Access Communications
Access Communications is a Canadian telecommunications service provider operating in over 235 communities in Saskatchewan. Headquartered in Regina, the co-operative provides internet, cable television, telephone and security services to residential and business customers. Its primary competitor is Saskatchewan's government-owned SaskTel. 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 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