(Toronto) The founder of Wind Mobile, which became the fourth mobile operator in Canada before being sold to Shaw Communications in 2016, would be interested in buying this asset, since renamed Freedom Mobile.
Posted at 3:07 p.m.
Anthony Lacavera, now president of Globalive, said his firm would be interested in Freedom’s wireless assets, which Shaw could be forced to sell by regulators to clear the deal that would see Rogers Communications acquire Shaw.
The agreement between Rogers and Shaw is being reviewed by three different federal regulatory authorities, namely the Competition Bureau, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
The transaction faces some opposition, including concerns about its impact on competition in the wireless industry. Observers expect Shaw will have to sell some of its assets for the deal to be approved.
The Minister responsible for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, François-Philippe Champagne, rejected the transaction in its current form. He said the full transfer of wireless licenses from Shaw to Rogers would be “fundamentally inconsistent” with his government’s policies regarding spectrum and competition in mobile services.
Mr. Lacavera said his company is well capitalized and has already shown that it can successfully expand competition in the Canadian market.
“We’ve lowered prices for consumers with Wind Mobile, and we’ll do it again,” he said.