Growing Canadian alternative telecoms operator Iristel has announced the acquisition of two smaller telecoms firms – Trutel in Toronto and Montreal-based Exelia. Iristel’s president Samer Bishay declared: ‘Iristel is committed to providing Canadians with the most advanced Internet-based solutions that deliver reliable and cost-effective voice and data services, and both Trutel’s suite of products and services and Exelia’s excellence in serving the small-to-medium business (SMB) market enhance our ability to do so. These two companies are strong strategic fits.’ Terms of the deals between the privately-held companies were not disclosed.
Trutel president Frank Auciello noted that: ‘Trutel opened its doors in January 2000 and we’ve evolved over the years from a professional services firm to a Managed Services Provider to a CRTC-licensed, facilities-based CLEC [competitive local exchange carrier].’ Exelia founder Dimitri Stathis added that Exelia was created ‘to address the growing challenges and frustrations that SMBs face when dealing with information and communication technologies’.
Founded in 1999, Markham-based Iristel markets itself as Canada’s only carrier with facilities in all 13 provinces and territories with a network stretching from the Atlantic to Pacific to Arctic oceans. It is also the majority owner of Ice Wireless, a facilities-based mobile network operator providing HSPA+ services to rural and remote areas in Canada’s North (with LTE coming in 2017).