Shaw joins cablecos applying for basic cable deregulation
Shaw Communications Inc. has filed an application with the CRTC to deregulate its basic service in its Class 1 systems in mainland Vancouver. In a June 12 letter to the commission, Shaw asks that its Burnaby; Coquitlan/Maple Ridge and Mission (Frasier); Northwest Vancouver, Vancouver; Surrey/Abbotsford; and White Rock BC systems be deregulated. Shaw filed an auditor's report for these systems supplied by Roger Cable Inc.'s auditor, KPMG, to show it had lost more than 5 per cent of its customer base. Rogers was the previous owner of the cable systems. According to documents submitted to the CRTC, the Vancouver system declined by 12.8 per cent. By Dec. 30, 2000, the subscriber base had declined by 35,159 customers from the 274,332 signed up on Sept. 5, 1997. Shaw becomes the latest cableco to request rate deregulation with these applications. Cogeco Cable Inc., Monarch Cablesystems Ltd., Vidéotron ltée, Rogers, and Persona, formerly known as Regional Cablesystems Inc. have already submitted applications for deregulation for some of their systems. Shaw president Peter Bissonnette had told CCR that his company had no plans to file for deregulation (CCR, Dec. 6/01), but in announcing its financials in March, the Calgary-based cableco indicated plans to go for deregulation (CCR, March 28/02).

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