(Montréal, August 17, 2005) - Vidéotron is pleased to announce that it is rolling out its residential cable telephone service in Montréal. Consumer response to Vidéotron's new product has been enthusiastic: as of August 12, barely six months after the service was launched, more than 62,500 customers in Laval, the South Shore, the West Island and the Québec City area had made the switch. Those numbers make Vidéotron the leader among telecom companies in Canada that provide telephone service via IP (Internet Protocol) technology.
Vidéotron is now making the service available to more than 825,000 households across the Island of Montréal.
We also introduced our cable telephone service in the Québec City area on July 11 and once again the market response was very positive, said Robert Dépatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vidéotron. We are very pleased to be able to offer this advantageous alternative to conventional telephone lines to more and more Quebecers in our service area. The benefits of our innovative service are now available to more than 1.5 million households across the province.
Switching couldn't be easier: customers can keep their existing telephone number and equipment.
Vidéotron's cable telephone service does not require an Internet connection, as do most so-called VoIP digital telephone services. It uses the Internet Protocol, a data transfer protocol, but transmits the signal over Vidéotron's own private network, which is managed entirely by Vidéotron, not over the public information highway, as in the case of other Internet telephone providers. The vast majority of subscribers choose to keep their existing telephone number, recognizing that Vidéotron cable telephone service is a reliable, main-line service that supports all the features and options to which they are accustomed, such as call display, voice mail, call waiting, assistance (0, 411, 911, 611), long distance and calling cards.
Vidéotron offers an exceptional telephone deal starting at just $15.95 per month for basic service. Customers see substantial savings on their phone bill: up to 40% if they are already Vidéotron customers and take other cable services. They will also be able to obtain residential telephone, cable television and Internet services from a single provider and enjoy the advantages of one-stop shopping at Vidéotron: one call to customer service, one technician, one bill for all their services. Advantageous discount packages will be available to customers who take service bundles.
Long-distance calls between subscribers to Vidéotron telephone service are free -- an exclusive benefit supported by the infinite power of cable. A Montréal customer can therefore call a Vidéotron telephone subscriber in another locality, such as Québec City, toll free.
The technology used by Vidéotron will support distinctive progressive services such as video phone service and unified messaging.
Vidéotron ltée (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. 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 June 30, 2005, Vidéotron serves 1,443,000 cable television customers in Québec; including over 381,000 illico subscribers. Vidéotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 568,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services. As of August 12, 2005, Vidéotron was also providing residential telephone service to more than 62,500 customers in Laval, Montréal South Shore and West Island, and Québec City.
