CNCP Telecommunications participant Canadian National Railway
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 National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway in the era when telegraph operation was declining and maintaining two separate networks was no longer profitable. The new company also began several expansions into new markets, first with a Montreal to Vancouver microwave relay network carrying voice and data, and later, its replacement with fibre optic links.
Rogers Communications purchased a major stake in the company in 1984, and CN sold its remaining share in 1988. The network was taken over entirely by Rogers in 1990, and renamed it Unitel Communications in a bid to enter the commercial long distance market. This division changed hands several times from 2002 to 2012 when it was renamed Allstream.