# What was the earliest true commercial dial-up ISP? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-earliest-true-commercial-dial-up-isp/734933 "2015-10-17T20:35:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 5
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-earliest-true-commercial-dial-up-isp/734933/5 "2015-10-17T23:36:08Z")
Is this the same question you had back in January (see below)? > [@When was the earliest you could use the Internet at home?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-earliest-you-could-use-the-internet-at-home/708750/1): > > AOL, Compuserve, etc have been available since the 80s, but they weren’t “True” ISP’s until 1994-ish when they started allowing links to Usenet and more importantly the Web. > > From what I’ve read, Internet-based email was available on a commercial basis from 1988-89 onwards, and fuller Internet access was offered in a few places by 1989-90, but being that the Internet wasn’t fully opened to commercial traffic until 1995 I imagine they’re talking about business and research connections, not connections to home PCs right? > > Alternet started selling connections in January 1990 but from what I gather due to the government still having a large grip on the Net they could only sell to highly qualified people who would use it (at least ostensibly) for research purposes. > > However, Commercial Internet Exchange of the UK claims to have offered email and Usenet was back in 1988! Again though, not sure if an average Joe could have had their PC linked up that early. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-earliest-true-commercial-dial-up-isp/734933)._