Sign in

Private company

ihug

Logo: The logo may be obtained from Ihug., Non-free logo, via Wikipedia3

Defunct New Zealand internet service provider

ihug was New Zealand's third largest ISP (behind Xtra and TelstraClear), before it was bought, then absorbed by Vodafone New Zealand (the country's largest mobile phone operator, later renamed One NZ). According to 2005 estimates, it had over 100,000 internet and phone subscribers. Before 2000 ihug was New Zealand's largest ISP but as other ISPs began offering flat rate services, some customers opted to transfer to those providers.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1994Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

ihug was New Zealand's third largest ISP (behind Xtra and TelstraClear), before it was bought, then absorbed by Vodafone New Zealand (the country's largest mobile phone operator, later renamed One NZ). According to 2005 estimates, it had over 100,000 internet and phone subscribers. Before 2000 ihug was New Zealand's largest ISP but as other ISPs began offering flat rate services, some customers opted to transfer to those providers.2

The story

1994: ihug was started by brothers Nick and Tim Wood with $8000 from their father, John.

1995: ihug was the first New Zealand ISP to introduce a flat rate account.

1997: ihug begins trading in Australia.

ihug merges with Dunedin-based and South Island-focused ISP ES Net (Efficient Software), creating a combined subscriber base of 10,000.

ihug establishes SatNet and Ultra satellite broadband services.

1998: Over 4500 websites on the ihug homepages' server were deleted after the machine was hacked.

1999: Then owners Nick, Tim and John Wood were listed on the annual National Business Review Rich List, with an estimated combined wealth of $75 million.

Ihug launches ihugPhone, VoIP-based toll bypass and post-paid calling card voice services

Read the full text

2002: ihug appoints Martin Wylie as CEO to find a buyer of the company.

2003: ihug bought by iiNet for NZ$82 million.

2004: ihug purchases Wave Internet and PC Connect, gaining 10,000 Waikato and Bay of Plenty customers.

2005: ihug offloads satellite infrastructure to concentrate on ADSL broadband.

On 4 September 2006, Quik merged with ihug.

2006: ihug sold to Vodafone (NZ operations only).

2008: Vodafone shuts down the ihug brand.

From Wikipedia’s article on Ihug, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1994Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4