Editing IiNet (section)

===Growth through acquisition===
The company created a new registered telecommunications provider iiTel, later renamed ''Chime Communications'', that sought to improve Internet access prices by making wholesale telephone access much cheaper. This was possible through new interconnection agreements mandated by the [[Australian Government]]'s deregulation of the telecommunications industry and provided the foundation for iiNet's later move into [[telephony]] via its iPhone (later ''Phone Advantage'' and ''Phone 1'') and iiNetPhone (later ''iiNet VoIP'') products.

In the early 2000s, iiNet expanded their national coverage by acquiring the following companies: 
*RuralNet ([[Mildura]] and regional [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]])
*Tas Access ([[Tasmania]])
*Granite Internet ([[Fleurieu Peninsula]], South Australia)
*RockNet ([[Rockhampton]], [[Queensland]])
*Hartingdale ([[Sydney]])
*Country Netlink (regional Victoria)
*Origin Internet (regional Victoria)
*Froggy Internet (Sydney)
*Virtual Communities ([[Melbourne]])
*Octa4 ([[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]])
*[[TransACT]] ([[Australian Capital Territory]] and [[Queanbeyan]])

In 2003, iiNet made what was then its biggest acquisition, purchasing key New Zealand provider [[ihug]]. The acquisition significantly increased iiNet's share of the Australian and New Zealand Internet market.

In 2005, iiNet acquired the residential ISP business and trademarks of rival [[OzEmail]]. That business's business side and infrastructure remained in the ownership of US-parent [[MCI Inc|MCI]]. OzEmail had been Australia's largest ISP until 2000, when it was acquired by MCI. The retail arm had been neglected, and the company moved very late into ADSL, meaning that it had difficulty positioning itself as a broadband player. iiNet initially used both the OzEmail and iiNet brands on the east coast, but by 2006 iiNet had largely abandoned the OzEmail brand, using its own corporate image across Australia.