What is "poptel"

Poptel was a British internet and on-line services provider that was run by an employee cooperative ( worker cooperative) from 1986 to 2002.

In the 1980s Poptel offered on-line communications and information services to international NGOs, working in particular with the Interdoc group. Poptel was a partner in the Manchester Host and the Kirklees Host and became known as a provider of Internet services to the Labour Party. Working with the National Cooperative Business Association of the US, it launched the successful bid to create a top level Internet domain for use exclusively by cooperatives - " .coop".

Poptel was "demutualised" and broken up into smaller businesses in September 2002. Staff from the web development department formed a new co-operative, Poptech (later Fused Technologies). OSG Co-op (now Midcounties Co-operative) took over the .coop registry operation. The retail Internet Services business was merged with The Phone Co-op in 2003. In 2012 the .coop registry was transferred to the International Co-operative Alliance.