Tuktoyaktuk (May 12/03) - Hamlet residents could lose cable television service at the end of June because of a lack of subscribers.

Northwestel Cable has been trying to find a buyer for the cable system for more than a year.

Company vice-president and general manager Mike Dittrich said it's not economically feasible to provide the service any longer.

"We're having a real challenge managing it remotely from Yellowknife and we are losing a lot of subscribers to digital television like satellite service," he said.

If a buyer cannot be found by the end of June, Dittrich said the service will be shut down.

Approximately 75 Tuktoyaktuk residents are current cable subscribers. The company requires at least 200 customers to keep the system running.

The company has engaged in discussions with the hamlet, hoping it would take over the cable system. But council and the Tuktoyaktuk Community Corporation have concluded it would not be economically feasible.

Dittrich also asked New North Networks in Inuvik if it would consider taking over as the cable provider for Tuktoyaktuk. The company was not interested.

Mayor Eddie Dillon said when Northwestel Cable installed the cable system about eight years ago, the Quebec contractor they hired to do the work did not do his job properly.

The company had to hire another contractor to fix things up, he said, and the installation cost Northwestel Cable more than it bargained for.

Dillon said now the company wants out because it hasn't been able to recoup those losses.

"We shouldn't pay for somebody else's silly mistake, and that's what they want," he said.

Dittrich said that's not true.

"That's absolutely incorrect. I don't know anything about that and that's certainly not the situation.

"It's a very simple equation. There's not a lot of mystery to it. It's just that there's not a large enough subscriber base to sustain the viability of the system," said Dittrich.

Local fundraising groups such as the hamlet's recreation department, the elders committee and the Beluga Jamboree committee relied heavily on the cable community channel to hold fundraising bingos.

If cable service is shut down, there will be no more TV Bingo.

Dillon said many residents are upset about that, but there is not much that can be done.

"What can we do? We don't have the money to purchase it," he said.

Hamlet staff are now looking into the possibility of getting the community radio station up and running again so those fundraising groups can host radio bingos instead.