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{{Short description|Canadian telecommunications company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Vidéotron
| former_names = Télécâble Vidéotron Limitée
| logo = Vidéotron_Logo.svg
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| industry = [[Telecommunications industry|Telecommunications]]
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1964}}
| founder = [[André Chagnon]]
| location = 612, rue Saint-Jacques<br />[[Montreal]], [[Quebec]]<br />H3C 4M8
| key_people = [[Pierre Karl Péladeau]] ([[President (corporate title)|President]] and [[Chief executive officer|CEO]])
| services = [[Cable television]], [[Internet access|Cable internet]], [[Telephony|Cable VoIP Telephony]], [[Wireless communication]]
| revenue = [[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|12px]] $3.735 billion [[Canadian dollar|CAD]] (2021)<ref name="quebecor.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.quebecor.com/documents/20143/222974/f6708cfa-8e7a-4f11-9d3c-bfd3bd1be86e-QI_EF_Q42021_Eng.pdf/b102e8ad-03fa-9ffe-69e3-fd5051a57307?version=1.0&t=1645699489373|title=Consolidated financial statements of Quebecor Inc.|website=www.quebecor.com}}</ref>
| net_income = 
| num_employees = 6,500 (2022)
| parent = [[Quebecor]]
| slogan = 
| subsid = [[Freedom Mobile]], {{ill|Fizz Mobile|fr|fizz}}
| homepage = {{url|https://videotron.com/en}}
}}
'''Vidéotron''' is a Canadian integrated [[telecommunications company]] founded in 1964. It's active in [[cable television]], [[interactive]] [[multimedia]] development, [[video on demand]], [[cable telephony]], [[wireless communication]] and [[Internet access]] services. Owned by [[Quebecor]], it primarily serves [[Quebec]] and the city of [[Ottawa]], as well as the Francophone communities of [[New Brunswick]] and some parts of [[Eastern Ontario]]. Its principal competitors are [[Bell Canada]] and [[Telus Communications]].

Vidéotron is the [[List of Canadian mobile phone companies|fourth-largest wireless carrier in Canada]], with nearly 1,700,000 mobile subscribers as of Q2 2022.<ref>{{cite news|title=QUEBECOR INC. REPORTS CONSOLIDATED RESULTS FOR SECOND QUARTER 2022|url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/quebecor-inc-reports-consolidated-results-for-second-quarter-2022-849990948.html|access-date=August 25, 2022|work=Cision|date=August 4, 2022}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Videotron Carrefour Angrignon.jpg|thumb|Videotron store at the [[Carrefour Angrignon]] mall in LaSalle]]
[[File:Tele-Cable Videotron logo.png|thumb|Logo in 1964]]
Vidéotron was established in 1964, under the name "Télécâble Vidéotron Ltée" as northern Montreal's first cable television network. It started with 66 subscribers. André Chagnon served as the company's founding president.

From 1966 to 1969, Vidéotron expanded by acquiring several cable networks in many regions of the province of Quebec.

In 1969, the company offered the first pay-per-view service under the name ''Sélecto-TV''.<ref name="videotron-60years">{{Cite web |title=Videotron celebrates its 60 years |url=https://www.videotron.com/en/60-years-videotron |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=Vidéotron}}</ref>

In 1974, a bi-directional network was created in [[Saint-Jérôme, Quebec|Saint-Jérôme]], one of the first in the world at the time.

By 1980, Vidéotron acquired Câblevision Nationale to become the largest teledistributor in Quebec. Vidéotron acquired Télé-Métropole in 1986, the largest private French-language television company in North America.<ref name="videotron-60years" />

In 1989 the company opened the first video rental stores: [[Le SuperClub Vidéotron]]. Its first fiber optic network was created between the cities of [[Quebec City|Quebec]] and [[Montreal]].

