5 years ago... Dixons ditches Freeserve

13.01.2000: Dixons Store Group (DSG) has announced a four-way stock split and the full spin-off of its ISP Freeserve.

DSG shareholders will get four shares for every one they currently own and a 25p payment.

The company said in a statement that the reason for the restructuring was to "separate Dixons' retail and property businesses, and Freeserve into two distinct sub-groups".

Dixons shares fell 20 per cent after it announced its annual results yesterday and warned of increasing pressure on the prices of electronic goods.

13.01.2005: Since Dixons ditched Freeserve, even Freeserve has ditched Freeserve. One of the original big names from the ISP dot-com boom is still with us though, in the guise of Wanadoo.

Since Dixons distanced itself from Freeserve, the ISP has changed ownership, with the France Telecom-parented French ISP snapping up Freeserve back in 2000 but waiting until 2004 to bring the company under its branding umbrella. Wanadoo is now one of the biggest ISPs in Europe.

As well as shedding its dot-com associations, Wanadoo has also thrown its hat firmly into the broadband ring, with CEO Eric Abensur saying that the company is prepared to take a loss on its lowest-priced broadband product to get more subscribers on board.

Never one to shy away from new web trends, the ISP has also launched its own online music club and is pushing a consumer VoIP offering.