Shaw communications, Canada's number 2 cable provider, bought out Moffat communications last year, which included four U.S. cable systems in the states (3 in Texas, one in Florida). The purchase, along-side over-eager rollout has put the company in the red, and left cable customers in a lurch.

The company is now over 115 million dollars in the red, and just last week ordered that all construction in the United States be brought to a halt (foreshadowing for their planned sale of their U.S. systems, but we'll get to that). This particular mandate affects the four U.S. cable systems considerably, as the systems were in the middle of a promised conversion to 2 way digital technology. Shaw had already invested around 13 million in upgrades for these units. Between the four systems, over ten thousand customers have been left hanging in the wind.

Shaw Press Releases showed a brave face: "Shaw posted solid growth in its key business areas for the quarter and is trending towards meeting its target customer growth for the year. Shaw also continued to deliver quality revenue growth, with revenue up over 30 percent"

But DSLReports spoke to a Shaw employee who paints a much different picture. According to our source, the employees of ShawUS were told that of April, installers would be paid minimum wage. Employees were also being urged to use their own vehicles, tools, and equipment, as Shaw is selling the company vehicles to trim expenses. DSLReports was also told that there were rumors of significant planned layoffs expected.

Planned layoffs indeed. A week after ceasing all U.S. construction, Shaw announced that it was selling all its U.S. based systems to reduce its debt load: "Shaw will be selling its U.S. cable systems as they are no longer strategic and this will allow us to concentrate our focus and capital spending in Western Canada. The proceeds from the sale of assets will be used to reduce debt."

"No longer strategic" must be code for "we screwed up, and couldn't afford our own investments". There has been no announcement concerning a planned buyer of the U.S. business units, nor has the been any announcement made as to when those units can expect their promised upgrades, or what the future holds for many Shaw U.S. employees.