail. Harcharik recruited and organized a evolution team that included Vint Cerf.

Vint Cerf [edit]

In belatedly 1982, Vint Cerf, one of the original designers of the MCI email service, was one of the main contractor served from 1982 to 1986 every bit MCI's Vice President of Digital Information Services.^{[half dozen]} During his time in office, he acted equally one of the driving forces behind the creation of the MCI Mail service. Cerf worked on the data networking related hardware and software applications of the MCI Mail.^[4] After an eight-year separation from the corporation to work with his Internet partner, Robert East. Kahn at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI), Cerf returned to MCI in 1994, where he served as Senior Vice President of Technology Strategy until 2005 when MCI was sold to Verizon.^[vi] Celtic Engineering science Inc. owned by Winston Thomas one of the contractors also joined MCI in 1982.^{[ citation needed ]}

Functions and applications [edit]

Electronic mail [edit]

The service initially immune users to send electronic text-based messages to other MCI Mail users. MCI Mail besides supported read receipts and charge codes, allowing for cost accounting for electronic mail. Later, the service was expanded so that users could send letters to not-MCI Mail users, including users on other public messaging services, such every bit AT&T Mail service, CompuServe, and SprintMail.^[7] Eventually, a gateway to the Cyberspace was also provided. MCI Mail service users were assigned an electronic mail address of either their MCI Mail ID @mcimail.com (east.g. 2180241@mcimail.com), their user proper noun @mcimail.com (e.chiliad. bsmith@mcimail.com), or their formal name @mcimail.com (east.g. Bob_Smith@mcimail.com). Several e-mail software products were developed to facilitate email handling from a PC. These included Lotus Express, Norton Commander's MCI Mail utility, MailRoom from Sierra Solutions, Emma, and MCI's own MCI Mail Express and Express Lite.^[vi] The e-mail facility in Microsoft Bob also used MCI Mail service.^[7]

Paper mail [edit]

MCI Mail first twenty-four hour period cover issued on January seven, 1985

Customers could transport hard-copy MCI Letter letters to postal addresses. These were laser printed at an MCI Mail print site, placed in an envelope and mailed via the U.Southward. Postal service.^[7] The cost was $2 for upward to 3 pages for an MCI Letter, and $9 for an Overnight Letter of the alphabet. The service was attractive because there were few affordable letter-quality laser printers available to consumers at the time. Most consumers could merely beget low quality dot matrix printers, which were not suitable for concern correspondence. It as well saved a trip to the post office.^[4] Prior to 1996, the service also immune users a 4-Hour delivery selection. The 4-hr service in item was bonny equally no one else offered the ability to impress a document and have it delivered in this fourth dimension frame. There were 15 print facilities effectually the U.S. which offered this service.^[4] The well-nigh pop locations were New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. At one point there was a print facility in Hawaii and they also ventured into the international infinite with a location in Brussels, Belgium. The hard re-create delivery service was later on discontinued due to the high operating price, the increasing availability of letter-quality home printers, and the increased use of email.^[vii]

Fax and Telex dispatch [edit]

MCI Mail service besides offered gateways to faxing called Fax Dispatch (e-mail to fax, outbound just) and telex called Telex Dispatch (in and outbound).^[ii]

Business organization services [edit]

Remote E-mail Organization (REMS) [edit]

MCI Mail service supported gateways to local area networks by utilise of its REMS ("Remote Electronic mail System") addressing. REMS addressing took the form of {display proper noun}|REMS:{rems proper noun}/{network mapping on the email server}. For example, Bob Smith|REMS:XYZCompany/ntserver/electronic mail/bsmith.^{[ commendation needed ]}

Pricing for services [edit]

A yearly subscription to a "mailbox" was $35.^[2]
Paper Mail cost $2, including delivery and $5.50 outside of the Us.^[ii]
E-mail cost fifty cents for the start 500 characters.^[2]
Faxes and Telexes started at 50 cents for delivery to the United states.^[2]

Network technology [edit]

MCI Postal service was a custom software application developed for MCI past December (Digital Equipment Corp).^[4] Software Services organisation, running under the VMS operating system, initially on VAX 780's, and by Hewlett-Packard, running under the MPE operating organization, on HP-3000 computers with output generated on HP laser printers. In 1985 MCI International entered the electronic mail landscape using Information General MV Series minicomputers and co-developed propitiatory applications using the X.400 email protocol standards. The Data General Eclipse MV/8000 was the first in a family of 32-flake minicomputers using their AOS/VS operating system and supported the notion of lightweight "tasks" also as processes. The first MCI International offerings were developed for their French market. Access to the initial MCI Mail service service was provided using a 110-, 300-, 1200-, 2400- or (5600 was probably a typo for 9600 because 56kbit/s V.90 modems came out in 1998) $.25/2d modem connected to a standard telephone land line.^[seven] The price-gratuitous access number for MCI Postal service was (800) 444-Mail. From outside the United states of america, MCI Mail could be accessed via local packet switching services that were offered past local phone companies. Effectually 1990 access was likewise provided via Infonet's dedicated information network. MCI Mail branded this access service: MCI Mail Global Access.^{[ citation needed ]}

Sales and marketing [edit]

The service was primarily sold using a third-party "agency plan". Agents were paid a commission on usage. One of these agents, Gary Oppenheimer, created what is believed to exist the commencement electronically delivered newsletter.^[4] Called the PEN (Periodic Electronic Newsletter), it was published from Baronial 1985 until Nov 1996, and provided both customers and many MCI employees with information on a few features available, equally well as hints and tricks for using MCI Mail service.^[4] The terminal edition of the PEN newsletter included articles on Concert Parcel Switching Service for MCI Mail service, MCI Postal service Telephone update, Cellular Access to MCI Mail, List of Access Cellular Numbers, Logon Procedures, 10.400 Access via Frame Relay, MCI Never Busy Fax, Mailroom/Mailplus & MIME, internetMCI software, domainTNG, Newsgroups/Lists, and Web Surfing via MCI Postal service.^[7]

Decommission [edit]

In the mid 1990s, the Internet became a commercialized platform offering complimentary email services past tiptop industry vendors such as Hotmail.^[4] This shift rocked MCI Mail'southward electronic bulletin commitment and receiving rates, as customers were more inclined to use services available to them with no charge.^[four] In addition to an increase in manufacture competition, the modernization of the Fax Machine proved more efficient and valuable to customers than that of MCI Postal service'due south services.^[8]

These industry advances contributed to the eventual decommission of MCI Postal service on June 30, 2003, at 11:59 P.Thousand. ET.^[iii]

References [edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "William G. McGowan's MCI". Hagley Library. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^east ^f Shannon, L. R. (November 9, 1993). "MCI Mail Changes The Nature Of Messages". The New York Times (National ed.). p. C13. Retrieved Apr 11, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Decommissioning Notification Letter". Archived from the original on Feb 17, 2003. Retrieved Dec 5, 2018 – via Wayback Motorcar.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Schwantes, Benjamin. "Selling East-Mail to America: MCI Mail and the Commercialization of Computer-Based Electronic Communication" (PDF). Business and Economic History On-Line. The Business organisation History Conference.
^ "William 1000. Mcgowan'due south MCI: Taking on AT&T". Hagley Library. Retrieved December five, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Abbate, Janet (2004). "Vinton Cerf". Clan for Computing Machinery.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^eastward ^f Manes, Steohen (1988). The Complete MCI Handbook. New York: Runted Books. ISBN978-0-553-34587-two.
^ "William G. McGowan: Data Historic period". Hagley Library. Retrieved December 5, 2018.