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Rastan
join:2007-04-25
Canada

Rastan

Member

Wind Mobile is For Sale

I hope that they don't sell to Bell, Rogers or Telus.

»www.cbc.ca/news/business ··· ?cmp=rss

I_H8_Spam
join:2004-03-10
St Catharines, ON

I_H8_Spam

Member

I don't think they can as they didn't reach the required market penetration.

elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
Premium Member
join:2006-08-30
Somewhere in

elwoodblues to Rastan

Premium Member

to Rastan
They can't be sold to Robellus.
I just read this in the Globe, it's speculation by an analyst trying to make a buck on share sales.
Rastan
join:2007-04-25
Canada

Rastan

Member

According to the article below, they can't be sold to an incumbent until 2014. This doesn't seem like speculation to me.

»www.theglobeandmail.com/ ··· 9114228/

LazMan
Premium Member
join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

LazMan to Rastan

Premium Member

to Rastan
I believe there's another year or two before they can be acquired by another carrier (incumbent or combine with one of the other new entrants).

Wind's entire plan has been to fulfil the 5 year legal obligation as part of the spectrum auction, and to get enough of a customer base to become a takeover target. There was never a plan to be a long term player in the space...

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4

Premium Member

Well that sucks. So goodbye to $30/month unlimited plans, hello to $130/month unlimited plans. Roger is excellent at finding ways to nickel and dime people.
DanteX
join:2010-09-09

DanteX to Rastan

Member

to Rastan
If Wind gets bought by one of the Big guys such as telus bell or rogers we have no hope what so ever of lower prices and competition in this country.
Rastan
join:2007-04-25
Canada

Rastan

Member

We'll still have Mobilicity & Public Mobile.

Guspaz
Guspaz
MVM
join:2001-11-05
Montreal, QC

1 edit

Guspaz to Rastan

MVM

to Rastan
It's not the first time they've changed owners, and it seems possible that nothing at all will change.

WIND was originally owned by Anthony Lacavera and Naguib Sawiris through Orascom. Sawiris sold Orascom to Vimpelcom, and Lacavera is currently in the process of transferring his shares to them too so that they can complete the sale.

Now, who does it turn it is apparently making a bid? The Globe & Mail and the Wallstreet Journal are both reporting that Lacavera and Sawiris are currently working on a bid to buy back WIND...

In other words, after all these sale shenanigans, it seems possible that WIND will end up with the same owners it started out with, but with the new ownership structure taking advantage of the new foreign ownership rules, which don't require the crazy non-voting-stock nonsense that WIND needed to be considered "Canadian" before the rules changed.

I do agree, however, that a consolidation between a few of the new entrants would put them in a greatly enhanced position to compete with the incumbents, as well as provide them with a nice bump in spectrum in all parts of Canada (including Public Mobile's network in Quebec).

loosedobbs
join:2006-06-13
Toronto

loosedobbs to Rastan

Member

to Rastan
I have Fido/Koodo was thinking to port it over to Wind. somewhere in June. Now this looks bad. I have to wait now.

elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
Premium Member
join:2006-08-30
Somewhere in

elwoodblues

Premium Member

Do it anyway, you'll still save money over sticking with robellus

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone to Guspaz

Premium Member

to Guspaz
said by Guspaz:

In other words, after all these sale shenanigans, it seems possible that WIND will end up with the same owners it started out with, but with the new ownership structure taking advantage of the new foreign ownership rules, which don't require the crazy non-voting-stock nonsense that WIND needed to be considered "Canadian" before the rules changed.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding. This is exactly what's happening.

Xstar_Lumini
join:2008-12-14
CANADA

Xstar_Lumini to Rastan

Member

to Rastan
FIDO's magnificent "City Plan" ended after Rogers bought them, it was the best deal in town (Toronto). I have hopes that if Rogers buys them they will still honor my $30/month unlimited data-voice everything and Canada-wide calling for at least 3 more years.

Never will another phone company come into Canada again, the ex owner of Wind, that egyptian guy once said that not even North Korea was so difficult than Canada to set up his market, to start Canada sold him the armpit of the cellphone operating spectrum, a wavelength that does not penetrate buildings and does not go far from the towers, that alone crippled WIND. The governments WANTS it like this, they want the 3 "canadian" providers to overcharge us and to keep bribing their politicians for protection against world competition.

We deserve this for no leaving the incumbets en-mass and joining our savior at the beginning. Now we will pay for our stupidity.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by Xstar_Lumini:

the ex owner of Wind, that egyptian guy once said that not even North Korea was so difficult than Canada to set up his market

That was back before it was legal for him to actually spend any money. Things are a bit different now, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's willing to give it another go now that a lot of the things that tied his hands have been removed.

Juggernaut
Irreverent or irrelevant?
Premium Member
join:2006-09-05
Kelowna, BC

Juggernaut to Xstar_Lumini

Premium Member

to Xstar_Lumini
I guess you could lump in Clearnet with that as well before Telus bought them.

Cope made a killing at $6B though.

Guspaz
Guspaz
MVM
join:2001-11-05
Montreal, QC

Guspaz to Xstar_Lumini

MVM

to Xstar_Lumini
said by Xstar_Lumini:

FIDO's magnificent "City Plan" ended after Rogers bought them, it was the best deal in town (Toronto).

