A legacy email provider is a consumer email service that dates from the 1990s or 2000s dial-up and portal era and still delivers mail today for pre-existing users, even though the parent brand has been acquired, rebranded, or wound down. Millions of active mailboxes still sit at prodigy.net, t-online.de, laposte.net, btinternet.com, wanadoo.fr, chello.at, and dozens of similar domains. Some of these services are quietly stable and safe to keep sending to. Others were formally shut down years ago and now every message to them silently damages your sender reputation. This 2026 guide separates the two, lists the domains that still work through their successor infrastructure, links to per-provider setup guides, and covers what deliverability teams need to know before pressing send.
Legacy is not the same as defunct. A legacy provider is still delivering mail, with soft bounces at worst; hitting these addresses is fine at reasonable engagement rates. A defunct provider has no active mail servers, so every send returns a hard bounce that ISPs interpret as a low-quality list signal. Sending to defunct domains at scale is one of the fastest ways to trash a sender reputation. Know which is which before you queue a campaign.
What counts as a legacy email provider
A domain qualifies as legacy when four conditions hold: the underlying brand originated in the dial-up ISP or portal era, the brand has since been acquired or wound down as a distinct product, new signups are no longer offered under that brand, and the mail service continues to authenticate and deliver for pre-existing users through the successor’s mail infrastructure. That last point is the important one. Legacy providers still work. Defunct providers do not.
Most legacy providers fall into four archetypes:
Telecom survivors
Consumer email attached to a major telecom that continues to bundle mail with broadband. AT&T (prodigy.net, sbcglobal.net, bellsouth.net, ameritech.net, pacbell.net, swbell.net), Deutsche Telekom (t-online.de), BT (btinternet.com), Orange (wanadoo.fr), A1 Telekom Austria (aon.at), Etisalat/e& (emirates.net.ae). These are the safest legacy domains; the parent telecom has the operational scale to keep the infrastructure clean.
Cable-ISP holdouts
Consumer email from acquired cable ISPs that continues to run under the acquirer. Spectrum (rr.com, twc.com), Cox (cox.net), Virgin Media (ntlworld.com, blueyonder.co.uk), TalkTalk (talktalk.net), Ziggo (home.nl, chello.nl, upcmail.nl, casema.nl), Telenet (pandora.be), Proximus (skynet.be, belgacom.net), SFR (numericable.fr, noos.fr, club-internet.fr), Magenta Telekom (chello.at, inode.at). Higher churn and higher inactivity than the telecom survivors, but the infrastructure is stable.
Portal survivors
Consumer email from 1990s portals now operated by a modern webmail giant. Yahoo (rocketmail.com, ymail.com), United Internet (gmx.net, web.de), La Poste (laposte.net), WP.pl (tlen.pl, o2.pl), Centrum.cz (atlas.cz, volny.cz), KPN (planet.nl, wxs.nl, freeler.nl), Free/Iliad (aliceadsl.fr, libertysurf.fr). Broadly stable but with more variability in mailbox activity.
Dial-up survivors
Consumer email from dial-up era brands that pivoted to low-cost internet plus mailbox hosting. NetZero (netzero.net), Juno (juno.com), Earthlink (earthlink.net), Telenor Online (frisurf.no, online.no). Smaller user bases, older demographics, higher bounce rates than the other categories.
Legacy versus defunct: the deliverability distinction
The two categories look identical on a list; they behave completely differently in production. Confusing them is expensive.
| Signal | Legacy provider | Defunct provider |
|---|---|---|
| Mail servers | Running, authenticated | Retired; no listener |
| MX records | Active, resolvable | Missing or unresolvable |
| Typical bounce | Soft 4xx (mailbox full, temporarily unavailable) | Hard 5xx (no such user, domain unreachable) |
| Deliverability impact | Manageable at reasonable list hygiene | Immediate drag on sender reputation |
| Example domains | prodigy.net, t-online.de, wanadoo.fr, chello.at, home.nl | epost.de, hotpop.com, dreamwiz.com, comhem.se, iol.pt |
| Recommended action | Send with normal cadence; verify addresses | Remove from lists; suppress permanently |
Practical rule: before a campaign that touches legacy domains, run the domain through an MX and SMTP handshake check. Live MX plus a valid 250 response on RCPT TO is legacy behavior and safe to send. No MX, connection refused, or immediate 550 on RCPT TO is defunct behavior and the address should be dropped from the send.
