YourLink

YourLink was a Canadian internet service provider focused on delivering connectivity to rural and remote communities. The brand operated in a market where conventional wireline broadband was often unavailable or uneconomic to deploy, making fixed wireless access and related rural-network technologies central to its service model. Public reference material identifies YourLink as a Saskatoon-based competitor of Xplore, then known as Xplornet Communications Inc., before its acquisition in January 2017. YourLink's importance lies primarily in its role as a regional broadband provider and acquisition target rather than as a continuing standalone national brand. Its customer base, network assets, local market presence, and operating capabilities supported Xplore's broader expansion in rural Canada. Xplore subsequently continued to build a national rural broadband platform using combinations of fixed wireless, satellite, fibre, LTE, WiMAX, and later 5G technologies. The acquisition formed part of a wider consolidation strategy that also included the purchase of Manitoba fixed-wireless provider Netset Communications later in 2017; unlike YourLink, Netset was retained as a separate operating brand. Available reference material does not establish YourLink's exact founding year, founder, ownership history before the acquisition, precise service footprint, product names, subscriber count, or the date on which the YourLink name ceased to be used. Accordingly, those details are not specified here. The brand is best understood as a historical Canadian regional ISP associated with Saskatoon and subsequently incorporated into Xplore's rural-connectivity business.

YourLink was a Canadian regional internet service provider associated with Saskatoon and focused on serving rural and remote customers. Its business addressed a persistent infrastructure gap in Canada: many smaller communities and sparsely populated areas lacked access to the same cable, fibre, or DSL networks available in larger urban centres. Providers such as YourLink used alternative network models, particularly fixed wireless access, to connect homes and businesses across wider geographic areas. The available reference material does not provide a verified founding year, founder, original corporate structure, or detailed chronology of YourLink's development before its acquisition. It does, however, identify the company as a Saskatoon-based competitor to Xplornet Communications Inc., the business that later became Xplore Inc. This places YourLink within the group of regional and specialized broadband operators that helped extend internet access beyond Canada's major metropolitan markets. In January 2017, Xplornet acquired YourLink. The transaction was a significant step in the consolidation of Canada's rural internet sector. Xplornet had already built a business around serving remote markets through a mixture of fixed wireless and satellite connectivity, and the acquisition gave it an opportunity to expand its regional footprint, customer relationships, infrastructure, and operational capabilities. The public material does not disclose the transaction value, detailed terms, or whether the YourLink brand continued independently after the acquisition. Unlike Netset Communications, another rural provider acquired by Xplornet later in 2017, YourLink is not identified in the reference material as having been retained as a distinct operating division. After the acquisition, Xplornet continued expanding its national rural broadband platform. Its broader network strategy combined satellite capacity, fixed wireless systems, LTE and WiMAX networks, and fibre deployment. In 2021, the company reported serving approximately 400,000 subscribers, making it Canada's largest rural-focused broadband provider by subscriber count according to the cited reference. Later initiatives included rural 5G deployment, fibre-to-the-premises projects, and next-generation satellite services. These developments provide context for the strategic environment in which YourLink was acquired, but they should not be attributed to YourLink as a standalone brand. In September 2022, Xplornet Communications Inc. changed its corporate name to Xplore Inc. The YourLink name is therefore primarily associated with the historical regional ISP that Xplore acquired in 2017. Because the available sources do not establish the brand's subsequent legal or commercial status, its present status is recorded as unknown rather than definitively active or defunct.

• 2022

  Parent company adopts the Xplore name

  [1]Xplore Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Xplornet Communications Inc. rebranded as Xplore Inc. The change marked the current corporate identity of the company that had acquired YourLink.

• 2017

  Acquisition by Xplornet

  [1]Xplore Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Xplornet Communications Inc. acquired the Saskatoon-based rural internet competitor YourLink, expanding its presence in Canada's regional broadband market.

A regional, rural-focused internet provider serving communities where traditional broadband infrastructure was limited, later integrated into Xplore's larger Canadian rural broadband platform.

• Internet access

  Rural fixed wireless internet

  YourLink's core business was regional internet access for rural and remote customers. Fixed wireless networks allowed the provider to serve locations that were difficult or costly to reach with conventional wired broadband infrastructure. The available sources do not identify a specific product name, advertised speed tier, technology mix, or pricing structure for YourLink.

• 2017

  Xplornet acquires YourLinkM&A

  Background

  YourLink was a Saskatoon-based competitor operating in the rural Canadian internet market, while Xplornet was expanding its own rural broadband platform.

  Action taken

  Xplornet Communications Inc. acquired YourLink in January 2017.

  Aftermath

  YourLink became part of Xplornet's broader rural-connectivity business. Public reference material does not specify the purchase price, transaction structure, or the extent to which the YourLink brand continued after the acquisition.

  Source

1. 1Xplore Inc.en.wikipedia.org