Canadian telco Distributel Communications has acquired fellow independent operator Primus Telecommunications (Canada), which it announced will create a stronger brand offering residential, business and wholesale telecommunications services nationwide. Primus, founded in 1997, had been owned by US-based Birch Communications since 2016, whilst Distributel has been 100% Canadian-owned since its establishment in 1988. Financial details were not disclosed.

Distributel CEO Matt Stein called the merger 'a great fit', enabling greater network reach with an expanded portfolio of complementary products and services available from coast to coast, highlighting Primus' offerings including 'a substantial cable footprint', an advanced cloud-based business phone platform, an extensive portfolio of access services and 'Telemarketing Guard' call-screening technology.

Primus provides a full range of national telecommunications solutions including fixed phone/VoIP, long-distance calling, fixed broadband, MVNO-based wireless services, enterprise IP voice solutions, hosted phone PBX systems, dedicated data access and IP connectivity solutions.

Distributel offers triple-play residential telecoms services alongside B2B and wholesale divisions, with offices across the country and a national network including 1,000 competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) coverage areas. ThinkTel, the business services division of Distributel, provides advanced voice and data services for the SMB/Enterprise markets including IP trunking and integrated unified communications (UC), and the company offers an IP-based TV service through its subsidiary TotalTV.

Thank you to TeleGeography for this industry update.