[[File:Vidéotron logo.png|thumb|Logo from 1980s to 2001]]
On January 24, 1990, Vidéotron launched {{Interlanguage link|Vidéoway|fr}} terminals in Quebec, the first interactive television (ITV) system in North America.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 14, 1993|title=Vidéoway s'ajuste au ralentissement de la demande et effectue 19 mises à pied|trans-title=Videoway adjusts to the slowdown in demand and makes 19 layoffs|url=https://diffusion2.banq.qc.ca/pdfjs-3.10.111-dist_banq/web/pdf.php/CXB8xu9ZwA_w75eZnBISdg.pdf|website=[[Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec|BAnQ]]|publisher=[[La Presse]]|page=E3}}</ref>

From 1995, the company entered the Internet era and acquired its own Internet portal, InfiniT.com.

In 1997, [[CF Cable TV]], which operated primarily on the western end of the Island of Montreal, southern Laval and Northern Ontario, was acquired by Vidéotron, further expanding its base. The Northern Ontario division was later sold to Regional Cablesystems.

On March 29, 1999, the company launched digital television in Montreal.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 30, 1999|title=Vidéotron lance son service numérique|trans-title=Videotron launches its digital service|url=https://diffusion2.banq.qc.ca/pdfjs-3.10.111-dist_banq/web/pdf.php/as8oAXbJml2XsSdv7sSb0A.pdf|website=[[Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec|BAnQ]]|publisher=[[La Presse]]|page=B4}}</ref>

[[File:Vidéotron logo (2002).svg|thumb|Logo from 2001 to 2004]]
By the start of the 21st century, [[Rogers Communications]] struck an accord with the Chagnon family to purchase Vidéotron.<ref name="multichannel-march-2000">{{cite news |last1=Careless |first1=James |title=Canada's Mega Marriage |url=https://archive.org/details/multichannel-news-international-march-2000/page/n25/mode/2up |access-date=30 November 2024 |work=Multichannel News International |publisher=Cahners |date=1 March 2000 |page=27}}</ref> However, citing cultural sovereignty concerns, the second-largest shareholder invoked its right to veto the purchase. Quebecor acquired Vidéotron instead, after months of legal proceedings. On May 23, 2001, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the transfer of broadcasting licences from Vidéotron to Quebecor.

Video-on-demand and [[high-definition television]] became available in 2003.

[[File:Vidéotron(2004-2009) logo.svg|thumb|Logo from 2004 to 2009]]
Vidéotron launched their wireless service in August 2006 and, two years later the company announced the launch of two new internet access services: Ultimate Speed Internet 30 and Ultimate Speed Internet 50 which deliver speeds of 30&nbsp;Mbit/s and 50&nbsp;Mbit/s respectively.<ref name="videotron-60years" />

[[File:Videotron 2009 logo.png|thumb|Logo from 2009 to 2012]]
In the spring of 2010, Vidéotron launched IllicoWeb, an online television and video-on-demand service. In September, it launched a [[3G+]] wireless service, with plans to offer a [[quadruple play]] service with its existing cable services.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/videotron-set-for-wireless-launch/article561693/|title=Vidéotron set for wireless launch|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=2019-08-28}}</ref>
[[File:Videotron 2012 logo.png|thumb|Logo from 2012 to 2017]]

On December 30, 2017, assets from Vidéotron G.P. were transferred to Vidéotron Ltée, as the company underwent a corporate reorganization.<ref>{{cite web |title=Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-453 |publisher=Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) |date=18 December 2017 |url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2017/2017-453.pdf }}</ref>

In September 2018, Vidéotron began beta testing for Fizz, a discount [[Fighter brand|flanker brand]] on its network.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/carriers/videotron-fizz-quebec/|title=Videotron to Launch 'Fizz' Wireless Brand in Quebec, Seeks Beta Testers|last=Ng|first=Gary|date=13 September 2018|work=iPhone in Canada|access-date=23 September 2018}}</ref>

==Services==
Vidéotron serves 1,830,400 cable television customers, including over 1,517,600 digital cable subscribers. Vidéotron also has more than 1,408,200 high-speed cable Internet subscribers, the most in Quebec. As of September 2013, the company had activated 478,000 mobile phones, and was providing cable telephone service to nearly 1,281,200 customers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://corpo.videotron.com/site/our-company/videotron-news/facts-numbers.jsp|title=Facts and numbers - About - Videotron|website=Corpo.videotron.com|access-date=9 December 2017}}</ref> Vidéotron's cable services are available in the greater areas of [[Montreal]], [[Quebec City]], [[Gatineau]], [[Sherbrooke]], [[Trois-Rivières]] and [[Saguenay, Quebec|Saguenay]]. Vidéotron also serves areas in eastern Ontario, such as [[Rockland, Ontario|Rockland]] and the surrounding municipality of [[Clarence-Rockland]], as well as parts of [[New Brunswick]] near the Quebec border.

