It was odd for a number of reasons. The younger leader of Western Canada’s largest cable operator was downright docile – softspoken even – during the 5-minute spot.

Mr. Shaw, though always respectful, has not been one to deliver a soliloquy on any one topic in a dull fashion. He’s more apt to deliver one of his infamous thunderbolts from on high with a lot of personality behind it.

This is unusual for those that have never seen the CEO of Shaw Communications deliver a speech of any length.

Also notable was his face or what seemed to be less of it. The (formerly?) rotund Mr. Shaw, of course, is a heavy set fellow for those that followed the telecom services scene for any length of time.

If a camera puts an extra 10 pounds on a guy, it would’ve taken two cameras to equal the weight of Mr. Shaw the last time I saw him speak live on television.

Didn’t seem that way last week.

He’s no Calista Flockhart but the guy looks like he’s shed a pound or 20.

Someone could’ve put two cameras on him and he still wouldn’t have weighed as much as he has in recent memory.

This of course has never been an issue for longtime Shaw shareholders, whose shares had doubled from from Jan 2004 to Jan 2006. (This dismal investing year doesn’t count).

So why the makeover then, if indeed there has been focus on his image? Perhaps it has something to do with the company’s ambitions? Save for its StarChoice satellite TV operation, Shaw hasn’t been known as a national provider.

With reserved spectrum presumably in the bag and mandated roaming on the way thanks to the generosity of the Canadian federal government, Shaw may one day soon end up as a national wireless provider.

Or maybe this is just one sign the company is reading itself for greater competition in Western Canada? A leaner, meaner Jim Shaw could be a sign the company is girding itself for a new and more intense round of battles with a slew of companies, including Telus, in the West.

Shaw, of course, has until recently lived off the avails of its cable TV offering. Greater competition on the TV front has forced the provider to diversify in recent years. It now sells a variety of services, including a home telephone offering, to consumers in the West.

We’re reading tea leaves now but the timing of Jim Shaw 2.0 may well be the unofficial start of a new era of telecom services competition in Western Canada.

[tags] Shaw Communications, Jim Shaw [/tags]

That’s assuming, of course, the Western Canadian cable network operator buys air waves in the forthcoming auction, which begins on May 27, then resorts to inaction afterwards.

If the federal government, Industry Canada specifically, wants to promote competition as it has said and Shaw gobbles up valuable air waves, shouldn’t the company have to build a network in one part of the country within a reasonable amount of time? (presumably Western Canada where the overwhelming majority of the company’s customers are based)

I assume there are provisions for those companies that choose to shelve spectrum. Shaw, I should note, has paid a $400-million deposit to Industry Canada in advance of the auction.

But Shaw has said it’s not sure if it’ll actually do anything with airwaves it may yet buy.

By my count, the spirit of the (reserved spectrum) auction will be violated if that’s the path it pursues or if it resells the spectrum at a later date.

Most likely Shaw is using the same sort of gamesmanship it used in the months leading up to Friday’s announcement that it will participate. You’ll recall Shaw said it wasn’t going to participate in the auction.

Perhaps Shaw wants to partner with Videotron and/or MTS Allstream and its statements are the company’s way of moving its potential allies to action? I don’t know.

One thing’s for sure – Shaw, for the sake of relevancy, will have to get into the wireless game over the long term.

Both companies have kickstarted growth engines over the past two to three years thanks in large part to the introduction of home phone service in Western Canada (Shaw) and Quebec (Videotron) respectively.

When does the home phone success end for Shaw and Videotron end? It’s nowhere in sight as far as I can tell. I’d expect 50% of Canadian households will subscribe to a home phone service from what we still (strangely) call the cable TV providers in 5 years time compared to about 15% penetration now.

Yes, it’s true Bell will soon have some pricing flexibility once the local phone market is deregulated as expected this summer. The incumbents, namely Bell Canada, will cut prices in select instances to retain customers but the flexibility of a company like Bell is limited. That’s because it’s still a company that generates the bulk of its profits from the home phone.

But Bell and the other incumbents still rely on wireline customers for profitability – a scary proposition for investors. Telus, of course, is most heavily exposed to wireless with about 50% of EBITDA generated from wireless. Bell, the country’s largest provider of wireline services, has lost the most ground and stands to lose more in such a scenario.

It’s easy to see why shares in Rogers and Shaw are perched at a 5-year high.