Orascom announced yesterday that it was planning to convert its non-voting stake in WIND Mobile into a voting one thereby taking control of the Canadian carrier and making it Canada’s first foreign-owned carrier. WIND Mobile today issued a press release to reconfirm that the announcement does not affect its current commitments. It also sought to put to rest merger rumours. […]
Foreign ownership
Egypt-based Orascom to take control of WIND Mobile
With Canada having rolled out new foreign ownership rules for the telecom sector, Egypt-based Orascom is moving forward with a plan to assume voting control of WIND Mobile which now has over 500,000 subscribers. The company will exercise an option to convert a 65% non-voting stake into voting shares. The move would see control shift away from Globalive Communications but […]
Globalive wins foreign ownership court battle
Globalive, WIND Mobile’s parent company, will not be headed to court after Canada’s Supreme Court dismissed Public Mobile’s suit over its ownership status. Needless to say, WIND Mobile’s CEO, Tony Lacavera, was pleased with the news: We’re extremely pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision, which will allow us to tie off this loose end and continue working with the best […]
New Canadian telecom ownership rules to take effect in June?
Earlier this month, Industry Canada announced new foreign ownership rules for the telecom sector. The current rules were loosened to allow foreign companies to take full ownership of a carrier with less than a 10 percent market share. Citing unnamed sources, The Globe and Mail reports they could take effect before the end of June. The necessary amendments to the […]
Industry Canada announces spectrum auction and foreign ownership rules
The Canadian government today finally announced updated foreign ownership rules along with details about its next spectrum auction. The new rules are expected to bring about greater competition. “Our government has taken significant action to promote competition in the wireless sector, and our decisions have helped to reduce mobile wireless prices for Canadian families by 10 percent since 2008,” said […]
Industry Canada to announce next spectrum auction details today?
The Canadian government may be about to finally announce the details for the next spectrum auction (covering spectrum in the 700 and 2,500MHz bands). According to The Globe and Mail, Industry Minister Christian Paradis is scheduled to make a telecom policy announcement at 16:15 ET after financial markets close. The announcement could also announce a decision about foreign investment in […]
Canada set to announce rules for next wireless spectrum auction?
Citing “a person familiar with the plans,” Bloomberg is reporting that the Canadian government will outline sometime in February the rules for the next spectrum auction (covering spectrum in the 700 and 2,500MHz bands). The details could be made available as early as February 13th. The auction is expected to take place later this year but delays in announcing the […]
Still no Canadian decision on telecom foreign ownership and 700Mhz auction
Speaking today at the International Institute of Communications (IIC) Canada Conference in Ottawa, Industry Minister Christian Paradis revealed little new information about possible changes to foreign ownership rules in the telecom sector and rules for the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction. He outlined one government expectation: That Canadian carriers will be expected to offer rural Canadians the same services as to […]