Vidéotron offers broadband and [[Internet Protocol television|IPTV]]-based [[digital cable]] television under the Helix and Illico brands, which is based on [[Comcast]]'s X1 platform and hardware. Helix serves as a successor to the company's existing Illico TV digital cable platform.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frankel |first=Daniel |date=2019-08-29 |title=Videotron Launches X1-Based Helix |url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/videotron-launches-x1-based-helix |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=Multichannel News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tomesco |first=Frédéric |date=2019-08-27 |title=Vidéotron bets 'hundreds of millions' on new technology platform |url=https://montrealgazette.com/business/videotron-bets-hundreds-of-millions-on-new-technology-platform |access-date=2019-08-28 |work=Montreal Gazette |language=en}}</ref>  Vidéotron's [[Community television in Canada|community channels]] are branded as [[MAtv]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thiessen |first=Connie |date=2023-08-31 |title=Videotron to shutter MAtv community channel in Montreal |url=https://broadcastdialogue.com/videotron-to-shutter-matv-community-channel-in-montreal/ |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=Broadcast Dialogue |language=en-US}}</ref>

The company offers a subscription video on-demand service known as Illico+ (formerly Club Illico).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thiessen |first=Connie |date=2024-08-13 |title=Club illico and Vrai to merge under illico+ banner |url=https://broadcastdialogue.com/club-illico-and-vrai-to-merge-under-illico-banner/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=Broadcast Dialogue |language=en-US}}</ref> It has produced original series such as ''[[Escouade 99]]'', ''[[Portrait-Robot]]'', ''[[The Night Logan Woke Up]] (La nuit où Laurier Gaudreault s'est réveillé)'' and ''[[Mégantic (TV series)|Mégantic]]''.

Vidéotron cable services were once available in the United Kingdom, but were acquired and merged into [[Cable & Wireless plc]] along with [[Bell Canada#Legacy|Bell Cablemedia]] and [[NYNEX|NYNEX Corporation]] in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB845987368577989000|title=Cable & Wireless Plans Merger With Nynex, Bell Canada Units|publisher=www.wsj.com|date=23 October 1996|access-date=2 October 2020}}</ref> The company also used to operate in Africa and the United States. One of its previous subsidiaries – Videotron Telecom (not to be confused with Videotron Mobile) – was financed by the [[Carlyle Group]].{{Cn|date=November 2024}}

Vidéotron has provided telecommunication services to business and governments since the integration of Vidéotron Télécom into Vidéotron Ltée. The services include dark fiber, SONET, ATM, and Ethernet links as well as video circuits used by various Quebec television networks.

===Cable telephone service===
On July 29, 2004, Vidéotron announced plans to launch a telephone service using VoIP technology by the first half of 2005. Vidéotron launched its cable phone service in late 2004 to compete with Bell Canada and Telus. Deployment of this service started on Montreal's South Shore. By press release on January 24, 2005, Vidéotron announced that 300,000 customers on Montreal's South Shore had access to this service and that deployment would continue all over Quebec throughout 2005. Vidéotron also announced that about 2,500 customers had already subscribed to this service, following a trial conducted in the fall of 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://corpo.videotron.com/site/press-room/press-release/222|title=Videotron - Press Releases|website=Corpo.videotron.com|access-date=9 December 2017}}</ref>

Vidéotron was also the first cable provider in Canada to launch a cable phone service.

