Questions and answers

Cable telephony uses telephone central offices similar to those of traditional telephone services. Only the way in which your home is connected to the network is different. Rather than using a pair of wires, cable telephony uses the same coaxial cable that carries television and Internet signals.

A Videotron technician installs a multifunction cable modem in your home that serves both for telephony and for Internet, if you are also subscribed to this service. The cable modem converts the signals from your telephones and sends them to our network, which is made up of coaxial cables and optical fiber. The signals are then reconverted and sent either to another subscriber or to other telephone networks, depending on the party you are calling.

You do not have to install anything: a Videotron technician takes care of everything for you.

Yes. Your phone number can be transferred to the Videotron network regardless of the phone company you are dealing with now. However, the phone number must be under your name and it must be transferred to the same local calling area. For instance, a phone number in the 514 area code cannot be transferred to the 450 area code.

No. Videotron's phone service does not use the Internet network. Videotron uses certain protocols similar to those used by the Internet to carry telephony signals by cable, but these are not mixed with the Internet signals used by the general public.

Unlike the Internet, cable telephony will never be affected by slowdowns.

Videotron's telephone service is compatible with all commercially available alarm systems. This is one of the checks the technician does before installing the equipment.

The following suppliers have officially recognized Videotron's technology:

• ADT CANADA
• Chubb
• Protectron

Free long-distance calls are applicable to all other Videotron residential cable telephone or Softphone numbers. Videotron must also be the long-distance provider for the original number. To find out which company is your long-distance provider, call 1-700-555-4141. Calls made to Videotron wireless devices are not part of this plan.

The Softphone has the features of a conventional phone line and is accessed from a computer. For instance, you can travel all over the world and use your local phone number, without any roaming charges.

The Softphone has advanced call management functions and allows you to handle several calls at once. This is without a doubt the ideal solution if you often use your computer.