Bruncor

Bruncor, based in Saint John, New Brunswick was a Canadian telecommunications holding company and the parent company of NBTel.

Bruncor merged in 1999 with 3 other telecommunication companies in Atlantic Canada to form Aliant (now Bell Aliant).

Acquisitions

Maritime Internet Services

Maritime Internet Services Inc., otherwise known as MIS, was an Internet service provider (ISP) that operated in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It was founded in October 1994 by four principals, which included Derek Billinglsey, Andrew Chase, Andrew Miller and Donald Trynor. In October 1996, it was acquired by Bruncor, the parent company of NBTel, which operated as the largest telecommunications company in New Brunswick at the time. During the period of its existence, MIS had grown to become the second largest ISP in New Brunswick, with service available in Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton and St. Stephen.

MIS operated several Internet domain names during its existence. These included MI.NET, MIS.NB.CA and MIS.CA. Initially, MIS obtained Internet connectivity from Hookup Communications of Oakville, ON via a 56 kbit/s frame relay connection. This was subsequently upgraded to a 128 kbit/s connection via Insinc then to a T1 connection into the local CA*Net connection in Fredericton, NB, peering with the Educational Computer Network (ECN) and NBTel.

Prior to its subsequent purchase by Bruncor, MIS enjoyed a veritable cult following among its customer base.