Shaw Communications has raised the speed caps of its cable modem service tiers.

The MSO has goosed the downstream cap of its flagship tier to 5 Mbps (from 3 Mbps), and its "Xtreme" tier to 7 Mbps (from 5 Mbps).

Shaw will offer the speed upgrades for no additional cost initially to customers in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, and Winnipeg.

"The enhanced speed levels we announced today will enable faster downloads of large files such as photos, videos and music, which is quickly becoming one of the most popular uses of the Internet in the residential market," said Shaw President Peter Bissonnette, in a statement.