Shaw Cable to end service in RR Aug. 28th

By Ken Johnston
Editor

If you subscribe to cable television in Rainy River, you won’t be for long.
Shaw Cable sent its Rainy River customers a goodbye letter August 8th announcing that they will be ceasing service in the community.
“Effected August 28, 2008 we will no longer be offering Shaw Cable Service in the Rainy River area. We have enjoyed serving Rainy River and are regretful of this change,” said the letter.
The reason stated in the letter for the termination of service is that the property they have leased for their plant was sold. Shaw failed to respond to a request by the Record as to whether they sought another location in the community for their plant or to say how many customers will be affected by the change.
Shaw did tell their current customers that they have secured an exclusive deal with Star Choice sattelite providers for its Rainy River customers.
Locally Star Choice is sold at The Source by Circuit City and over the weekend owner and operator Lance Lindal reported that he has been very busy installing dishes and receivers ever since the news broke. He is well stocked with them and ready to sign customers up for the deal offered by Star Choice.
Lindal said that he was told that the cable customer base had dwindled down to about 40 customers. Of those 40 a few were commercial customers that had multiple subscribers (i.e. hotels, etc.).
While Lindal is happy for the new business at The Source By Circuit City, he was dissappointed on one count. “With them pulling out, there goes an alternative source of high speed internet service in Rainy River.”
Cable t.v. came to Rainy River in the 1980s when Norcom Cable of Kenora established service here. It was recently purchased by Shaw who also owns Star Choice.
There have been very few changes to the channels offered in Rainy River and that has seen many homeowners switch to sattelite providers who offer digital and high definition services with hundreds of channels.