Old phone billing systems knew how to charge for minutes of voice calls, and little else. In 1999 internet providers needed to bill for web access, email accounts, and content. Portal Software sold a billing platform built for the internet. It tracked usage, applied complex pricing plans, and produced bills for millions of customers. Portal went public in May 1999, promising to be the cash register behind every carrier's new online services.

A Consulting Firm Since 1985

John Little started the company in 1985 as a consulting firm, and it built billing tools for early online services. The bet was that internet services would need flexible, real-time billing, and that carriers would buy it instead of building it. Portal's Infranet product ran on standard servers and could change pricing quickly. Carriers launching new services valued that speed, because new products appeared every month.

Restatements, Then Oracle

Portal priced its offering at $14 a share in May 1999, and its stock rose sharply in the boom. When carriers cut spending in 2001, Portal's sales fell and its losses grew. Accounting problems later forced Portal to restate its results, and the Nasdaq delisted its stock. Oracle acquired Portal in 2006. Its billing software became part of Oracle's communications products.

Cover: Coventry, St. Mary's Hall, Entrance Gateway, Francis Bedford. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a gateway (the portal).