Québec City, August 10, 2006 – Quebecor telecom leader Videotron today officially launched its wireless telephone service, adding a fourth product to its one-stop shop offering. Residential and business customers in the Québec City area will be the first to have access to the new service. Videotron will roll out its new wireless service across its service area by the end of the year.
Videotron's strategy is to develop a full, attractive array of telecommunications and entertainment services. The move into wireless is another step towards consolidating Videotron's customer experience leadership.
"We are convincing more and more people of the many advantages of being a Videotron customer," said Robert Dépatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Videotron. "The addition of wireless telephone service further enhances those advantages. With Videotron wireless service, customers will no longer have to adjust their lifestyles to their wireless package. They will be able to take full advantage of their cell phones at any time of day or night, without having to worry about the time of day. That is what simplicity and user-friendliness are all about at Videotron."
For consumers, Videotron's arrival in the wireless market will have the added benefit of stimulating competition by offering a new alternative. Videotron is offering a distinctive product in the Canadian marketplace, which currently has one of the lowest wireless penetration rates in the industrialized world*. The Company is therefore confident of positive market response, especially from its 3.3 million existing customers (1,521,000 households).
Unparalleled value: 4 products for less than $100 per month
The distinctive features of Videotron's wireless service include simplicity, its user-friendly packages and the advantages of bundling. The 4-product package priced at $94.95 (all fees included), which comprises wireless service with 300 any-time minutes (day, evening or weekend), Basic Internet service, residential cable telephone service and illico Digital TV, makes the full Videotron experience readily available to all.
Better performance for business customers
Business customers will also find it highly advantageous to take Videotron's wireless service and get all their telecom services from a single provider. For $68.95 per month, business people can get 300 any-time minutes plus Basic Internet service. For $83.95 per month, business customers will get three products: wireless service with 300 minutes of airtime, Basic Internet service and business cable telephone service. The business telephone service is also being launched today in Québec City area and will be gradually rolled out across the metropolitan area.
Videotron is applying the same flexible, customizable approach to wireless packages as it does to its other three products. Customers will be able to add extra blocks of time in order to build a package precisely tailored to their needs.
Making life simpler
Individual and time-sharing plans are available to both consumers and businesses. Individual packages include 50, 300, 500 or 700 minutes of airtime. The time-sharing plan lets customers split 900 minutes among up to five people of their choice (e.g. relatives, friends, employees).
"By combining wireless telephone service with Videotron's other offerings, consumers can enjoy quality products and advantageous discounts on their bills," said Mr. Dépatie. "And they can simplify their lives through one-stop shopping at Videotron: we are the only industry player that offers customers a single customer service point, one visit from the technician, one bill for all their services."
Canada lags behind in wireless
According to a recent study, Canada lags well behind the U.S. in wireless telephony. The gap has widened from about a year and a half in 2003 to two and a half years today.** Limited competition due to the small number of players in the market, higher prices and lag in data transmission capabilities all help explain why Canada's wireless industry is trailing major world markets.
A new challenger in the telecom market
The move into wireless telephone service is a turning point in Videotron's history. Already a leader in Internet access and cable television service, Videotron now offers a truly comprehensive line of services. With the roll-out of cable telephone service in 2005 and wireless service this year, Videotron is consolidating its position as a key player in the telecommunications industry.
"Québec is behind the U.S. market and even the Canadian market," said Mr. Dépatie. "This means there is strong growth potential for a company with a sound, attractive value proposition. By offering affordable new services such as cable telephone and wireless, Videotron has become a driver of change in the marketplace and is creating consumer-friendly trends across the country."
Videotron 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 and residential telephone service. Videotron 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 June 30, 2006, Videotron was serving 1,521,000 cable television customers in Québec; including 545,000 illico subscribers. Videotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 726,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services. In addition, Videotron provides residential and business telephone services to more than 283,000 customers in Québec.
