 .com bubble, the .com bubble also known as the .com boom, the .com crash, the tech bubble, the internet bubble, and the information technology bubble was a historic economic bubble and period of excessive speculation that occurred roughly from 1995 to 2000, the period of extreme growth in the usage. An adaptation of the Internet, the NASDAQ composite stock market index, which included many internet-based companies, peaked in value on March 10, 2000 before crashing. The burst of the bubble lasted from March 11, 2000 to October 9, 2002. After the bubble burst, online retail companies, such as Pets.com, Webvan and Boot.com, failed completely and shut down along with communication companies, such as Worldcom, Northpoint Communications and Global Crossing. Others, such as Cisco, whose stock declined by 86 percent, and Qualcomm, lost a large portion of their market capitalization but survived. And some companies, such as eBay and Amazon.com, declined in value but recovered quickly. In 1993, the release of the Mosaic web browser made access to the world wide web easier. Internet usage increased as a result of the reduction of the digital divide and advances in connectivity, uses of the internet, and computer education. Between 1990 and 1997, the percentage of households in the United States owning computers increased from 15 percent to 35 percent as computer ownership progressed from a luxury to a necessity. This marked the shift to the information age, an economy based on information technology, and many new companies were founded. At the same time, low interest rates increased the availability of capital. The Taxpayers Relief Act of 1997, which lowered the top marginal capital gains tax in the United States, also made people more willing to make more speculative investments. Gallant Greenspan, the former chair of the Federal Reserve, allegedly fueled investments in the stock market by putting the positive spin on stock valuations. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was expected to result in many new technologies, and people wanted to profit from them.