NORTH BAY – Ontera, the telecommunications division of Ontario Northland, is being put up for sale as the provincial government begins its planned divestment of the provincially owned Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).
Ontera’s role as a telecommunications provider began with the building of telegraph lines, linking communities that grew up along Ontario Northland’s railway lines as far back as 1902. It now offers Internet, long distance, local voice, data and information technology services to a geographical coverage area of over 200,000 sq. kms, with approximately 550,000 people, including North Bay, Sudbury, and Sault Ste. Marie (see below). Cartt.ca profiled the company in 2009.
Infrastructure Ontario will be inviting interested buyers to submit their qualifications to purchase Ontera. Click here for more details on the ONTC divestment process. The government has already said it has fielded 13 official expressions of interest in purchasing the network, which should fetch a decent sum for the province for the massive fibre loop which is not the easiest network to run and maintain, as our prior profile will have shown.
The division brought in revenue of $32 million in 2011, the last results published, but still posted a loss of $2.7 million, which was better than 2010's $3.17 million loss.
