Videotron S.E.N.C. 1 is one of Canada's leading telecommunications companies. Founded in 1964, it is active in the fields of cable distribution, Internet access, cable telephony, and wireless telephony in
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most residential and commercial markets in Quebec, and also in the villages of Ontario. It is a subsidiary of Quebecor Media.
The company's main competitor is Bell Canada, which also offers residential and commercial services in Quebec.
From the beginnings to the 2000s ( Videotron )
Founded in 1964 by André Chagnon, Roger Jauvin, Pierre Hébert and three other shareholders under the name Télécâble Vidéotron ltée, the first cable network was built in the north of Montreal and in certain sectors of Laval under the direction of André Chagnon.
From 1966 to 1969, Videotron expanded and modernized by acquiring several small cable distribution networks in most regions of Quebec.
In 1969, the company offered the first pay-per-view service under the name of Sélecto-TV.In 1974, a two-way network was created in Saint-Jérôme, one of the first in the world at the time. In 1980, Vidéotron acquired Cablevision Nationale, thus becoming the largest cable operator in Quebec.
On November 20, 1985, in order to obtain funds for future investments, the company was listed on the stock exchange.
On July 14, 1986, Videotron acquired Télé-Métropole, the main private television station in Montreal (affiliated with the TVA network), and became one of the major players in the communications industry in Quebec. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the transaction on January 28, 1987.
In 1989, the company opened the first video rental stores under the Le SuperClub Vidéotron brand. The first fiber-optic network is created between the cities of Quebec and Montreal.
On January 24, 1990, Videotron launched an innovative interactive cable system called Video way.
In 1995, Videotron became an Internet access provider, offering a modem and cable service that had 638,000 customers in 2005.
In 1997, CF Cable TV, serving mainly English-speaking customers in the western territories of Montreal and Laval, was acquired by Videotron.
On March 29, 1999, Videotron launched its digital television service in Montreal.
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The Quebecor era ( Videotron )
The company was bought by Quebecor in August 2000, for the sum of 4.9 billion CAD. The transaction is concluded after a series of takeover bids putting in competition the Quebec group Quebecor, supported by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec and the Canadian cable giant Rogers Communications of Toronto. The CRTC approved the transfer of Videotron's operations on May 23, 2001, requiring in exchange that Quebecor sell the TQS network, another property of the group.
In 2001, Télé Numérique changed its name to Illico.
In 2003 Videotron launched a video on demand and high-definition digital television service.
In 2005, the company launched a residential cable telephone service in the greater Montreal area, which it gradually extended to all the regions it serves. That same year, the company merged its Videotron Telecom and Videotron ltée activities into a single company. In less than a year, Videotron has become the second-largest telecommunications provider in Quebec, after Bell Canada, with 163,000 subscribers.
In 2006 the company launched into mobile telephony but does not have its own network.
In 2007, Videotron opened a call center in Egypt through the company Xceed which also works for Microsoft or General Motors, in order to expand the company's ability to respond to inquiries and technical follow-up of clients.
In August 2007, Videotron revised its residential unlimited High-Speed Internet service by limiting its Extreme High-Speed Internet package, which was unlimited in terms of bandwidth since its creation in 2002, by introducing a consumption limit of 100 Combined upstream and downstream GB, with a charge of CAD 1.50 per additional GB. The new measure, which entered into force on October 1, 2007, is causing controversy among users9. A class-action lawsuit was also launched following this change in consumption limit by the Union des consommateurs du Québec10,11, with success.
As of December 31, 2007, Videotron had 1,638,000 subscribers to conventional cable television service, including 768,000 subscribers to the illico digital television service.
In 2008, Videotron rolled out Intern ( Videotron )
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