CALGARY – Shaw Communications today confirmed what some were hinting at earlier this week: It will delay the launch of its wireless service until 2012.
In its quarterly results released this morning which show nice revenue spikes but hits on income, Brad Shaw, CEO of the Calgary-based cable and broadcast giant said: "We remain committed to wireless and are excited about the opportunity wireless represents for our company going forward. With the rapid evolution of wireless technology and changing market conditions, we believe it is best to take a disciplined approach to our wireless rollout to ensure we deliver an exceptional customer experience. Accordingly, during 2011 we plan to invest approximately $150 – $200 million on this initiative and now expect to launch these services in our first major market early in calendar year 2012, approximately 3 months later than previously anticipated."
The CEO transition from Jim to Brad Shaw completed earlier than anticipated (and amid a cloud of rumour) in November, the departure last week of recently hired wireless chief Lawrence Cooke, the fact the company is still in the beginning stages of integrating the Canwest Global assets – and the fact that Videotron has so far not met expectations with its wireless launch, all may have contributed to the delay.
Stay tuned for more on this later on.
