The history of FDT can be traced back as early as the summer of 1992. At that time, Harald Kegelmann, now President and CEO of FDT, was a research assistant on the Florida SchoolYear 2000 Initiative (SY2000), a statewide effort to link Florida schools to the Internet. That summer, Harald Kegelmann met with friends and members of the business community to discuss a statewide network for Internet service, in particular for the growing number of home schoolers. However, initial estimates of the financial requirements made the project unfeasable at that time.

1993
In March of 1993, Harald Kegelmann accompanied his professors, Dr. Robert Branson and Dr. Owen Gaede, to a meeting with The Honorable Paul Farmer, then Secretary of Commerce of the state of Florida, to discuss the future impact of the Internet on business and commerce.
It was still nine months until the release of Mosaic, the first web browser and hardly anybody outside the military research and university environment had heard about the Internet. For someone outside that environment it was difficult to envision the fundamental changes that a networked society would bring about. It was at that very meeting, that Harald Kegelmann realized that any statewide network offering reliable and professional access to the Internet has to be built by private businesses, not the government and the plan for FDT was born.

1994
Florida Digital Turnpike incorporates as "The CD-ROM Store, Inc."

1995
In Spring 1995, Kevin Ho, a child prodigy and respected Unix expert builds and configures the first servers necessary for Internet service. In June, Jon Lewis, then the assistant system administrator of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Florida, helps Kevin in the design of the network infrastructure. A T1 access line to the Internet is ordered from UUNET Technologies and on June 6, 1995, The CD-ROM Store, Inc. dba Florida Digital Turnpike goes live on the net.

1996
In June, FDT begins to offer Internet service in Tallahassee, Florida. One of the first clients was the Florida Lottery.

1997
In July, Dr. Randall White, a recent graduate of Florida State University joins FDT and later becomes a member of the Board of Directors. In Gainesville, John "JR" Rimes, signs with FDT to become Sales Manager for North Central Florida.
In December, the name of "The CD-ROM Store, Inc., dba Florida Digital Turnpike" is changed to "Florida Digital Turnpike, Inc.".

1998
In February, H. Thomas Lane, joins FDT as Chief Operating Officer. Under his leadership, FDT moves the Gainesville office to a new location.
The new POP in Gainesville has multiple high speed connections to the Internet and offers service for 56K modems.
In August, FDT begins to offer service in Ocala, Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg.
In December, Daytona Beach, Pensacola, Jacksonville, and Miami are added to FDT's service area.

1999
In July, expands its coverage of the Tampa Bay area. The new service cities are Sarasota, Lakeland, New Port Richey, and Zephyrhills.

Board of Directors

Harald W. Kegelmann
President and CEO

Management Team

Harald W. Kegelmann
President and CEO

Joseph Barnhart
Senior Network Administrator

Mitch Kehn
Sales and Marketing
Senior Account Executive

Employees

Bert Green
Assistant Network Administrator - Windows NT

Chris Villalobos
Assistant Network Administrator - Unix

Jonathan Kehayias
Technical Support Supervisor

Elyse Gruskin
Customer Service Representative

Trayce Geis
Bookkeeping

Investment
FDT is a privately held corporation. It is our goal to offer Internet services in Florida on a statewide level. If you are looking to invest in an experienced and talented group of people in a dynamic and exciting industry then give us a call at (888) FDT-9773 and ask for Harald W. Kegelmann.