GATINEAU – In what’s being described as a puzzling move by many (all of whom declined to go on the record with us), Videotron has filed a tariff modification with the CRTC to decommission its Giga Service "Download 501-1000 Mbps/Upload 0–100 Mbps” since it will cease offering that service to its retail as well as wholesale customers.
Puzzling because while the general assumption is that customers will always want more speed, Videotron is left with a 400 Mbps maximum offering in the Quebec market while its biggest competitor Bell is offering 1.5 Gbps speeds.
As we reported last week, the North American cable industry, led by its R&D group CableLabs (in which Videotron is a member), is driving hard towards what it’s calling 10G speeds.
In its application, Videotron says it only has 34 clients for this service. “To minimize customer disruption, Videotron is grandfathering all existing Giga Service end-users, both retail and wholesale. These end-users may retain their Giga Service accesses provided they remain with their current service provider at their current civic address,” the application reads.
When asked if the move was related to the recent CRTC TPIA rates decision and whether the company would rather not offer third party ISPs access to its highest speeds, a Videotron spokesperson told Cartt.ca in an email the company would not comment any further at this time.
In August, however, in response to the CRTC TPIA decision, Videotron issued a statement reading: “Videotron estimates the retroactive costs of the rate cut at around $50 million. The company will take time to assess all available options.”
Videotron ceased offering the Giga Service as of October 11.
Readers will recall the CRTC decision has been put on hold by the Federal Court of Appeal for now, but if Videotron were to increase its subscribership on this service, it could be stuck with sizable charge.
The interim monthly capacity charge per 100Mbps, in place today after the court stayed the CRTC decision is $395.36. The final rate determined by the CRTC last month is $227.05, a significant reduction.
This story is far from finished.