===Mobile network===
In July 2008, Videotron ltée and Quebecor acquired spectrum licences for advanced wireless services from an [[Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada|Industry Canada]] auction at a total cost of $554,559,000. The licences cover Quebec for an average of 40&nbsp;MHz spectrum, Toronto with 10&nbsp;MHz and south-east Ontario. The network was launched on September 9, 2010.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://corpo.videotron.com/site/press-room/press-release/440|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100912230913/http://corpo.videotron.com/site/press-room/press-release/440|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 12, 2010|title=Videotron - Press Releases|website=Corpo.videotron.com|access-date=9 December 2017}}</ref> Infrastructure work for a pre-4G [[Evolved HSPA|HSPA+]] wireless network was done over the span of three years, Videotron now having its own cellular communications resources.

Vidéotron was the only provider in Canada that sold the short-lived [[Garmin]] [[Nuvifone A50]] [[smartphone]].{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

In 2013, Rogers and Vidéotron struck a 20-year deal, enabling Vidéotron to share its network with [[Rogers Communications|Rogers Wireless]]. This network sharing agreement enabled Vidéotron to deploy [[LTE (telecommunication)|LTE]] on its network in Quebec in 2014, in partnership with Rogers. The agreement also enabled Vidéotron customers to use the Rogers Wireless network as a Vidéotron partner network in order to allow texts to be sent or received, calls to be made and for data to be used across Canada. In 2016, Vidéotron revamped its plans, allowing customers to make unlimited calls, send and receive texts and use data in the United States as well, due to partnerships with US carriers.

Vidéotron began beta testing in 2018 for a new mid-range mobile [[flanker brand]], '''{{Ill|Fizz Mobile|lt=Fizz Mobile|fr|Fizz}}''', in Quebec and in Ottawa.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chhabra |first1=Sameer |title=Videotron's Fizz Mobile beta program open to Quebec, Ottawa residents |url=https://mobilesyrup.com/2018/11/05/fizz-mobile-videotron-beta-program-open-access/ |work=MobileSyrup |date=5 November 2018|access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref> In 2023, as an aspect of [[Rogers Communications]]' acquisition of [[Shaw Communications]], parent company Quebecor acquired Shaw-owned [[Freedom Mobile]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-03-31 |title=What the Rogers takeover of Shaw means for consumers |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-rogers-shaw-takeover-consumers/ |access-date=2023-07-26 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref>

===Technical support===
The major centres are located in Montreal, Longueuil, Quebec City, Gatineau, Joliette, Saguenay and St-Hubert. Vidéotron also has outsourced customer service centres that include Utopia, Gexel Telecom and Atelka. In 2007, Videotron formed a partnership with Xceed Contact Centre to outsource some of the call centres to [[Egypt]].{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

==Controversy==
===High-Speed Extreme Internet===
On August 14, 2007, Videotron announced starting October 1 they would impose a 100-gigabyte-per-month [[download]]/[[upload]] limit with a penalty of $1.50 per extra gigabyte to their previously unrestricted High-Speed Extreme Internet service, even to existing subscribers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Videotron-Imposes-Extreme-Caps-86696?nocomment=1|title=Videotron Imposes 'Extreme' Caps - 100GB bi-directional cap for 10Mbps tier|website=Dslreports.com|access-date=9 December 2017}}</ref> This decision created outrage among its Internet users, and led to a [[class action suit]] against Videotron by consumer advocacy group Union des Consommateurs. In September 2013, the court authorized the suit to proceed. Ultimately the Quebec Superior Court rendered a $1.2 million judgment in favour of the plaintiffs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/business/local-business/videotron-ordered-to-pay-1-2-million-in-internet-service-class-action|title=Vidéotron ordered to pay $1.2 million in Internet service class-action|website=montrealgazette.com|access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Canadian mobile phone companies]]
* [[List of internet service providers in Canada]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official}}

{{Quebecor Inc.}}
{{CATV Canada}}
{{Canadian ISP}}
{{Canadian mobile phone companies}}
{{Canadian VOIP}}
{{VOD services}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Videotron}}
[[Category:Canadian companies established in 1964]]
[[Category:Telecommunications companies established in 1964]]
[[Category:1964 establishments in Quebec]]
[[Category:2007 controversies]]
[[Category:Cable and DBS companies of Canada]]
[[Category:Quebecor]]
[[Category:Internet service providers of Canada]]
[[Category:Companies based in Montreal]]
[[Category:Mobile phone companies of Canada]]