EastLink

World-class services, innovation, and creativity have landed EastLink on Canada's list of top 50 best managed companies. As the first cable company in the country to offer local telephone service, the Nova Scotian company has earned the honour with hard work and ingenuity. "Our employees are vital to our success and distinguish us from our competitors," says Dan McKeen, co-CEO of EastLink.

"We believe in hiring people who can embrace our customer service culture, adapt to changes in technology and thrive in an industry that is constantly changing." From humble beginnings 35 years ago as a cable television company, EastLink has grown into a high-quality digital cable, high-speed Internet and telephone service provider. Privately owned and operated, the home-grown company has emerged as a worthy challenger in a world once dominated by telephone monopolies. With its head office in Halifax, and 15 offices across the province, the company now employs more than 750 staff and another 500 contract employees. McKeen can name a number of EastLink firsts - the first cable company in Canada to launch local telephone service, the first cable company to partner with a wireless provider and the first company in Canada to launch 10 megabit high speed Internet. A point of pride, and business innovation, EastLink is the first company in North America to launch a combined communications and entertainment bundle including Internet, cable and high-speed on one bill for one price. It also manages creatively.

McKeen is one of two CEOs at EastLink. He and Lee Bragg run the company. Although the co-CEO model is uncommon in North America, it is popular in Europe. For EastLink, this structure allows for collaborative decision-making while providing each with autonomy to make decisions based on their corporate philosophy. In practice, the co-CEOs compliment each other well, says Bragg. Bragg adds the biggest challenge for the former cable company was convincing customers that they could do more than cable. Despite being in the entertainment business for more than 25 years, customers originally had doubts.

Starting in the region's hub, Halifax, the company launched their services in more and more communities as they completed upgrades to their network. Today, they point to their success in the Internet and telephone market, on both the residential and business side, to illustrate that they have overcome that challenge. Creativity with bundled packages, combining all three services, has allowed the company to offer a "bundle" that really appeals to customers. Its digital network is also appealing. When a Colorado-based call centre company, Teletech, decided to broaden its horizons, it chose Nova Scotia as its Canadian home and EastLink as its provider. EastLink has also got into webcasting in a big way. In a partnership with the Atlantic University Sport Association it broadcasts varsity sports over the Internet. It allows parents, family members as well as loyal alumni to keep in touch with their universities and follow their favourite teams on the web.

Webcasting is a natural extension of EastLink Television's commitment to community programming. The company's director of television Michael Smith says research shows, by a wide margin, that local sports coverage is in demand. Whether it is hockey games for the Halifax Mooseheads or the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, both breeding grounds for future NHL stars, or a game at a local soccer field, EastLink provides the chances for local athletes to be recognized locally. He also points to EastLink's Podium TV service which offers televised lectures from visiting dignitaries or local professors. Smith adds that if a program is popular, it can be replayed any time. Smith adds the size of Eastlink's broadband pipeline, compared to other delivery methods, allows a lot more room to grow and expand. "Who knows what will be down the road,"' he says. "With the bandwidth cable has available, it opens up a whole new world." The company teamed up with Mount Allison University, in Sackville, New Brunswick.

Consistently ranked among Canada's best universities, Mount Allison chose EastLink to provide complete telephone and data services on the company's state-of-the-art network. They have partnered with CANARIE Inc. (Canada's Advanced Internet Development Organization) and Dalhousie University to connect Prince Edward Island researchers to CA*net3, the world's first national optical Internet. It allows universities and research centres to transfer data faster and efficiently. In the end, EastLink is a believer in human capital to support its efforts. Bragg says the company works diligently to recruit the best candidate for a position. "We also spend the extra time to make sure the person fits with the culture of the company,'' he says. Obviously, the formual seems to be working for this Nova Scotian company.

http://www.eastlink.ca/

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