Access Communications

Access Communications

Type	Co-operative
Founded	1974
Headquarters	Regina, Saskatchewan
Key people	Jim Deane (President & CEO)
Industry	telecommunications
Products	cable television, high speed internet, telephone
Website	Access Communications

Access Communications Co-operative Ltd. is a Canadian cable television provider, operating mainly in Regina, Saskatchewan and other communities in [Saskatchewan]. It was previously known as Regina Cablevision Co-operative Ltd. but did business as Cable Regina since commencement of service in Regina in 1978 until April 2000 after acquisitions of cable television operations in Weyburn, Estevan and Yorkton and surrounding communities. Dial up Internet service was first offered in September 1995. Cable modem broadband service followed in 1997. On February 7th 2007, Access Communications launched its primary line telephone service in Regina in direct competition with Saskatchewan's government owned ILEC, SaskTel. On July 1st, 2009, Access became Saskatchewan's largest cable provider with the purchase of Persona Cable's operations in Saskatchewan.

The co-operative's establishment in the 1970s came about only after a prolonged legal and constitutional battle between the federal government and the province of Saskatchewan's social democratic government, which had differing visions of how cable TV service should be delivered to citizens of the province.

Services

Access offers the following services:

• Internet access, including dial up and high speed via cable modem
• Analog, digital, high definition television, PVR and PPV
• Telephone
• Paging
• Web hosting, both for subscribers and commercial entities

Internet Access

One of Access Communication's core services is providing Internet access. Here is a summary of available service options in most areas it services. Options are listed in descending order of service download speed.

Access is one of the few ISPs that officially list support for the Linux operating system, as well as provide resources to Linux users.^[1]

Telephone

Access' digital phone service is interesting in that it is provided by an ATA (Analog Telephony Adapter) with a built in cable modem that communicates over cable lines to a private IP (Internet Protocol) network. In this sense it can strictly be considered VoIP, in that it is voice delivered over an IP network. However, because it travels over dedicated lines and is still designed to be usable in a power outage scenario, Access Communications has attempted to distance it from the VoIP moniker. Instead, they have branded it as a "Digital Phone" service, and their marketing and customer service communications strictly avoid using the term VoIP.

External links

• Official site

References

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