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To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (2611)	12/16/1998 10:04:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Respond to of 12823

Videotron: Seeks the Virtual Unbundling Route, will become CLEC Cable Firm Videotron Goes After CLEC Status December 16, 1998 MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, Newsbytes via NewsEdge Corporation : Le Groupe Videotron Ltee. [TSE:VDO][ME:VDO], one ofCanada's major cable television firms, has made it official that it plans to enter the local telephone business. A subsidiary, Videotron Communications Inc., has registered its intent to become a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) with government regulators. Videotron told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) it intends to provide local telephone service to consumers in several regions of Quebec in 1999, in competition with incumbent Bell Canada and other local exchange carriers. Bell Canada is the incumbent carrier in most of Quebec; another company, Quebec Telephone, serves parts of the province. Videotron will offer local phone service using voice over Internet Protocol (IP) technology and building on its existing cable network. Last fall, the company contracted with Cisco Systems Inc. and Bellcore to install a new communications infrastructure based on a packet-switching network, which it said will let its customers use phone service, Internet access, and cable television simultaneously through one coaxial cable. Francois Laflamme, Groupe Videotron's vice-president of IP telephony, said the company plans to focus mainly on the residential market with its IP telephony service. The company offers communications services to business through another subsidiary, and plans to expand those services next year, he added. Videotron has about 80 percent of the cable television market in the province of Quebec, Laflamme said. Cable television companies are showing considerable interest in the telephone market. Canadian carriers Rogers Communications Inc. and Cogeco Inc. have also revealed plans to enter the local telephone market. However, Toronto telecommunications consultant Eamon Hoey expressed some doubts about the cable companies' prospects. There are technical issues to be overcome still, he said, and the cable operators have a shaky reputation for customer service among consumers and very little credibility as suppliers to business. Laflamme, however, said consumers are confident Videotron can provide reliable service. Reported By Newsbytes News Network, newsbytes.com (19981215/Press Contact: Daniel Audet, Videotron Communications, 514-281-1232 ext. 3387/WIRES TELECOM/) <<Newsbytes -- 12-15-98>> [Copyright 1998, NewsBytes]