Discontinued services: see the dedicated hub
Consumer email services that have been fully shut down (Lycos Europe / Spray, Deutsche Post E-POST, Dreamwiz, Excite Japan mail, Com Hem Sweden, Bredbandsbolaget, Iol.pt, Clix.pt) or rebranded with the old address no longer preserved (NetCom Norway, Tele2 Norway, TDC Denmark, Prodigy Mexico, Terra Spain) have their own reference on SMTPedia. If you are looking for a migration path off a service that no longer accepts mail, that page has a full chronological timeline, regional grouping, and links to per-provider migration guides.
Discontinued Email Providers: Historical Timeline and Migration Paths (2026) covers 24 shut-down or rebranded services from Lycos Europe (February 15, 2009) through Exemail Australia (December 9, 2025), including Speedy.com.ar (Movistar Argentina, July 2021) and Tom.com free tier (Hong Kong, September 2024), with regional and cause-based grouping and links to dedicated migration guides for each.
The distinction matters practically. Legacy addresses (this page) still deliver mail through a successor’s infrastructure and are safe to send to at reasonable list hygiene. Discontinued services have no active mail servers and every send returns a hard bounce that damages sender reputation. Cross-reference lists against the discontinued hub before any campaign that touches older domains.
Active legacy email domains by region
The domains listed below still have functioning mail infrastructure in 2026 through their successor’s platform. Bounce rates are estimates from typical deliverability data and vary by list quality, sender reputation, and time since last engagement. Each row links to the dedicated setup guide where applicable.
United States
| Group | Domains | Est. bounce | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T legacy | prodigy.net, sbcglobal.net, bellsouth.net, att.net, ameritech.net, pacbell.net, swbell.net, nvbell.net, snet.net, worldnet.att.net | 20-30% | Yahoo backend. Login through att.net portal. Stable since 2001 AT&T-Prodigy consolidation. |
| Spectrum / Charter | rr.com, twc.com, charter.net | 20-30% | Charter.net for grandfathered accounts only; rr.com is the primary. Tied to active Spectrum service. |
| Cox Communications | cox.net | 15-25% | Cable ISP consumer email. Tied to active Cox subscription. |
| Dial-up survivors | earthlink.net, netzero.net, juno.com | 30-40% | Older demographics, higher inactivity. Still delivering but pipeline hygiene matters. |
Germany, Austria, Switzerland
| Group | Domains | Est. bounce | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deutsche Telekom | t-online.de | 10-20% | Twelve million-plus users; the largest active legacy consumer domain in Europe. |
| United Internet | gmx.net, gmx.de, web.de | 15-25% | Free portal accounts; same parent group. Consumer market leader in Germany after t-online. |
| A1 Telekom Austria | aon.at, a1.net | 20-30% | Telekom Austria rebranded A1 November 2017. AON preserved on securemail.a1.net. Setup guide. |
| Magenta Telekom (AT) | chello.at, inode.at, mymagenta.at | 20-30% | UPC Austria + T-Mobile Austria merger September 2019. Chello preserved on mail.mymagenta.at. Setup guide. |
France
| Group | Domains | Est. bounce | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange | wanadoo.fr, orange.fr | 20-30% | France Telecom rebranded Orange 2006. Wanadoo preserved on Orange infrastructure. Setup guide. |
| SFR (Altice France) | numericable.fr, club-internet.fr, noos.fr, sfr.fr | 25-35% | Numericable-SFR merger November 2014. Legacy domains preserved on SFR infrastructure. Setup guides: Numericable, Club-Internet. |
| Free (Iliad) | aliceadsl.fr, libertysurf.fr, infonie.fr, alicepro.fr, free.fr | 25-35% | Iliad acquired Alice August 2008. Legacy hostnames preserved as CNAMEs on Free. Setup guide. |
