Uninett was established in 1976 as a project based on funding from the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and was headquartered at SINTEF in Trondheim.

The work was continued as a research project in SINTEF, before Uninett was established as an operating organization for the academic data network in Norway.

FAS was to develop technical solutions for efficient operation of administrative services for the higher education sector.

ABC was to use Uninett's competence and experience for web development for the other educational institutions in Norway, with emphasis on primary and secondary schools.

Sigma has later changed its name to Uninett Sigma2, and coordinates heavy computing and storage in the higher education sector.