October 27, 2003 – PRESS RELEASE: Videotron Teams Up with VIASAT GeoTechnologies Inc. to Strengthen Network Access Control and Anti-Piracy Program

Montreal, October 27 2003 – Videotron has signed a long-term agreement under which VIASAT GeoTechnologies Inc. will be responsible for monitoring its network and detecting interference.

VIASAT GeoTechnologies Inc.’s technology locates potential sources of interference that can affect service quality and the security of emergency and aeronautical communications. The agreement will help safeguard the quality of Videotron’s network. It demonstrates Videotron’s determination to use all available means to detect customers who may be inclined to pirate its services. The agreement provides for systematic detection patrols across Videotron’s network and improvement of ongoing monitoring through the installation of automatic detection systems in service vehicles.

For more than 30 years, Videotron has been aggressively and systematically combating the theft of cable television signals. For example, in 1995 it instituted an anti-piracy program and formed a network integrity team dedicated to fighting piracy. Videotron has held its signal theft rate to under 3%, well below the estimated 18% rate of some satellite television operators, and continues to make every effort to minimize signal theft, an illegal practice that is undermining the viability of cultural industries.

Videotron Ltee, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media inc., is an integrated communications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development and Internet access services. Videotron Ltee is a leader in new technologies, thanks to illico, its interactive television system and its high-bandwidth network allowing it to offer, among other services, high-speed cable Internet access, analog and digital TV services. In Quebec, Videotron serves 1,423,000 million cable customers; more than 213,000 also subscribe to interactive TV on its digital service illico. Videotron is also the leader in high-speed cable Internet access throughout Quebec, with more than 409,000 Internet customers by cable modem and dial-up modem.

VIASAT GeoTechnologies Inc. is a Quebec company that designs, develops and implements geospatial solutions that can be applied to improve its clients’ business processes. It integrates its expertise in the areas of GPS location, geomatics applications, satellite imaging and telecommunications signal detection to deliver solutions that work.