The History of Internet in Ukraine

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First Ukrainian ISPs

In the spring of 1991, the Kyiv-based company “Tekhnosoft” officially obtained the status of an Internet provider. By the end of 1991, residents of many other Ukrainian cities had gained access to the Internet, marking the rapid spread of connectivity across the country.

In 1992, the first domestic Internet providers began to appear and actively develop in Ukraine, including Tenet, Relcom-Ukraine, Lucky Net, Communication Systems, and others. Unlike in the United States, where the Internet industry was funded by the government until the mid-1990s, in Ukraine the expansion of the Internet took place without state support. This allowed telecom companies to engage in healthy competition. Moreover, most providers operated without licenses, and the authorities had little ability to intervene.

By 1994, there were already several dozen Internet providers in Ukraine, but the scale of Internet penetration was still relatively small. This situation continued until 1999, when around 50 providers served about 10,000 subscribers in Kyiv.

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