Colba.Net offering IPTV in Montreal; could its Netflix integration threaten big telecom?

After securing regulatory permission from the CRTC, Quebec telecom company Colba.Net has announced that they will be rolling out Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) on Montreal Island.

Colba.Net, which has 400,000 homes subscribing to their Internet and telephony services on the Island at present, will be delivering high-def, international and American channels, plus unlimited Internet access to websites of movies and TV episodes from NetFlix, AppleTV and TOU.TV for $20/month.

Currently, Bell’s Fibe TV seems to be the only competition to Colba.Net’s venture. Fibe TV runs as low as $30/month, and is only available in select neighbourhoods in Montreal and Toronto. According to this list of services, Fibe TV doesn’t have the Netflix, Apple TV, etc. that Colba.Net does, either.

It’s interesting to see a telecom company like Colba.Net have integration for services like Netflix that make the big telecos cringe like a vampire smelling garlic. While the big boys like Bell, Telus and Rogers have done everything in their power to stamp out Netflix — including introducing usage-based billing, which seriously hampers the affordability of Netflix — Colba.Net outright embraces it. It will be interesting to see how Colba.Net’s IPTV service performs once implemented, but here’s hoping it serves as a shot in the arm to the major telecos.

You can find out more about Colba.Net here.