please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may contain improper references to self published sources . please help improve it by removing references to unreliable sources where they are used inappropriately . january 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message viking cable redirects here . for a planned power cable between the united kingdom and denmark see viking link . eastlink inc. type private industry telecommunications founded 1970 as bragg communications inc. 1998 as eastlink headquarters halifax nova scotia canada key people lee bragg products digital television cable high speed internet telephone cellular revenue 310.6 million cable ; 273 million internet ; 6.3 million advertising all 2010 1 net income 53.8 million number of employees 1 500 website eastlink eastlink is a canadian cable television and telecommunications company . it was founded in amherst nova scotia in 1971 when it was issued one of the first cable licences granted by the crtc . through a series of acquisitions which included the purchase of amtelecom persona bluewater delta and coast cable eastlink became the fifth largest cable television provider in canada in 2010 with approximately 1 500 employees working in offices across the country . as of 2010 it was the largest privately owned cable company in canada with 457 075 subscribers 2 in nine provinces excluding saskatchewan . it remains privately held by the bragg family of oxford nova scotia . contents 1 reputation 2 service offerings 2.1 cable internet and tv 2.2 wireless 2.3 clec services 2.4 fixed wireless internet in rural nova scotia 2.4.1 ... versus other alternatives 2.4.2 ... versus extensions of wired network 2.4.3 service and installation concerns 3 coverage 4 references 5 external links reputation edit named business of the year by the halifax chamber of commerce in 2008 named one of canada s 50 best managed companies for 2006 and requalified member for 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 and awarded platinum membership in 2012 . given the excellence in human resources award by the human resources associations of atlantic canada in 2006 . 2 service offerings edit cable internet and tv edit eastlink delivers digital video television and cable network based internet services with speeds up to 400 megabits per second one of the faster networks of this kind in north america . it was one of the first companies in north america to bundle digital cable and broadband internet services with home phone service . eastlink s lower end offerings 20 50 100 megabit are unlimited access . its faster 200 and 400 megabit services have usage based billing except if you get a bundle . 3 eastlink also produces community channels branded as eastlink tv to serve the company s cable customers . eastlink offers video on demand digital video recorders and high definition television hdtv services in many communities across canada . 4 wireless edit eastlink spent 25 million during the 2008 advanced wireless services aws auction for 19 licenses in ontario and atlantic canada as well as grande prairie alberta . the company announced in 2011 that it would introduce wireless services beginning with announced for nova scotia and prince edward island . in february 2013 eastlink launched its wireless service with hspa and lte services being available at the launch date . as eastlink deployed many wireless repeater towers for its motorola canopy service launched as part of the broadband for rural nova scotia initiative upgrading these to serve as a cell and wi fi mesh network was an obvious potential that would attract third parties with no tower access such as wind to partner with eastlink . in may 2016 eastlink announced that it would launch wireless service in the cities of timmins and sudbury in northern ontario . eastlink activated its lte network including voice over lte in timmins on june 1 2016 5 with the lte network in sudbury activated on june 9 2016 . 6 clec services edit eastlink was the first 7 major canadian cable company to offer competitive local telephone service in its territory in 1999 over a fibre optic network . 8 in 2005 the area code 902 telephone market was the most competitive telephone exchange in north america according to whom and this was credited to eastlink s presence in the market . eastlink was also the first provider to deliver local telephone competition to its service area in new brunswick in 2005 . 9 fixed wireless internet in rural nova scotia edit in 2010 eastlink launched another service in cooperation with other providers and the government of nova scotia s broadband for rural nova scotia initiative a motorola canopy based rural internet service capable of 0.5 megabit uploads 1.5 megabit downloads which was intended to reach 100 % of civic addresses in nova scotia . this level of coverage is unique in north america and is a particular challenge in a province prone to extreme weather fog and winds . eastlink claimed at public forums in early 2010 that the service would operate at under 100ms latency and accordingly be useful for voip from arbitrary third parties such as skype but this has not been verified . however latency to the towers themselves was reliably under 2ms at that time . ... versus other alternatives edit critics of the canopy service notably bell argued that it is expensive due to shorter range repeater towers . the strategy was poorly coordinated with cable networks there being for instance no subsidy to extend the cable network where it would be easy to do so or even where it would facilitate the wireless services . most open systems minded users considered canopy an impractical direction compared to expansion of wi fi hotspot services . its primary competitor aliant by contrast has invested in wi fi gsm and