| La Poste | laposte.net | 20-30% | French postal service consumer email. Two to three million active users. |
United Kingdom and Ireland
| Group | Domains | Est. bounce | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BT | btinternet.com, bt-email.com | 25-35% | British Telecom consumer email. 1.5-2 million active users. |
| Virgin Media | ntlworld.com, blueyonder.co.uk, virginmedia.com | 25-35% | Consolidated under Virgin Media brand. Legacy ntlworld and blueyonder addresses continue to work. |
| TalkTalk | talktalk.net, tiscali.co.uk | 25-35% | Tiscali migrated to TalkTalk; both domains continue to authenticate. |
BeNeLux
| Group | Domains | Est. bounce | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| KPN (NL) | planet.nl, wxs.nl, hi.nl, hiway.nl, compaqnet.nl, worldaccess.nl, pi.net, planetinternet.nl, freeler.nl | 20-30% | Planet Internet acquired by KPN, brand retired 2008. 600k users migrated. Setup guide. |
| Ziggo (NL) | home.nl, chello.nl, upcmail.nl, quicknet.nl, casema.nl, a2000.nl | 20-30% | Dutch cable consolidation. Ziggo officially confirms all six domains functional. Setup guides: Home.nl, Chello.nl. |
| Telenet (BE) | pandora.be, telenet.be | 20-30% | Pandora absorbed into Telenet during Flemish cable consolidation. Setup guide. |
| Proximus (BE) | skynet.be, belgacom.net, proximus.be | 20-30% | Belgacom rebrand 2014. Proximus officially confirms Skynet + Belgacom.net preserved (December 2025 notice). Setup guide. |
Italy
| Group | Domains | Est. bounce | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIM (Telecom Italia) | alice.it, tim.it, tin.it | 20-30% | Alice ADSL brand consolidated under TIM. Uses non-standard StartTLS ports 143/587. Setup guide. |
| Italiaonline / Tiscali | virgilio.it, tiscali.it, libero.it | 25-35% | Italian consumer portals still authenticating. |
Central and Eastern Europe
| Group | Domains | Est. bounce | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WP.pl (PL) | tlen.pl, o2.pl, go2.pl, 10g.pl, wp.pl | 25-35% | Tlen IM shutdown May 2016; mail preserved on WP.pl infrastructure. Setup guide. |
| Centrum.cz (CZ) | atlas.cz, volny.cz, centrum.cz | 25-35% | Centrum Holdings consolidation May 2008. Three portals operated by Economia a.s. on shared platform. Setup guides: Atlas.cz, Volny.cz. |
| Seznam.cz (CZ) | seznam.cz, email.cz | 15-25% | Dominant independent Czech portal. Not a legacy brand but often paired. |
| Bigmir)net (UA) | bigmir.net | 25-35% | Standalone Ukrainian portal operated by UMH Digital since December 2013. Own SMTP infrastructure (imap/pop/smtp.bigmir.net, three live MX). Not a rebrand; independent operator alongside Ukr.net, Meta.ua, i.UA. Setup guide. |
Nordic countries
| Group | Domains | Est. bounce | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telia (SE, NO) | telia.se, telia.no, netcom.no (migrated) | 15-25% | Nordic incumbent consolidated NetCom (2016) and Get (2020) under Telia brand. |
| Telenor Online (NO) | online.no, frisurf.no, telenor.no | 20-30% | Frisurf free-ISP retired but @frisurf.no preserved on Telenor Online e-post. Setup guide. |
| Nuuday (DK) | yousee.dk | 20-30% | Nuuday consumer brand (post-TDC-split). Email availability is plan-dependent. |
Middle East and rest of world
| Region | Active legacy domains | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| UAE | emirates.net.ae, eim.ae, etisalat.ae | Etisalat rebranded e& February 2022. All three domains unified on exmail.emirates.net.ae. Setup guide. |
| Brazil | uol.com.br, terra.com.br, ig.com.br | Three dominant Brazilian portals still offering consumer webmail. |
| Mexico (successor) | infinitum.com.mx | Telmex’s current consumer email after retiring @prodigy.net.mx. |
