Montreal-based cable television king Le Groupe Videotron Ltee reports that its Videtron USA Inc affilaite has bought an 80% stake in the Transworld Wireless TV – Tampa Bay Inc subsidiary of Transworld Telecommunications Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah. The company operates a wireless cable system in the greater Tampa Bay, Florida area using multichannel multipoint distribution technology, and Videotron and Transworld are sufficiently excited by so-called wireless cable – delivering cable television programming via a cellular transmission system – that they have formed an equally-owned joint venture, Wireless Holdings Inc, to acquire and develop wireless cable systems across the US; there are thought to be 85 such systems currently in operation, with another 50 set to launch. Videotron’s Videoway interactive multimedia technology will be implemented in all markets where the joint venture operates. To seal the deal further, Videotron also bought $1.5m of Transworld Telecommunications Series B convertible redeemable preferred stock.
