Wireless important, but Shaw won’t break the bank in deployment

Shaw Communications Inc. won't bet the farm on wireless, according to company CEO Jim Shaw. Despite the possibility of rounding out the company's service portfolio with either a regional or national wireless offering in partnership with other like-minded operators, Shaw Communications says it will take the slow go approach to wireless. Speaking during the communications firm's Q2 2008 conference call last week, Shaw said investments in wireless will be done prudently and won't sacrifice overall corporate profitability or the company's policy of returning cash to shareholders. He added that history has shown Shaw Communications has rolled out services in a manner that benefited both consumers and investors. "Shaw will not deploy if the economic model does not work in the long term," Shaw said. "And when we see the economic model on wireless, it looks to us like it works. Of course there's always a little bit of equipment issues that you have to deal with as there was with digital phone. While the company wouldn't comment directly on the spectrum auction or its service plans if successful in winning bandwidth, Shaw cautioned that new entrants will face an uphill battle to win subscribers if they decide to compete in Shaw's backyard. "For like MTS and other people, it's going to be real hard when we're offering our full suite of products for them to come in across the board," Shaw told investors. His comments suggest that despite the company's conservative commitment to wireless, it could signal that any potential partnership with MTS is a non-starter even after the close of the spectrum auction. Shaw Communications, through numbered company 1380057 Alberta Ltd., submitted a deposit of more than $400 million to participate in Industry Canada's spectrum auction scheduled to begin on May 27. Money of this magnitude gives the company the right to bid on the 40 MHz new entrant spectrum in addition to 20 MHz of non-reserved bandwidth in all licences. Still the company would have money left over to bid on 10 MHz of spectrum in Canada's major urban areas. While it's still unclear whether Shaw Communications will ultimately try to launch a national wireless service, the company could form an alliance with EastLink owner, Bragg Communications Inc., and Vidéotron ltée, to form a new national player.

Wireless important, but Shaw won’t break the bank in deployment

News | 04/14/2008 4:15 pm EDT

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