| South Korea | naver.com, daum.net, hanmail.net, nate.com, paran.com (legacy) | Naver and Daum (Kakao) dominate; legacy @paran.com continues via Daum servers. |
| Ukraine | ukr.net, meta.ua, i.ua, bigmir.net | Standard Ukrainian consumer webmail providers, active and hosted in Ukraine. Bigmir.net is a legacy portal (November 2000 launch) operated by UMH Digital with its own SMTP infrastructure. |
| Japan | ezweb.ne.jp, au.com, biz.ezweb.ne.jp | KDDI/au consumer email. Rebrand August 2017 announced @au.com as new-issue domain from April 2018, but @ezweb.ne.jp preserved indefinitely per KDDI official policy (“no plans to terminate”). Same mail infrastructure. au Mail Portability service (330 yen/mo) preserves the address after leaving au mobile subscription. Setup guide. |
Bounce risk assessment for legacy domains
Not all legacy providers age gracefully. Three signals separate the well-maintained ones from the sender-reputation minefields:
Age of the acquiring parent’s investment
Domains under active telecom investment (t-online.de, prodigy.net under AT&T, laposte.net, wanadoo.fr under Orange, aon.at under A1) have cleaner spam handling and fewer stale mailboxes than portals with no strategic parent (juno.com, netzero.net, tlen.pl).
Ratio of active broadband subscribers to registered mailboxes
An ISP legacy domain (rr.com, cox.net, btinternet.com, chello.at, home.nl, pandora.be) tracks the ISP’s subscriber base. As subscribers churn, mailboxes go stale. Portal legacy domains (gmx.net, planet.nl, atlas.cz) do not have this constraint and tend to keep users longer.
Public documentation of the mail service
If the parent brand’s current documentation covers the legacy mail service (SMTP settings, IMAP hosts, sign-in URL), the service is being actively maintained. Proximus’s December 2025 forum notice confirming @skynet.be and @belgacom.net are supported through Proximus Webmail is a textbook signal. If the legacy domain has no current documentation and only historical forum threads describe it, treat it with suspicion.
Sending to legacy domains without hurting deliverability
Four practical rules for campaigns that touch legacy consumer domains at scale:
Verify before sending
Run legacy addresses through a real SMTP handshake before a campaign. MX lookup alone is not enough; some domains keep MX records long after mail acceptance is disabled.
Segment by domain age and last engagement
Legacy addresses that engaged in the last 90 days are almost as safe as any other consumer domain. Legacy addresses with no engagement in two years are candidates for suppression regardless of the source.
Watch soft-bounce rates by domain
A rising soft-bounce rate on a specific legacy domain is a leading indicator that the provider is winding down or cleaning house. Move that domain to a lower cadence or suppress it before the soft bounces turn into hard bounces.
Never send to defunct domains
Cross-reference against the discontinued providers hub and against any hard-bounce history in your ESP. Every send to a defunct domain is a hard bounce that ISPs read as a low-quality signal on your entire program.
Frequently asked questions
Is @prodigy.net still working in 2026?
Yes for pre-existing users. AT&T maintains the domain via the Yahoo backend. Login is through the att.net portal. Prodigy Mail Mexico (prodigy.net.mx), the separate Telmex service, is a different case and has been retired in favor of Infinitum Mail.
Is @wanadoo.fr still working in 2026?
Yes. France Telecom rebranded Orange in 2006 and preserved @wanadoo.fr as a legacy alias on the same Orange mail infrastructure. Configure with imap.orange.fr / smtp.orange.fr and your full @wanadoo.fr address as the username.
How do I identify a defunct domain?
