HALIFAX — Eastlink, which started out as a small cable company in rural Nova Scotia when it was established in 1971 by John Bragg, has of course since grown into a communications company serving small towns across Canada, and is celebrating 50 years in business this year.
“We are proud to come from humble beginnings,” said Deborah Shaffner, CEO of Eastlink, in a press release today. “We’ve grown from a hometown cable company that got its start in Amherst, Nova Scotia with just a handful of people to a team of over 1,300 people serving hundreds of small towns across seven provinces and Bermuda.”
“Over the course of its five decades there have been lots of firsts made possible by continuous investments in people and technology — the first cable company in Canada to introduce telephone and bring competition to the market, the first to innovate with bundle services and first to introduce a 100% LTE mobile network, when launching its mobile service in 2013,” reads the press release.
Eastlink executive vice-chair Lee Bragg (John’s son) expressed his thoughts on his family’s entrepreneurialism and the company’s guiding philosophy:
“We didn’t know what we couldn’t do but we said we’re just gonna try and figure it out,” he explained. “I don’t think we ever anticipated that it would grow the way it did. Back then, we had cable capacity of maybe six channels and we were having conversations about the possibility of upgrading capacity to 12 channels. Dad was asked why we would ever build a system for more than that, and that was a reasonable argument at the time. But we’ve always had a sky’s the limit philosophy and here we are.”
To hear more about Eastlink’s journey featuring founder John Bragg and his son Lee, please watch this Eastlink 50th Anniversary Video. As we noted last month, the Braggs are pondering more growth.
Eastlink’s History
- 50 years in business — established in 1971, began offering cable TV services in rural Nova Scotia.
- In the late 1990s, launched Internet and were the first cable company in Canada to launch local phone service, bringing competition and choice to consumers in NS.
- In 2000, became the first cable company in Canada to introduce a “triple-play” bundle combining TV, Internet and phone, making it the first in North America to bundle all services on one bill for one price.
- Growth strategy built on investing capital back into the business — enabled Eastlink to expand its serving area beyond NS to PEI, NB, NL, ON, AB and BC, powered by its national fibre network that stretches coast to coast and is interconnected into Bermuda, the US, Europe and Greenland.
- In 2013, launched mobile cellular service in NS, once again positioning its home province as a leader in bringing much-needed competition to the marketplace. Ongoing expansion, now serving NS, PEI, and parts of NB, NL, Northern Ontario and Grande Prairie, AB.
- Recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 15 consecutive years.
Eastlink’s Team
- Employs more than 1,300 people.
- Engages local contractors who provide support for installation services.
- Over 26 retail locations across Canada.
- National operations centre based in Halifax, monitors operations across Canada and Bermuda.
Eastlink’s Investments
- Has invested more than $880 million across its Canadian footprint over the last five years.
- Largest serving areas are located in Halifax, Sudbury and Grande Prairie, making investing in small towns and communities a fundamental part of who Eastlink is as a company.
- These investments have enabled Eastlink to provide access to its core, fibre-based services (including high-speed Internet with speeds up to 1 Gbps) to over 95% of its national footprint, representing thousands of rural Canadian communities from Happy Valley Goose Bay in NL to the Sunshine Coast in BC.
- Through its investments/approach to bringing regional mobile competition (on its own mobile network), Eastlink has introduced alternative pricing models, competitive rates and expanded advanced technologies to the markets it serves.
- Eastlink’s historical investments in rural Canadian communities have enabled the strong performance and stability of its network and critical services during the pandemic.
- Eastlink continues to invest in innovative solutions including 5G deployment, which the company has plans to begin in summer 2021, starting in its largest market of Halifax.
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