World on Wireless is poised to roll out tiered service by mid-October, but company director Gavin Wilson says that subscribers to WOW?s! Summer Sampler package should expect no price increase on the channels they currently receive.

The new cable provider launched its wireless service this summer with a package of 84 channels for $68. Mr. Wilson told yesterday that when WOW! moves to tiers next month, the basic tier will include the same 84 channels as is included in the Summer Sampler plus an additional three channels for the same price of $68.

An additional $1 per month will purchase 45 DMX music stations while Tier Two will include an additional 25 channels for an extra $15. Subscribers will be allowed to add several additional multiplex movie tiers at $12.50 per tier.

Mr. Wilson spoke to the day after the Supreme Court dismissed further legal action against WOW?s public service television licence (PTS).

Hardell Entertainment and Hardell Cable TV has asked the courts to review the manner in which the Minister of Telecommunications issued World on Wireless (WOW) a licence for its cable television service.

Yesterday, Mr. Justice John Riihiluoma ruled that Hardell was out of time to initiate the review in respect of WOW?s PTS licence, but he has allowed the review to go forward in respect of a secondary grant of WOW?s Class 7 Equipment Licence.

Mr. Wilson said that he was confident about the upcoming legal proceedings.

?The Class 7 licence is linked with the technical side of the company and to be granted that licence all of your equipment has to be up to spec. The fact that we wanted to move from one frequency to another is purely an in-house matter between ourselves and the technical department of the Ministry of Telecommunications. It is never a public matter.?

Mr. Wilson says that the legal actions initiated by Harold Darrell?s companies have had no effect on WOW?s business operations. In fact, since launching in the spring, Wow! has subscribed more than 2,000 customers.

?That for us is encouraging because the original business plan did not foresee that in this short period of time,? Mr. Wilson said.?WOW! is now working to roll out its tiered services by mid-October but before it can do so the company must provide each subscriber with an access card. These are similar to a credit card and must be inserted into the front of each set top box.

Mr. Wilson said: ?At the moment it is not necessary because everyone has the same service which is the Summer Sampler package but once you move into tiers then people will opt for different things and that is what we are working on now.?

WOW! is also working to duplicate a tiered service that has been successfully rolled out by Canadian cable television providers Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications. ?Time Shift? involves offering subscribers five network channels aired on the Canadian and American west coasts. Effectively, it would allow locals to ?watch daytime in primetime?.

?People who like watching things like soaps and daytime television can watch it when they come home at night because of the time difference,? Mr. Wilson said.

WOW! is continuing to investigate ways to make video on demand and push TV more affordable for subscribers. Currently, the company is importing Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) at a cost of $795 and selling them to customers for $850. Mr. Wilson said that at that price sales have been slow so WOW! has been talking to banks and other financial institutions about offering financing on the systems. This week, he also expects to hear about other technology that would make the less expensive set top that WOW! currently sells for $135, PVR compatible. For around $200, these could be wired to external hard drives that perform the same function as a more expensive PVR.