Eastlink is a Canadian cable television and telecommunications company. It was founded in Amherst, Nova Scotia in 1971, when it was issued one of the first cable licences granted by the CRTC. Through a series of acquisitions, which included the purchase of Amtelecom, Persona, Bluewater, Delta and Coast Cable, Eastlink became the fifth-largest cable television provider in Canada in 2010, with approximately 1,500 employees working in offices across the country. As of 2010, it was the largest privately owned cable company in Canada, with 457,075 subscribers[2] in nine provinces (excluding Saskatchewan). It is closely held by the Bragg family of Oxford, Nova Scotia.