No MX records plus a hard 550 on RCPT TO plus no current provider documentation is the reliable trio. Examples of defunct consumer domains: hotpop.com, sacmail.com, dr.com, epost.de, comhem.se, iol.pt, and the other services in the discontinued providers hub.
t-online.de versus gmx.net for deliverability?
t-online.de is safer for large campaigns. Twelve million-plus active users, tight ISP-level anti-spam handling, and Deutsche Telekom’s operational investment behind the platform. gmx.net has higher churn as a free portal, so its bounce rates are a bit higher despite the same United Internet backing.
Why do BeNeLux cable legacy domains cluster together?
Dutch cable consolidation (@Home + Multikabel + Casema + Chello into Ziggo) and Flemish cable consolidation (Pandora into Telenet, Skynet under Proximus) both produced multi-alias platforms. @home.nl, @chello.nl, @upcmail.nl, @quicknet.nl, @casema.nl, and @a2000.nl all use the same *.ziggo.nl hostnames; @pandora.be uses *.telenet.be; @skynet.be and @belgacom.net use *.proximus.be. One setup guide per platform covers all aliases.
Should I suppress all legacy domains preemptively?
No. Legacy is not the same as unusable. Millions of active mailboxes still sit at prodigy.net, t-online.de, laposte.net, wanadoo.fr, aon.at, home.nl, and btinternet.com; these are legitimate recipients. The wrong move is suppressing legacy blanket; the right move is verifying activity per address and dropping the ones that are stale.
Where to go next
Dedicated setup guides for the sixteen still-active rebranded ISP domains covered on SMTPedia:
Continental Europe telco legacy
- Wanadoo.fr (via Orange)
- Aon.at (via A1 Telekom Austria)
- Chello.at (via Magenta Telekom)
- Alice.it (via TIM)
- Emirates.net.ae (via e&/Etisalat)
Cable and broadband ISP legacy
- Home.nl (via Ziggo)
- Chello.nl (via Ziggo)
- Pandora.be (via Telenet)
- Skynet.be (via Proximus)
- Numericable.fr (via SFR)
- Club-Internet.fr (via SFR)
- Frisurf.no (via Telenor Online)
Portal and dial-up legacy
- Planet.nl (via KPN)
- Aliceadsl.fr (via Free/Iliad)
- Tlen.pl (via WP.pl)
- Atlas.cz (via Centrum.cz)
- Volny.cz (via Centrum.cz)
- Bigmir.net (Ukrainian portal via UMH Digital)
- Ezweb.ne.jp (via KDDI / au.com)
Related references
- Discontinued email providers hub, shutdown timeline and migration paths
- Complete email providers directory, master list of 218 providers
- Earthlink email settings
- Spectrum and Roadrunner (rr.com) email settings
- La Poste (laposte.net) email settings
- T-Online email settings
- Gmail SMTP, IMAP, POP3 settings
- Outlook and Hotmail SMTP, IMAP, POP3 settings
Cleaning a list that contains legacy and discontinued domains? SMTPing verifies addresses with a real SMTP handshake before you send, catching defunct domains, dead mailboxes, catch-alls, and disposables in one pass. Thirteen validation types, twenty-five free checks daily, no card required. Try SMTPing free.
About the Author
Alaa · LinkedIn
Email infrastructure specialist with 8+ years of hands-on experience in SMTP, deliverability, and email verification. I’ve configured and troubleshot mail systems across Postfix, Exchange, and cloud relays, managed IP reputation and warmup campaigns, and built verification pipelines processing millions of addresses. My work spans DNS authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, BIMI), bounce handling, blocklist monitoring, and compliance frameworks including CAN-SPAM and GDPR. I write every article on SMTPedia to give email professionals, developers, and marketers the accurate, RFC-grounded reference they need.
About SMTPedia
SMTPedia is an independent email industry reference covering SMTP, IMAP, POP3, email deliverability, marketing platforms, DNS authentication, and email verification. Every article is researched from official provider documentation, IETF RFCs, and industry best practices. Settings and configurations are verified quarterly.
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