Fido's CityFido plan didn't end, and is in fact still offered today. The name briefly changed to FullFido for a while, but the service remained the same. The plan that is still available today is a prepaid plan that is $39.75 for unlimited everything, with the "value pack" features included free.

The plan has not changed all that much since it was first introduced a zillion years ago, although they have done some tweaks here and there. For example, my current plan is a $30/mth CityFido plan that includes 2000 minutes instead of unlimited, which I switched to when they started offering 2000 minutes for $5/mth less than unlimited. The price has varied from $40 when it was first introduced before Rogers bought them, to $35 for a while, then $35 with the $30 option, then today back to $40 again as a prepaid service.

In fact the current $40 prepaid option is a better deal than the postpaid plan was, since the prepaid option includes the stuff you needed to pay for the value pack on, which makes it cheaper.

Dones
join:2008-02-14
Toronto, ON

Dones to Rastan

Member

to Rastan
said by Rastan:

We'll still have Mobilicity & Public Mobile.

Whoa... I didn't know about Public Mobile. I think I'm living under a rock.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by Dones:

Whoa... I didn't know about Public Mobile. I think I'm living under a rock.

Don't feel bad. Most people outside of Montral have never heard of Public Mobile.

Guspaz
Guspaz
MVM
join:2001-11-05
Montreal, QC

Guspaz to Rastan

MVM

to Rastan
Hey, they service Toronto too :P

It does make sense that they'd be a great deal more successful in Montreal, though. Their advertising has been prominent, and they're not facing much competition since they're the only real new entrant.

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by Guspaz:

Hey, they service Toronto too :P
It does make sense that they'd be a great deal more successful in Montreal, though. Their advertising has been prominent, and they're not facing much competition since they're the only real new entrant.

That was sort of my point. In Montreal they are truly the only non-incumbent option. In Toronto they've got Wind and Mobilicity to drown them out.

Xstar_Lumini
join:2008-12-14
CANADA

Xstar_Lumini to Rastan

Member

to Rastan
said by Rastan:

We'll still have Mobilicity & Public Mobile.

I don't remember which one of the 2 my friend has but the thing is that he cannot receive signal in Canada's Wonderland which is about 5 km north of Toronto city limits, and the cellphone company is based in Toronto, go figure.

WIND is the new independent which has the best coverage of all, from Whitby all the way to the U.S. border, all the GTA Toronto, Barrie,Niagara Falls,Hamilton even Angus and Orangeville.

creed3020
Premium Member
join:2006-04-26
Kitchener, ON

creed3020 to Rastan

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to Rastan
This news is disheartening. I was hoping for some stability from Wind as my contract with Bell is up in May and I was wanting to switch. I'm getting tired of paying Bell for text's because I go over my plans allotment. Just the sheer concept of it is retarded.

I'll be looking at going from a bill of $80 with taxes to less than $40 just like my wife pays today with Wind. It will good riddance that is for sure. To top it off she has a better deal of course being that everything is unlimited on the Wind side.
yyzlhr
join:2012-09-03
Scarborough, ON

yyzlhr to Rastan

Member

to Rastan
This is the unfortunate truth about starting up wireless companies.

Wind has the backing of multinational telecommunications companies who realistically have the same financial aspirations as our Big 3. Once they realized how much money has been spent at Wind Canada just to build what they have now, coupled with the fact that ARPU is so low that there's no way to recoup what they put it, let alone continue expansion, it's no surprise that Vimpelcom now wants out.

I suspect, mobilicity will likely be in a similar situation. They are even more cash strapped than Wind, and likely have fewer subscribers as well.

Unfortunately, with the crazy amount of debt that Wind is carrying, I can't see anyone aside from the Big 3 who would consider this to be a good investment.
Expand your moderator at work

noemails
@bell.ca

noemails to yyzlhr

Anon

to yyzlhr

Re: Wind Mobile is For Sale

good investment ? they call it a loss and write it off they dont care about that...you need to look at the bigger picture..wind debt for any of the big three is like me or you pulling the change out of our pocket and tossing it onto the ground

EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS to Rastan

Premium Member

to Rastan
said by Rastan:

We'll still have Mobilicity & Public Mobile.

Did not know either, however cannot find roaming charges on their site.
Rastan
join:2007-04-25
Canada

Rastan

Member

said by EUS:

Did not know either, however cannot find roaming charges on their site.

I found Mobilicity's roaming charges.
»mobilicity.ca/plans/add- ··· =roaming

edit: And here's the info for Public Mobile.
»www.publicmobile.ca/pmco ··· URL=#qa3

EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS

Premium Member

Thx Rastan.

Pauly
join:2004-05-29
canada

Pauly

Member

Pubic mobile uses incompatibe spectrum and handsets and a different equiptment vendor, it would cost them way more to purchase wind (global live) and convert it to their current standard, or they might want to convert their PCS G band into the wind AWS but there might be restrictions on their network licence from IC which could prevent Pubic from aquiring spectrum in other bands.

As for Mobilicity, i think htey are the closest in spectrum to Wind (global live) so is winds entire company global live beign sold including the YAK brand or just wind mobile the network which was licenced by wind SPA of greece/europe/italy? they will have to give up the wind name, no? wind is just a trade mark they dont own the name they are using it under licence, no?

EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS

Premium Member

Way over my head. I want to punch numbers, talk, and not pay lots of money to do so.