SOURCES
* Seaboard Group, "Lessons For Canada – Wireless Pricing: A Cross-National Survey," July 2005
** Merrill Lynch, "Global Wireless Matrix," June 2006
The other documents in the press kit (technical specifications, rates, product descriptions and photos can be downloaded fromftp://ftp.vsi.videotron.com (user name: ftp_comm – password: comm1234
Videotron's strategy is to develop a full, attractive array of telecommunications and entertainment services. The move into wireless is another step towards consolidating Videotron's customer experience leadership.
"We are convincing more and more people of the many advantages of being a Videotron customer," said Robert Dépatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Videotron. "The addition of wireless telephone service further enhances those advantages. With Videotron wireless service, customers will no longer have to adjust their lifestyles to their wireless package. They will be able to take full advantage of their cell phones at any time of day or night, without having to worry about the time of day. That is what simplicity and user-friendliness are all about at Videotron."
For consumers, Videotron's arrival in the wireless market will have the added benefit of stimulating competition by offering a new alternative. Videotron is offering a distinctive product in the Canadian marketplace, which currently has one of the lowest wireless penetration rates in the industrialized world*. The Company is therefore confident of positive market response, especially from its 3.3 million existing customers (1,521,000 households).
Unparalleled value: 4 products for less than $100 per month
The distinctive features of Videotron's wireless service include simplicity, its user-friendly packages and the advantages of bundling. The 4-product package priced at $94.95 (all fees included), which comprises wireless service with 300 any-time minutes (day, evening or weekend), Basic Internet service, residential cable telephone service and illico Digital TV, makes the full Videotron experience readily available to all.
Better performance for business customers
Business customers will also find it highly advantageous to take Videotron's wireless service and get all their telecom services from a single provider. For $68.95 per month, business people can get 300 any-time minutes plus Basic Internet service. For $83.95 per month, business customers will get three products: wireless service with 300 minutes of airtime, Basic Internet service and business cable telephone service. The business telephone service is also being launched today in Québec City area and will be gradually rolled out across the metropolitan area.
Videotron is applying the same flexible, customizable approach to wireless packages as it does to its other three products. Customers will be able to add extra blocks of time in order to build a package precisely tailored to their needs.
Making life simpler
Individual and time-sharing plans are available to both consumers and businesses. Individual packages include 50, 300, 500 or 700 minutes of airtime. The time-sharing plan lets customers split 900 minutes among up to five people of their choice (e.g. relatives, friends, employees).
"By combining wireless telephone service with Videotron's other offerings, consumers can enjoy quality products and advantageous discounts on their bills," said Mr. Dépatie. "And they can simplify their lives through one-stop shopping at Videotron: we are the only industry player that offers customers a single customer service point, one visit from the technician, one bill for all their services."
Canada lags behind in wireless
According to a recent study, Canada lags well behind the U.S. in wireless telephony. The gap has widened from about a year and a half in 2003 to two and a half years today.** Limited competition due to the small number of players in the market, higher prices and lag in data transmission capabilities all help explain why Canada's wireless industry is trailing major world markets.
A new challenger in the telecom market
The move into wireless telephone service is a turning point in Videotron's history. Already a leader in Internet access and cable television service, Videotron now offers a truly comprehensive line of services. With the roll-out of cable telephone service in 2005 and wireless service this year, Videotron is consolidating its position as a key player in the telecommunications industry.
"Québec is behind the U.S. market and even the Canadian market," said Mr. Dépatie. "This means there is strong growth potential for a company with a sound, attractive value proposition. By offering affordable new services such as cable telephone and wireless, Videotron has become a driver of change in the marketplace and is creating consumer-friendly trends across the country."
Videotron 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 and residential telephone service. Videotron 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 June 30, 2006, Videotron was serving 1,521,000 cable television customers in Québec; including 545,000 illico subscribers. Videotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 726,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services. In addition, Videotron provides residential and business telephone services to more than 283,000 customers in Québec.
SOURCES
* Seaboard Group, "Lessons For Canada – Wireless Pricing: A Cross-National Survey," July 2005
** Merrill Lynch, "Global Wireless Matrix," June 2006
The other documents in the press kit (technical specifications, rates, product descriptions and photos can be downloaded fromftp://ftp.vsi.videotron.com (user name: ftp_comm – password: comm1234
