Montréal, October 2, 2020 – In keeping with its commitment to small-town communities and to making life easier for families and small- and medium-sized businesses in all parts of Québec, Videotron has completed a series of major investments that have brought high-speed Internet to more than 30,000 households outside the major urban centres.
Since they began in 2017, these investments have totalled more than $25 million and have connected thousands of families and businesses to Videotron’s network. Most of the new connections are outside the major centres, mainly in the Lanaudière, Lower Laurentians, Outaouais, Eastern Townships, Montérégie and Charlevoix regions.
“Videotron wants to support local communities by becoming a partner in the connected lives of all Quebecers,” says Jean-François Pruneau, President and CEO of Videotron. “As we have seen in the last few months, access to a fast and reliable Internet network is a necessity. We need it to stay connected with our loved ones and to support economic development in our regions. Videotron is determined to connect as many Québec households and businesses as possible.”
Videotron plans to continue making substantial investments to meet the growing need for Internet connectivity and access. Its network now reaches more than 90% of Quebecers. As a result of Videotron’s massive infrastructure investments of recent years, Québec now has one of the largest hybrid fibre-coax networks in North America.
On September 30, Videotron filed a request for an investigation with the Competition Bureau of Canada and a lawsuit for damages against Bell on account of the practices the telecommunications giant is using to slow or entirely block access to its telephone poles. Use of the poles is essential for any provider that wants to expand its network. Were it not for Bell’s anti-competitive practices, Videotron could have connected more households to the Internet.
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About Videotron
Videotron (www.videotron.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, entertainment, Internet access, cable telephone and mobile telephone services. Videotron is a leader in new technologies with its Helix home entertainment and management platform. As of June 30, 2020, Videotron was serving 1,497,300 cable television customers, and 472,200 subscribers to its Club illico video streaming service. Videotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 1,753,100 subscribers to its cable service as of June 30, 2020. As of the same date, Videotron had 1,404,900 subscriber connections to its mobile telephone service and was providing cable telephone service to 979,600 Québec households and organizations. Videotron has been recognized as one of Montréal’s top employers.
