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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
He is known in town as the cable guy, even though entrepreneur Maxim Cimon specializes in satellite television installations, not cable.

Max Cimon, owner of CG Systems in Yellowknife, displays satellite television equipment on the roof of his Northland Trailer Park home on Friday. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

Cimon, who started his mobile business CG Systems in 2010, said his business has been growing as people in Yellowknife and surrounding areas - who have installed their own satellite systems in the past for lack of professional installers in the area - are becoming more aware of the technician's presence.

For the past two years, Cimon has been in business for himself, installing and activating residential and commercial satellite TV systems from Bell, SHAW, Roy's Audio Video, and other Yellowknife dealers, saving customers "the headache of installation," he said.

"I do satellite TV installs but people still come up and say the 'cable guy is here,'" Cimon said, explaining why he ironically called his business CG, or Cable Guy Systems.

During his many years in Yellowknife - which included many years working sales for a Northern technological infrastructure company - Cimon observed that many residential customers in Yellowknife and surrounding communities such as Dettah and Behchoko, where there are no cable services, were left to install their satellite systems on their own, as larger companies preferred the economics of a business-to-business installation service.

"A lot of the bigger companies in town were not interested in catering to the residential market, so I started a business that does that, that focuses on the residential market which seems to be not very well catered to," he said. "I think what has happened is people still don't know that somebody in town does this. I've been doing this for two years and people are still saying, 'Oh, I didn't know you were around, I didn't know you did this,' so that's what's happening."

Cimon's one-man business has installed or repaired about 200 satellite systems since the business started, he estimates, based on about three to four installs per week. His goal is to bring that number up to eight installs per week.

While his satellite install business continues to gain steam, CG Systems also provides security camera services, network cabling, low-voltage systems, and other wireless solutions.

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