TORONTO, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 – Vidéotron wants to offer its customers the latest generation of wireless communications services, reversing Canada's trend of offering limited options that restrict Canada's prosperity, Robert Dépatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vidéotron told the Canadian Telecom Summit today.
Mr. Dépatie revealed the results of research that shows 62% of Canadians believe wireless service is too expensive, including 38% who find it very expensive.
Canadians Want Better Pricing, Competition
The research by Praxicus Public Strategies Inc. showed that high costs are a significant factor in Canada's low wireless service penetration rate, comparable to levels in developing economies. Commissioned by Vidéotron, the Praxicus survey of 1,000 Canadians conducted last weekend also established that more than 70% of Canadians want the government to encourage greater choice and competition by reserving a portion of additional frequencies for new entrants into the wireless industry.
"Canada lags the industrial world in wireless penetration," said Mr. Dépatie. "Canadian prices are higher than elsewhere due to the lack of intense competition. While investors may be pleased, consumers are being exploited and the country's productivity suffers."
High Prices Restrict Prosperity
Mr. Dépatie cited research that shows the penetration of wireless services is directly related to national economic prosperity, suggesting that Canada is suffering multi-billion-dollar annual losses in GDP because of its limited wireless offerings. "A study produced for Vodafone by Fuss, Waverman et.al. entitled "The impact of Telecoms on Economic Growth in Developing Countries" (2005) suggests that a gap of 38% in wireless penetration can equate to 1% of GDP growth – in Canada's case that suggests the penalty for high wireless prices has cost the country over $50Billion in lost productivity," he said.
Vidéotron maintains its commitment to build a wireless network using the latest generation of technologies to deliver integrative, multimedia mobile services to customers in Quebec if the company can obtain frequencies and fair competitive conditions when the federal government conducts an auction for spectrum later this year.
"The answer is to promote more competition into the marketplace. The best way to promote more competition? More competitors," he said. "Vidéotron can bring new content to mobile customers and we can create new markets. We can drive the convergence of technologies and bring our customers to the forefront of any-time, anywhere content."
Vidéotron Ltd. (www.videotron.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access services, cable telephony and wireless telephone service. Vidéotron is a leader in new technologies with its illico interactive television system and its broadband network, which supports high-speed cable Internet access, analog and digital cable television, and other services. As of March 31, 2007, Vidéotron was serving 1,583,000 cable television customers in Quebec, including 653,000 illico subscribers. Vidéotron is the Quebec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 828,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services. As of March 31, 2007, Vidéotron had activated 20,000 lines on its wireless telephone service and was providing cable telephone service to 449,000 Quebec households and organizations.
