MONTRÉAL, April 14, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Cogeco Connexion, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA), is proud to be able to respond to the increased needs of its customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the capacity, reliability and robustness of its network, which is experiencing significant peaks in utilization during this time of confinement, teleworking, and greater-than-usual use of online educational and digital entertainment platforms.

"We are able to meet the current increase in demand and the essential need to be connected during this pandemic because of our ongoing investments in operating, upgrading and expanding our hybrid fibre coaxial cable network," said Michel Blais, Vice-President, Networks, Operations and Technology Delivery, Cogeco Connexion. "Our technicians in the field and our engineers are working tirelessly to actively monitor traffic and ensure the stability of our network, which extends from Windsor, Ontario, to Gaspé, Québec, and serves more than 427 communities in various regions, all outside the major urban centres."

Over the past month, Cogeco Connexion has seen a significant increase in the use of all its services:

• Approximately 60% greater use of its Internet services during the day and about 25% at night;
• 40% increase in traffic for its video-on-demand services and growth of between 20% and 40% for other video streaming services, including Netflix;
• 45% additional usage of its telephony services.

Ever since the start of its cable operations in 1972, Cogeco has invested massively in digital infrastructure to build a robust network to deliver Internet, video and telephony services to meet the growing needs of residential and business consumers for speed, data capacity and access in rural and underserved regions. Its annual investments of more than $240 million are aimed at constantly increasing the network's capacity and maintaining the highest standards of connection and reliability.

Cogeco's head office is in Montréal and its operational centres are regionally located in Trois-Rivières for Québec customers and in Burlington for Ontario customers.

ABOUT COGECO CONNEXION

Cogeco Connexion regroups the Canadian cable operations of Cogeco Communications Inc. Cogeco Connexion is the second-largest cable operator in Ontario and Québec in terms of the number of basic cable service customers served. It provides its residential and small business customers with Internet, video and telephony services through its two-way broadband cable networks. Cogeco Communications Inc. is a communications corporation and is the eighth-largest hybrid fibre coaxial cable operator in North America operating in Canada under the Cogeco Connexion brand name in Québec and Ontario, and in the United States through its subsidiary Atlantic Broadband in 11 states along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida. Cogeco Communications Inc.'s subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CCA).

SOURCE Cogeco Connexion

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