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Videotron telephone service - Limited availability

9K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  Jake 
#1 · (Edited)
Videotron's IP telephony is already started on the southshore of Montreal and perhaps other areas, i just called about that. I will be having it installed on january 19. It is a pre public offer and it is going to be free for the first 4 months , long distance included , and the installation is free too. They dont tell how much it is going to be before the public launch. They said it is going to be around 25 % less than Bell. They installed a new modem that will have your regular phone wiring connected to and your internet as well. The modem has a battery in case of a power shortage.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the info. I am looking forward to seeing their package deal. I currently pay around $75/month for local and long distance services (for the wife not me) so the savings could be sweet.

One problem I have run into is that I live in a "special" border zone whereby I can call Ottawa from Gatineau and it is a local call. VOIP is limited to the province unless you get the unlimited. But then all your cross-border friends must pay long distance to call you. You can get a second number but then imagine how complicated that will be.
 
#6 ·
Are they going to be like the other VOIP companies that offer all of the services such as Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting, 3 way calling, *69 for free?

IMHO that is the biggest way that you were getting screwed by Bell, as well as the surcharge for a touch tone line! These services cost basically nothing to provide and they were charging $5-8 per month for them.
 
#7 ·
First major Canadian cable company to enter this market
Vidéotron launches residential telephone service via cable

MONTREAL, January 24, 2005—Vidéotron is innovating once again, as it becomes Canada’s first major cable company to offer residential telephone service via cable. This novel and affordable service, launched today, is an alternative to traditional telephone service, for both local and long distance calling, and responds to consumer demand for receiving all telecommunications services from a single source.

Vidéotron has selected Montreal’s South Shore for the initial launch of its new service, which it plans to roll out progressively throughout Quebec in 2005. As of today, more than 300,000 South Shore residents have access to Vidéotron’s residential phone service. And more than 2,500 households in this area are already using the new service, following a trial conducted last fall.

“Customers who subscribe to our new service will enjoy great discounts on their phone bill, especially if they already subscribe to Vidéotron. They will also be able to obtain residential telephone service, cable and Internet from a single provider, supported by customer service that lives up to their expectations,” said Robert Dépatie, president and CEO of Vidéotron.

Subscribing to the new service: as easy as 1-2-3!
Subscribing to Vidéotron’s new service couldn’t be easier: customers can keep their existing telephone number, equipment as well as access to all the services they are accustomed to, such as call display, voice mail, call waiting, access to assistance services (0, 411, 911 and 611), long distance and calling card service.

A great offer with free installation, starting at $15.95 per month
With the technology Vidéotron has selected, it will be able to provide separate, upgradeable services such as video-calling and unified messaging in the future. It is already offering free long distance calling between its telephone subscribers.

Vidéotron’s new service is also noteworthy for its cost savings. For customers who already subscribe to two Vidéotron services, a basic residential line starts at just $15.95 per month and installation is free of charge. Subscribers will be able to add services such as call display, voicemail and call waiting at a cost of $4 per month for the first option and $2 per month for additional options. A plan for unlimited long distance calls within Quebec is available starting at $4.95 per month. Other attractive plans are also available.
Market studies conducted by Vidéotron clearly show that customers want one-stop shopping; that is, a single contact point for customer service and technical support as well as one monthly bill. They also want to benefit from advantageous discounts made possible by bundling all services.

Nearly 10 years of experience in providing telephone service
Vidéotron Telecom has built a reputation as a reliable telephone service provider, having supplied business telephone service to banks, health-care centres, government ministries and call centers for nearly 10 years. Vidéotron Telecom is already the most widely used alternative phone service provider in Quebec.

Vidéotron’s fibre-optic network can handle huge quantities of information at an affordable cost. Thanks to this broadband architecture, users already enjoy analog and digital television, high-speed Internet access and video-on-demand. Now, they can also add telephone service.

Vidéotron adds Quebec to a vast worldwide trend
For Mr. Dépatie, Vidéotron’s investment in residential telephone service is part of a major worldwide trend to new alternatives to traditional telephone service. Many studies have confirmed the potential of this market and indicate that cable companies are in the best position to serve it. “The US cable company Time Warner Cable has announced that it is adding more than 10,000 customers weekly to its telephone subscriber base”, explained Mr. Dépatie. According to Brahm Eiley, an analyst with Convergence Consulting Group, cable companies will control 10% of Canada’s residential telephone market by 2007.

Customer growth continuing
Videotron is also proud to announce that the growth of its customer base for its illico TM digital cable television service and Internet access services continued during the fourth quarter to reach 92,000 and 96,000 respectively between December 31, 2003 and 2004, for growth rates of 38% and 24%. Vidéotron also added 29,000 cable television customers during 2004, its best annual performance for cable television in five years.

Conference call and Webcast
Vidéotron will hold a conference call to discuss the launch of its residential telephone service on Monday, January 24, 2005, at 4:00 pm EST. There will be a question period reserved for financial analysts. To access the conference call, please dial 1 800-440-1782. A tape recording of the call will be available January 24 through January 31, 2005 by dialling 1 800 558-5253 and entering pass code 21230345. The conference call will also be broadcast live on Quebecor's Web site at http://www.quebecor.com/InvestorCenter/QIConferenceCall.aspx?Culture=en
It is advisable to make sure appropriate software is installed before accessing the call. Instructions and links to free player downloads are available at the Internet address shown above.

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. Vidéotron serves 1,462,000 cable television customers in Québec; including over 331,000 illico subscribers. Vidéotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 527,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services.

-30-

A picture will be available on CCN Matthews newswire this afternoon.

INFORMATION FOR THE MEDIA:
Sylvie Robitaille
(514) 843-2354
Cell: (514) 220-4979 Jean-Paul Galarneau
(514) 380-7383
Cell: (514) 824-0001
 
#9 ·
Market studies conducted by Vidéotron clearly show that customers want one-stop shopping; that is, a single contact point for customer service and technical support as well as one monthly bill.
I don't know that I agree with that statement. Look where we are now - if I call Bell or Rogers (probably Videotron as well) I have to go through an interactive voice response service for several minutes before I get to talk to a human. I HATE THESE SYSTEMS!

I would much prefer a direct line to Rogers Internet Tech Support so that I can ask them why my internet is down.

The other thing that I hate about these systems is that they ask for my phone number and then when you do get through to a human the first thing they ask for is my phone number. Shouldn't you have received that from your IVR system?
 
#10 ·
Jake said:
Thanks Calix.


I wonder when they will let us know how much the others plans will cost? No mention of hardware costs either. Or LNP for that matter.
Hardware is supply at no extra cost, it stays the property of videotron, in case you let go this service and you don't return the modem and the battery, videotron will charge you 229.99$ for the modem and 29.99$ for the battery.

What other plan you would like to know about?
 
#12 ·
Unibroue,

This is all conjecture for when Videotron telephony comes to Gatineau.

I was wondering about LNP or Local Number Portability. Vonage et al only have select area codes that can be ported (819 is not available). If I can avoid the hassle of changing my phone number I will. Videotron is silent on this matter.

Also, what if I make a lot of calls outside of Quebec? I only see the $3/100 minutes option for out of province calls. If I exceed 100 minutes I have to pay $0.07/minute.

What about incoming calls from a different province that are local calls using Bell. For example, calls from Ottawa are local to Gatineau and vise-versa. Yet an Ottawa caller would be charged long distance to Gatineau using VOIP. And if I make a call from Gatineau to Ottawa it would count towards my 100 minutes rather than be local. That sucks!

If you can offer some insight I would appreciate it.
 
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