Having launched its own HSPA+ mobile network in Quebec in September 2010, quadruple-play cableco Videotron signed up 92,600 subscribers to its new 3G mobile service by the end of the year (55,800 brand new accounts and 36,800 migrations from its existing MVNO service offered over Rogers’ network), including 70,700 in the quarter ended 31 December. At year’s end, the total number of subscribers to Videotron’s mobile services reached 136,100 (up by a net 41,000 in the fourth quarter).
Videotron had 1.254 million subscribers to its cable and mobile high speed internet services as of 31 December 2010, up by 84,000 year-on-year, by which date it was also providing cable telephone services to 1.114 million Quebec households and organisations, an annual increase of 100,000. At the end of the year Videotron was serving 1,811,600 cable television customers, including 1,219,600 subscribers to its digital service. However, basic cable, internet and home phone customer additions were all weaker than expected, emphasising the value of the new 3G mobile service to add diversity.
Videotron also released a clutch of announcements on its recent developments. It said that more than 90% of its mobile antennas are already linked by fibre-optics to its wired network (consisting of more than 25,000km of fibre cable), while it is preparing to roll out its mobile services to two new markets, Saguenay in April and Gatineau in late May. It also revealed that it is currently conducting testing for the implementation of Dual Carrier (DC) technology, which will enable its HSPA+ network to support mobile speeds of up to 42Mbps. Videotron will begin offering its first DC-HSPA+ compatible smartphone and a USB mobile broadband modem with a maximum speed of 42Mbps ‘this spring.’