<s>
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
,	O
or	O
Datapac	B-Protocol
in	O
some	O
documents	O
,	O
was	O
Canada	O
's	O
packet	B-Protocol
switched	I-Protocol
X.25-equivalent	O
data	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
work	O
on	O
a	O
data-only	O
network	B-Architecture
started	O
in	O
1972	O
and	O
was	O
announced	O
by	O
Bell	O
Canada	O
in	O
1974	O
as	O
Dataroute	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
was	O
implemented	O
by	O
adding	O
packet	B-Protocol
switching	I-Protocol
to	O
the	O
existing	O
Dataroute	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
opened	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
1976	O
as	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
first	O
public	O
data	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
based	O
on	O
X.25	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
most	O
X.25	B-Protocol
networks	O
in	O
the	O
western	O
world	O
,	O
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
services	O
were	O
largely	O
replaced	O
by	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
and	O
2000s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bell	O
Canada	O
had	O
long	O
offered	O
leased	B-Architecture
lines	I-Architecture
to	O
large	O
business	O
customers	O
like	O
banks	O
and	O
insurance	O
companies	O
who	O
needed	O
to	O
move	O
data	O
between	O
their	O
offices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
offered	O
only	O
the	O
physical	O
link	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
customers	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
equipment	O
needed	O
to	O
link	O
their	O
systems	O
together	O
,	O
typically	O
provided	O
by	O
their	O
primary	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
Dataroute	O
,	O
carried	O
on	O
the	O
coast-to-coast	O
Trans	O
Canada	O
Microwave	O
network	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
to	O
earlier	O
leased	B-Architecture
lines	I-Architecture
,	O
Dataroute	O
allowed	O
multiple	O
customers	O
to	O
share	O
a	O
single	O
channel	O
,	O
folded	O
together	O
using	O
time	B-Protocol
division	I-Protocol
multiplexing	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
then	O
sent	O
across	O
the	O
country	O
on	O
the	O
existing	O
high-speed	O
microwave	O
links	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
this	O
period	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
experimental	O
packet	B-Protocol
switching	I-Protocol
networks	O
were	O
being	O
installed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
offered	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
greatly	O
increase	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
customers	O
able	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
time	B-Protocol
division	I-Protocol
multiplexing	I-Protocol
,	O
each	O
customer	O
is	O
given	O
a	O
fixed	O
time	O
slot	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
used	O
up	O
even	O
if	O
they	O
do	O
not	O
transmit	O
anything	O
during	O
that	O
period	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
,	O
packet	B-Protocol
switching	I-Protocol
gathers	O
data	O
from	O
many	O
interfaces	O
and	O
then	O
sends	O
them	O
as	O
continually	O
as	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bell	O
was	O
among	O
many	O
telecommunications	O
companies	O
examining	O
packet	B-Protocol
switching	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
desire	O
to	O
allow	O
data	O
on	O
any	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
PTTs	O
networks	O
to	O
seamlessly	O
transit	O
to	O
another	O
,	O
allowing	O
computers	O
to	O
be	O
connected	O
across	O
national	O
boundaries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1975	O
,	O
these	O
efforts	O
were	O
formalized	O
under	O
the	O
international	O
X.25	B-Protocol
project	O
,	O
which	O
released	O
their	O
standards	O
in	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
books	O
starting	O
in	O
1976	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
Orange	O
Book	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bell	O
's	O
network	B-Architecture
was	O
already	O
well	O
developed	O
by	O
this	O
point	O
and	O
changes	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
conform	O
to	O
the	O
initial	O
standard	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
SNAP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
already	O
set	O
up	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
underlying	O
systems	O
needed	O
to	O
support	O
X.25	B-Protocol
,	O
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
was	O
able	O
to	O
open	O
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
publication	O
of	O
the	O
SNAP	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
network	B-Architecture
had	O
SL-10	O
nodes	O
in	O
Calgary	O
,	O
Toronto	O
,	O
Ottawa	O
and	O
Montreal	O
,	O
linked	O
together	O
using	O
Dataroute	O
's	O
existing	O
56k	O
microwave	O
links	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
network	B-Architecture
operations	O
center	O
was	O
set	O
up	O
in	O
Ottawa	O
,	O
linked	O
into	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
on	O
9600	O
bps	O
links	O
directly	O
to	O
the	O
Ottawa	O
and	O
Toronto	O
nodes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1980	O
,	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
was	O
available	O
in	O
fourteen	O
major	O
cities	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
the	O
mid-80s	O
,	O
local	O
dialup	O
numbers	O
were	O
available	O
in	O
most	O
cities	O
and	O
larger	O
towns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
its	O
initial	O
installations	O
,	O
customer	O
sites	O
would	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
using	O
a	O
SNAP	O
interface	O
,	O
or	O
through	O
the	O
simplified	O
"	O
Interactive	O
Terminal	O
Interface	O
"	O
which	O
emulated	O
a	O
modem	B-Application
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
uses	O
of	O
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
network	B-Architecture
was	O
to	O
transmit	O
debit	O
card	O
transactions	O
between	O
retailers	O
and	O
the	O
financial	O
institutions	O
(	O
banks	O
)	O
through	O
the	O
Interac	O
Direct	O
Payment	O
EFTPOS	O
network	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
automatic	O
teller	O
machines	O
also	O
used	O
the	O
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
network	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
3101Teletype	O
(	O
ASCII	O
)	O
connections	O
,	O
both	O
dial	O
and	O
leased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
3201Connections	O
were	O
made	O
by	O
using	O
leased	B-Architecture
line	I-Architecture
connections	O
in	O
a	O
speciality	O
financial	O
industry	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
lower-cost	O
WAN	O
technologies	O
like	O
IP/MPLS	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
importance	O
of	O
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
diminished	O
in	O
the	O
marketplace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bell	O
phased	O
out	O
support	O
for	O
DATAPAC	B-Protocol
,	O
discontinuing	O
the	O
service	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
