Allstream is a business communications provider based in

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

that provides IP connectivity, managed IP services,

unified communications Unified communications (UC) is a business and marketing concept describing the integration of enterprise communication services such as instant messaging (chat), presence information, voice (including IP telephony), mobility features (including e ...

and voice services to its customers in the United States and Canada. The company traces its history to

CNCP Telecommunications CNCP Telecommunications (Canadian National-Canadian Pacific Telecommunications) was an electrical telegraph operator and later a telecom company, which operated between 1967 and 1990. CNCP was created as a joint venture between the Canadian Nat ...

, a joint company operated by

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

(CN) and

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

(CP) from the 1960s. In the 1980s they changed the name to

Unitel Communications Allstream is a business communications provider based in Mississauga, Ontario that provides IP connectivity, managed IP services, unified communications and voice services to its customers in the United States and Canada. The company traces its ...

in a bid to offer commercial long distance service. The service changed hands several times, for a time becoming AT&T Canada. Allstream emerged in its current form in 2012 when its latest owners

Manitoba Telecom Services Bell MTS Inc. (formerly Manitoba Telecom Services) is a subsidiary of BCE Inc. that operates telecommunications services in Manitoba. Originally established as Manitoba Government Telephones after the Government of Manitoba purchased the Manito ...

(MTS) split off the commercial side of their offerings. Allstream is currently owned by Zayo, a US-based

fibre optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...

network operator.

History

When the

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

and

telex The telex network is a station-to-station switched network of teleprinters similar to a Public switched telephone network, telephone network, using telegraph-grade connecting circuits for two-way text-based messages. Telex was a major method of ...

businesses went into decline,

CN Telegraphs The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

and

CP Telegraphs The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

, aligned with their respective railways, formed a joint venture in 1967,

, to operate the telegraph and telex business more profitably. CNCP applied in 1983 to operate a long-distance network in competition with the incumbent local telephone companies' long-distance services. The application was rejected by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

CNCP later changed its name to Unitel Communications Inc., and in 1990 it made a second bid to compete in the long-distance markets of Bell Canada,

BC Tel British Columbia Telephone Company and later BC Tel was the legal operating name for the telephone company operating throughout the province of British Columbia, Canada. For most of its history, BC Tel served as one of several regional monopolies ...

and the four Atlantic telephone companies under that name. At the time, only these four companies and

Northwestel Northwestel Inc. (stylized as NorthwesTel) is a Canadian telecommunications company that is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and long-distance carrier in the territories of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Originally est ...

, another telecommunications company, were under federal regulation. The bid was successful, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) opened the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

telephone market to long-distance competition. At the time of the decision, Alberta's AGT (later known as

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voi ...

) also had come under federal regulation, and all other Canadian carriers followed before the end of the 1990s. Each was opened to competition at different time. Unitel, unable to compete successfully in the environment it had created, was then sold to

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...

, where the company attempted to enter the competition for long-distance communication. Later, the company was sold to a consortium of Canadian banks, with

AT&T Communications AT&T Communications is a division of AT&T that focuses on mobile phone, broadband, fixed line telephone, home security, network security, and business services. The division houses AT&T Mobility, AT&T Internet, AT&T Phone, AT&T Labs, AT&T Di ...

owning 33% share, but more than any one of the banks, giving them operational control. For a time during the 1990s, there were Canadian TV spots for Unitel starring

Steven Weber Steven Robert Weber (born March 4, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Brian Hackett on the television series ''Wings'' which aired from April 1990 to May 1997 on NBC, as Sam Blue in '' Once and Again'', and ...

of ''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

''. The telegram division was sold off to

iTelegram International Telegram or iTelegram provides telegram, mailgram and telex service. In the United States, iTelegram still operates the telex service which, until 2006, was marketed under the Western Union brand. It acquired the Western Union teleg ...

in 2002 and renamed Telegrams Canada.

AT&T Canada

Unitel underwent

turnaround management Turnaround management is a process dedicated to corporate renewal. It uses analysis and planning to save troubled companies and return them to solvency, and to identify the reasons for failing performance in the market, and rectify them. Turnaround ...

by CEO Bill Catucci, allowing it to be renamed AT&T Canada Long Distance Services. AT&T Canada was a Canadian long-distance telephone service provider, the Canadian subsidiary of

. In 1999, the company also merged with Metronet Communications of Calgary, Alberta. In 2003, the company was renamed Allstream as a result of AT&T's declining participation in the company. AT&T sold its remaining interests in the Canadian company in 2004.

MTS Allstream & Accelero Capital

The company was subsequently acquired by MTS in 2004, and was renamed MTS Allstream Inc. until 2012, when it was divided into two separate companies, MTS Inc. and Allstream Inc. Allstream was to be sold to Accelero Capital in May 2013, with the deal expected to close by the end of the year. However, on October 7, 2013, the Canadian Government blocked the sale over "concerns of national security", noting that "MTS Allstream operates a national fibre optic network that provides critical telecommunications services to businesses and governments, including the Government of Canada."

Acquisition by Zayo

Allstream was sold to US fibre optic provider

Zayo Group Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., or Zayo Group, is a privately held company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. with European headquarters in London, England. The company provides communications infrastructure services, including fiber and band ...

on January 15, 2016. In 2017, Zayo acquired Electric Lightwave/Integra Telecom, and integrated the voice and small business assets of Allstream and Electric Lightwave/Integra Telecom under the Allstream brand and established Allstream as a separate operating subsidiary. Following Zayo Group’s privatization in 2020, led by EQT and Digital Colony, a new board of directors was established for Allstream.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allstream Telecommunications companies of Canada Companies based in Mississauga Private equity portfolio companies Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies