science

Pipex

Pipex is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pipex rather than just read about it. In short: Pipex ( PY-peks) was the United Kingdom's first commercial Internet service provider (ISP). It was formed in 1990 and helped to develop the ISP market in the UK.

Key takeaways

Pipex belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pipex to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pipex from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pipex ( PY-peks) was the United Kingdom's first commercial Internet service provider (ISP). It was formed in 1990 and helped to develop the ISP market in the UK. In 1992 it began operating a 64k transatlantic leased line and built a connection to the UK government's JANET network. One of its first customers was Demon Internet which popularised dial up modem based internet access in the UK. It was also one of the key players in the development of the London Internet Exchange through a meeting with BT in 1994. The company went through a number of mergers and acquisitions and by 2007 had dropped to be the sixth largest ISP in the UK. The Pipex name was used by a number of companies within the group, which were gradually renamed following the sale of its home broadband business to Tiscali UK in 2007. In 2009, the former Pipex Wireless business, rebranded as Freedom4, bought the former Pipex Business, known as Vialtus. Freedom4 also purchased Daisy Group through a reverse takeover, and the three companies were brought together as Daisy.

History

Formation The company was formed as the first commercial ISP in the UK by Unipalm in 1990 as The Public I.P. Exchange Ltd (PIPEX), founded by Peter Dawe. In mid 1992, it began operating a 64k transatlantic leased line to UUNET and another to JANET. One of its first customers was Demon Internet, shortly followed by the BBC. In November 1994, Keith Mitchell, then chief technical officer of PIPEX, initiated a meeting with BT to discuss the creation of a London-based Internet exchange. Pipex donated a Cisco Catalyst 1200 Network switch which formed the basis of the London Internet Exchange (LINX).

Unipalm Pipex was sold to UUNet in November 1995 for £150 million and became UUNet/Pipex. The brand became known as Worldcom Pipex, after UUnet merged with MFS, which is later acquired by WorldCom before merging with MCI to form MCI WorldCom, later renaming back to MCI which was then taken over by Verizon Communications. Pipex retained contracts with Verizon with regards to the network structure. David Rickards and family acquired the PIPEX brand for an undisclosed sum and the new company PIPEX Internet Ltd was born. In January 2002 saw the first push to provide digital subscriber line (DSL) lines instead of traditional modems and Pipex invested £2 million to get 40,000 DSL users online.

Reorganisation In October 2003 Pipex was acquired by GX Networks plc, which retained the Pipex name by renaming itself Pipex Communications plc. In September 2006, Pipex purchased Toucan from IDT Telecom for £24 million, and Cable & Wireless' Bulldog Broadband for £12 million. Pipex sold its home broadband business and the rights to use the Pipex name to Tiscali UK in July 2007 for £210 million. As a consequence, Pipex Wireless was renamed Freedom4 in October 2007, followed by Pipex Business in February 2008 which was renamed Vialtus. Pipex Communications reverted to the GX Networks name in March 2008. Freedom4 agreed to purchase Vialtus and Daisy Group in July 2009, performing a reverse takeover of Daisy. The former Pipex residential business, as part of Tiscali, was integrated into TalkTalk when Tiscali UK was itself acquired by TalkTalk's parent The Carphone Warehouse in 2009.

See also Internet in the United Kingdom § History

References

Further reading Costello, Neil (2000). Stability and Change in High-Tech Enterprises: Organisational Practices in Sme's. Routledge. ISBN 0415231213.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pipex

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pipex claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pipex before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pipex ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pipex

In research: Pipex appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pipex in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pipex is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics British companies established in 1990, Former internet service providers of the United Kingdom, History of the Internet, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pipex outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Pipex” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Pipex in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pipex means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pipex out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pipex in simple terms?

Pipex ( PY-peks) was the United Kingdom's first commercial Internet service provider (ISP). It was formed in 1990 and helped to develop the ISP market in the UK.

Why does Pipex matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pipex?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pipex.