dsl services but they remained as of 2011 expensive or unavailable in rural nova scotia . original eastlink logo 1998 2012 some jurisdictions that report unsatisfactory results with all of these technologies including canopy such as door county wisconsin s washington island have reported positive results with powerline networking . however as power lines do not reach 100 % of civic addresses they do not address quite the same issues . the deployment of powerline based meters by emera subsidiary bangor hydro which also owns nova scotia power inc. on the board of which eastlink ceo lee bragg serves suggests that this technology may ultimately become part of the eastlink mix in some rural areas . citation needed as of early 2011 rogers aliant and telus mobile internet offerings are extraordinarily expensive for heavy users and tethering of personal computers is not necessarily included under these plans ; the price per gigabyte of the eastlink service is clearly superior to any of these offerings.however the maximum speed is much less 1.5 mbit s download versus up to 21mbit s and more so when these cellular providers upgrade to dual carrier 42mbit s hspa . 10 for those more concerned with speed and less with price cellular options will be a superior rural networking choice ; for those concerned with price eastlink s fixed wireless service the expansion of wi fi hotspots and the use of 802.11 u and 802.21 will continue to form a more reliable mesh especially in attracting tourists or in densely populated areas . citation needed ... versus extensions of wired network edit in terms of speed where it could reach groups of customers inaccessible by canopy eastlink s wired network would be substantially faster operating at up to 100mbit s download compared to 1.5 mbit s download . fixed wireless internet is however is many times faster than dial up 1.5 mbit s and does unlike satellite satisfy most expectations of broadband internet access . broadband is economically or subjectively defined and is perceived very differently by persons with different latency expectations and service usage patterns therefore perceptions of its quality are also subjective ; persons accustomed to dialup service may be thrilled with canopy performance whereas those used to wired cable find it slow or flaky . canopy service deployment encountered numerous challenges in practice including installation of unforeseen wireless relay towers installed on an ad hoc basis that increase latency reduce service reliability and load other towers the inherent problems of a mesh network . service and installation concerns edit eastlink was not as of november 2011 effectively held to its contractual obligation to provide 100 % of civic addresses with service nor its latency promises even where most such customers could be easily accommodated by extending its wired network to these existing wireless relay towers . in particular users on islands with water access were denied service as of summer 2011 . more seriously installers as of november 2011 had no way to test latency before asking for customer signoff and final installation meaning that any user whose latency needs could not be met would not know that until after they had agreed the service was adequate based only on raw signal strength . as of the fourth quarter 2011 the project had still not yet reached its promise of 100 % of civic addresses . eastlink has not commented on the consistency of speeds or latency on this network nor released any public quality of service qos statistics or actual usage information about the services its users actually use . it was widely anticipated that eastlink would offer access to its new cell network in 2012 on favourable terms to cut off rural users . coverage edit coast cable logo delta cable logo provinces which currently have some eastlink service are nova scotia prince edward island new brunswick limited to sackville area newfoundland and labrador quebec ontario manitoba alberta and british columbia . it also serves the town of point roberts washington in the united states . service in saskatchewan was available in the past but is currently not available to new customers . although the company has mostly unified its acquisitions under the eastlink brand in parts of british columbia eastlink operates as coast cable sunshine coast or delta cable in delta british columbia also serving the american community of point roberts washington . as of february 2011 eastlink has acquired service territory on the island of bermuda . cellular service is currently available to residents of nova scotia prince edward island south east new brunswick saint john nb and st johns nl references edit we do not believe that as a privately held company we are required to share this information bragg spokeswoman jill laing said in an interview friday . she said the posting of some of the company s financial details on the website is the first time the public has seen them . source bill power bragg communications earned 590m in year chronicle herald halifax january 8 2011 . as of the end of the 2010 financial year . this was down from 462 000 the previous year . source bill power bragg communications earned 590m in year chronicle herald halifax january 8 2011 . 1 eastlink hardy ian . eastlink to launch wireless service in northern ontario on june 1 . mobile syrup . retrieved 10 june 2016 . hardy ian . eastlink goes live with wireless service in sudbury ontario . mobile syrup . retrieved 10 june 2016 . halifax chamber of commerce jan feb 2005 eastlink press release eastlink press release it world canada external links edit official website v t e canadian internet service providers incumbent access communications bell internet bell aliant cogeco mts rogers hi speed internet sasktel shaw communications