SHERBROOKE – Videotron said Monday it is investing $18 million between now and the middle of 2007 to upgrade its network in parts of central Québec, specifically Sherbrooke, Granby, Victoriaville and Trois-Rivières (Cap-de-la-Madeleine sector).
The network modernization will increase bandwidth from 480 MHz to 860 MHz and support new technologies in the years ahead.
Videotron’s $18 million upgrade project is in addition to its major investments in the region since 1995, which have added fibre optic capacity to its coax cable system and created a two-way network. The network improvements have enabled Videotron to offer interactive services such as video on demand, pay per view, interactive games and interactive television schedules.
The current project will increase the bandwidth of Videotron’s network and let the company offer local consumers digital TV, high-definition TV, Internet and telephone services. For example, with the increased capacity, Videotron’s network will be able to support 800 digital television channels or 126 high-definition channels. New services may be added in the region as a result of this project as of winter 2007.
Work on project design started at the beginning of the year and will continue until March 2007. Roll-out began in April in Sherbrooke and will end in June 2007 in Cap-de-la-Madeleine. More than 3,000 linear kilometres of the network will be upgraded. The four urban centres affected by the project, Sherbrooke, Granby, Victoriaville and Cap-de-la-Madeleine, also include the towns of Coaticook, Lennoxville, East Angus, Fleurimont, Cowansville, Bromont, Waterloo and Princeville.
