Access Communications Co-operative Limited is a Canadian telecom

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

based in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

. The cooperative provides

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

, smart home and

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

services to residential and business customers in 235

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

communities. Its primary wireline competitor is the provincial

crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

SaskTel Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, operating as SaskTel, is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provinci ...

; it is one of two cable providers in Saskatchewan, with Rogers Xfinity (formerly Shaw) primarily serving areas such as Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, and Swift Current.

History

Access Communications was established in 1974 as the Regina Cablevision Co-operative. After a prolonged legal and constitutional dispute between the federal and the provincial governments, which had differing visions of how cable television should be delivered in the province, the co-operative was granted a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licence for broadcast in 1976 and began providing cable television services as Cable Regina on February 14, 1978. More than 24,000 households in Regina signed up for cable services in its first years of operations. After nearly two decades focusing solely on cable television and local broadcasting, the co-operative launched dial-up internet service in September 1995 and cable modem

broadband In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide-bandwidth (signal processing), bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Inter ...

service followed in 1997. Cable Regina diversified and extended its reach into other areas of the province in the 1990s through the acquisition of other cable television providers in Regina Beach, White City, Weyburn, Estevan and Yorkton. On April 17, 2000, the co-operative's name changed to Access Communications. In the early 2000s, Access Communications merged with the Battlefords Community Cablevision. Primary line

services were launched in 2007. Looking to further expand its presence in smaller communities, Access Communications purchased

Persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...

's cable operations in Saskatchewan from Halifax-based Eastlink in 2009, becoming the largest cable television provider in the province. In 2015, Access Communications acquired Askivision and

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

-based Little Loon Wireless; the purchase of the latter allowed the co-operative to deliver fixed-wireless broadband high-speed internet to rural areas in Saskatchewan.

Services

Access Communications offers

cable modem A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and coaxial cable infrastructure. Cable modems are pri ...

and fixed-wireless broadband internet, cable television (digital and analog), telephone, home security and home automation.

Internet

Access uses a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) network infrastructure to deliver its internet services, branded as AccessHyperSpeed. In March 2019, it announced that it is one of the internet service providers participating in the federal government's Connecting Families Program.

Cable television

Access distributes

standard-definition Standard-definition television (SDTV; also standard definition or SD) is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high-definition television, high or enhanced definition. ''Standard'' refers to offering a ...

and high-definition cable television programming, including

digital cable Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previo ...

. It offers

digital video recorders A digital video recorder (DVR), also referred to as a personal video recorder (PVR) particularly in Canadian and British English, is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SS ...

such as

TiVo TiVo ( ) is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by Xperi (previously by TiVo Corporation and TiVo Inc.) and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose fea ...

video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...

services and has implemented switched digital video (SDV) technology in many markets.

Telephone

Access Communications' digital phone service was launched in February 2007 and utilizes IP technology instead of a traditional landline. Such a system operates on an ATA ( Analog Telephony Adapter) device with a built-in cable modem. The modem communicates over cable lines to a private IP network. In this sense, it can be considered

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...

, in that it is voice delivered over an IP network. However, because it travels over dedicated lines, it is still designed to be usable in a power outage scenario.

Home security

Access offers home security and home automation services. In 2016, an Alarm.com-based home automation monitored service was introduced. Subscribers can secure and monitor their property through web-based and mobile applications, as well as through

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

and

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

devices.

Broadcasting

AccessNow TV

Access operates community channels on its cable systems branded as AccessNow TV (formerly Access7), which have carried locally produced programs and events, including programs highlighting multicultural, Indigenous and LGBT communities in Saskatchewan. The channels adopted their current name in September 2020. Its sports coverage includes broadcasts of the Regina Pats and other

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

games. Its first agreement with the Western Hockey League was signed in 1993.

Radio

In April 2024, the members of Regina-based

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station CJTR-FM accepted an offer to be acquired by Access; the station will relocate its studios to the Access headquarters in Regina and build synergies with AccessNow TV, while retaining its existing programming, staff, and volunteers.

Structure

Access Communications operates as a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

co-operative and its brand focuses on its community-based ownership, reinvesting its revenues on service improvements, as well as promoting and supporting local events and community organizations. It has a charity, the Access Communications Children's Fund, as well as a scholarship program. In 2019, the co-operative supported close to 2,000 community groups and was recognized as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers, one of Saskatchewan Top 100 Companies and was named a Caring Company by Imagine Canada in 2017.

References

External links

* {{Canadian VOIP Telecommunications companies of Canada Cable and DBS companies of Canada Companies based in Regina, Saskatchewan Media cooperatives in Canada Communications in Saskatchewan Internet service providers of Canada 1974 establishments in Saskatchewan Telecommunications companies established in 1974