MONTREAL – Quebecor subsidiary Videotron announced Tuesday it has almost completed the projects it was awarded under the Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed funding program, and will soon be able to offer Videotron’s full range of services to more than 37,000 additional households in 259 municipalities across Quebec.
“This major achievement by Videotron crews gives thousands of households in outlying regions access to services of the same quality as those offered in major urban centres, at the same price,” Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor, said in a press release.
“Our teams worked tirelessly for months, braving difficult conditions in the field and overcoming many technical and logistical challenges, to achieve this outcome. I thank them for their sustained efforts to connect rural Quebecers to high-speed Internet,” Péladeau said.
Starting in April 2021, Videotron crews began installing close to 8,500 kilometres of fibre cable on nearly 200,000 poles, according to the press release. In comparison, before the launch of the Operation High Speed program, Videotron had a 35,000-kilometre network that had been built over a period of more than 50 years, the release says.
“To complete this major project, Videotron dramatically accelerated the roll-out of its fibre optic network in areas of Québec where population density is sometimes one tenth that of major urban centres, despite the shortage of skilled labour and supply problems during the pandemic,” the release says.
Videotron says this “major achievement” is the result of a joint effort by Videotron, its federal and provincial government partners, and the municipalities and regional county municipalities whose residents benefit from this project.
With the network build-out almost finished, Videotron is asking Quebecers to use a tool on its website to check availability of Videotron’s services at their address and to schedule an installation appointment.
“Videotron’s crews are in the field to connect households to their chosen services as quickly as possible,” the release says.
More information about Videotron’s Operation High Speed projects can be found here.
