Cabletel's Stirling Manufacturing Division Receives New Connector Approval by DirecTV.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

MARKHAM, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2003

Cabletel Communications Corp. (AMEX:TTV, TSX:TTV), the largest distributor of broadband, fiber optic equipment and solutions serving the Canadian television and telecommunication industries, today announced that DirecTV has approved the use of Stirling Manufacturing's new connector.

DirecTV has approved the use of the new RG6 RTQ series Stirling Push and Lock Coaxial Compression Connectors for its national Home Service Provider Network of contractors and installers. The RTQ is designed to accommodate regular, tri-shield and quad sized cables all in one. This reduces the number of different connectors a technician has to carry and assures higher quality installs with the proper fittings. Stirling's new RTQ also performed extremely well in all the SCTE standard tests performed by an independent laboratory.

The new connector is available through Jayco Ventures, Inc., Stirling's distributor to the Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) marketplace in the United States and South America. It is on display at the current 2003 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL, with distribution centers in Aurora, CO and Edison, NJ, Jayco manufactures and distributes installation products for the DBS industry.

DirecTV is the leading provider of digital satellite entertainment in the U.S. with more than 10.7 million customers at the end of 2001. DirecTV is one of five main units of Hughes Electronics Corp., a global company with revenues of $8.3 billion in 2001, and a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors.

Cabletel Communications offers a wide variety of products to the Canadian television and telecommunications industries required to construct, build, maintain and upgrade systems. Stirling Connectors, Cabletel's manufacturing division supplies national and international clients with proprietary products for deployment in cable, DBS and other wireless distribution systems. More information about Cabletel can be found at www.cabletelgroup.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties impacting the Company's business including increased competition; the ability of the Company to expand its operations through either acquisitions or internal growth, to attract and retain qualified professionals, and to expand commercial relationships; technological obsolescence; general economic conditions; and other risks detailed time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.