TORONTO – New York-based Verizon Communications is setting its sights on entering the Canadian market by reportedly offering to acquire Wind Mobile for $700 million.
Citing “two people familiar with the situation,” the Globe and Mail today reported that the U.S. carrier has also held recent talks with Mobilicity’s stakeholders to discuss a potential acquisition.
With a market cap of US$135 billion and an estimated US$10.8 billion in free cash flow, the odds of successfully entering the Canadian market would be in Verizon’s favour, according to analyst Dvai Ghose of Canaccord Genuity. By purchasing…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Mobilicity’s parent company DAVE Wireless announced today that it is rescheduling its debtholders’ vote of Mobilicity’s recapitalization plan to July 3, 2013.
In a release, the company said the date change for the vote, which had been previously scheduled for June 25, would give stakeholders a chance to assess prior to the vote what impact, if any, Industry Canada guidelines regarding the transfer of wireless spectrum would have on Mobilicity’s recapitalization plan. The guidelines are anticipated to be released by the end of this month.
Earlier this month, the federal government rejected…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – The realities of the wireless market in Canada and globally continue to tell most people that no matter what the federal government tries or what anyone says, chances are slim that a fourth viable wireless player in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario will find success.
Add BMO Capital Markets telecom, cable and media analyst Tim Casey to the chorus of those who believe the federal government has muddled and mishandled the wireless file and that there doesn’t seem to be a way forward to its stated political goals. Noting that Industry Minister Christian Paradis has been on record several…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Orascom Telecom announced Wednesday it has withdrawn its application for Investment Canada Act approval of its acquisition of control of Wind Mobile Canada.
Back in January, Orascom announced it would take full control of the nascent Canadian wireless company in a deal which would have seen company CEO Tony Lacavera transfer all of his shares to the foreign owner and resign as CEO. The agreement followed changes to the foreign investment rules by the federal government that frees up telecom companies with less than 10% market share to have no restrictions on foreign ownership….
Continue Reading
THE GLOBE AND MAIL’s top business story on Monday was one saying U.S. telecom behemoth Verizon was looking at jumping into the Canadian market by purchasing tiny Wind Mobile, or the even tinier, Mobilicity.
The guffaws you heard Monday morning came from the offices of all of the nation’s telecom companies – and just about all of Bay Street. “What a joke,” one senior telecom executive told Cartt.ca on condition of anonymity. “This is just bulls**t fed to (The Globe) by people trying to drum up interest in Wind and Mobilicity,” said another.
“This is highly unlikely,”…
Continue Reading
NETWORK EXPANSION NEWS
Launches this week:
Rogers-MTS agreement allows Rogers LTE Max expansion in Manitoba
TORONTO – Rogers Communications announced Thursday it will bring Rogers LTE Max to customers in Manitoba through a province-wide network sharing agreement with MTS Inc.
Starting Monday, Rogers will roll out LTE Max, an LTE network deployment that enables speeds of up to 150 Mbps, to customers in Winnipeg, Brandon, Victoria Beach, and Grand Beach. Rogers will continue to expand LTE Max coverage to additional markets in 2013, including Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, Steinbach, and Ste. Anne, with plans…
Continue Reading
TORONTO, ON – While Canadians businesses continue to have concerns with public cloud computing, an IDC study released Tuesday says more Canadian enterprises are associating cloud services with a higher level of business performance.
The IDC study, commissioned by Telus, found that 73% of Canadian organizations that have adopted cloud have overcome data governance challenges and reported improved data compliance as one of the main benefits. These companies also said that using cloud was meeting their financial expectations. “The survey indicates that the number one priority for Canadian businesses is improving customer service,” says Tony Krueck,…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Spectrum hoarders need to “use it, lose it, or pay” was the message from wireless broadband services providers who spoke Wednesday afternoon during the closing session of the 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit.
“Our challenge is there are people out there who hoard spectrum and don’t make it readily available for people who need it,” said Michael Stephens, vice-president of marketing for TeraGo Networks, a provider of business broadband and cellular backhaul services during the panel discussion about the next generation of wireless.
Stephens said TeraGo would like to see the enforcement of spectrum implementation. “As long as people are…
Continue Reading
EDMONTON and BEVERLY HILLS – Super Channel announced today it has expanded its exclusive licensing and programming distribution deal with Starz Worldwide Distribution.
The agreement makes Super Channel the exclusive English pay television home in Canada for several Starz original series including David S. Goyer’s Da Vinci’s Demons, and the second season of Magic City, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Olga Kurylenko, and James Caan. Each program will have a Canadian premiere on June 14, 2013 during a special two-hour programming block at 9pm ET.
Other TV series as part of the agreement include the widely…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Telus officially terminated its plan to buy Mobilicity today after last week’s refusal by Industry Canada to okay the deal.
The struggling wireless provider announced it will now pursue its earlier recapitalization plan, which will be voted on by Mobilicity’s debtholders at a meeting on June 25. In a statement, the company said it “will continue to provide updates as warranted. Mobilicity continues to deliver an affordable wireless experience to its customers.”
The federal government rejected Telus’ proposal of $380 million to acquire Mobilicity on June 4, stating that it would not allow…
Continue Reading
