Company History

Execulink Telecom’s first telephone line was constructed in 1904 in Burgessville when Dr. Service connected his doctor’s office to the general store two miles away. Through the efforts of a small group of local residents, the Burgessville Telephone Company was created. These citizens worked together donating lumber for poles, digging post-holes, and stringing wire. Once the original circuit was created, any farmers interested in adding their own telephone to the line needed to build a personal spur line and connect it to the main circuit. The first switchboard was installed in the Burgess home in Burgessville in 1905.

In 1923 the Township Council agreed to the establishment of a municipally owned telephone company, and the Burgessville Telephone Company became the North Norwich Municipal Telephone System.

Meanwhile in Thedford, a local telephone company was established in 1908 servicing an area that included Thedford, Arkona, Bosanquet, Warwich, McGillivary, West Williams and Adelaid Townships. This company was called the Thedford, Arkona, and East Lambton Telephone Company.

The two companies continued their individual development along separate lines for the majority of the century. A mutual support partnership developed in 1979 after a tornado devastated the North Norwich Telephone network that August. This support developed into a solid relationship that eventually resulted in the two companies becoming one. On March 20, 1984, shareholders of the North Norwich Municipal Telephone System voted in favour of selling the company to Hurontario Telephones Limited. The company’s continued as two separately functioning entities until 1993, when they fully merged to become Hurontario Telecommunications Inc, though still maintaining their individual names under the parent company. In the same year, Regional Cable Systems went up for sale. It was purchased by Hurontario Telecommunications Inc, and its name was changed to Ausable Cablecom Inc.

The company purchased their first computer in 1986, marking the shift into a modern era. In 1995 the company began offering Internet access using the domain name, oxford.net. In 1998 the company purchased Execulink Internet Services Incorporated, a company that had been operating out of Woodstock and London. With this purchase, Execulink Telecom’s Internet customer base went from 3000 to 11000.

In 1999, the company realized they were facing a serious identity crisis. Each division of the organization was still functioning under their original names. It was confusing for both employees and customers, and impossible to do any all encompassing marketing. As a result, the name Execulink was adopted among all the divisions of the organization. From there, a vital consideration for the company was growth. Between 2000 and 2005, the firm purchased a number of other Internet Service Providers, including MGL, Odyssey, Golden Triangle, and multiple smaller companies.  

Today, our focus on company growth continues, now directed towards the continued development of our products and the improvement of our systems. Built on a foundation of innovative planning and intellectual pride, and bordered by idyllic countryside, we have not forgotten our community foundation. In that too, our focus is growth: growth of our customers, our community, and not least, our people.

From its modest inception in 1904, Execulink Telecom has become a major player in Southwestern Ontario’s telecommunication industry, offering services that include the original local telephone service, as well as cable television, long distance, VoIP, and Internet. Our community foundation has reached directly into the heart of our organization, where our mission is to deliver the best customer service possible, no matter how much larger we become.