A utility pole, telegraph pole, telephone pole, power pole, or telegraph post is a post or pole upon which telephone network equipment is situated. Similar poles are often used for electricity cables (with pylons being used for only the higher voltage applications) and frequently a pole will share both power and communications lines. Telegraph poles first became commonplace in the middle 19th century. At first they had only one wire, then in urban areas many. In Canada, the poles are commonly referred to as hydro poles, as the electric companies commonly have "Hydro" in their name.