TORONTO – Wind Mobile has secured $425 in new financing to help fund its LTE network upgrade using equipment and services supplied exclusively by Nokia Corporation.
In the first of two announcements on Thursday, the company said that Nokia Networks will be its “sole network infrastructure provider and innovation partner” as it upgrades its network to LTE.
Under the five-year deal, Nokia Networks will deploy new radio LTE, LTE virtualized core and OSS (NetAct to support the LTE and core elements), as well as a full cloud-based core based on OpenStack, which will include all of the elements: IMS, HSS, VoLTE, VoWi-Fi and Evolved Packet Core.
Wind said that the move will increase network capacity and speed, recognize substantial network efficiency gains and deliver a better network experience for its customers. It will also allow it to better compete with the ‘Big Three’ wireless providers.
In the second announcement, Wind said that its new senior secured debt facility allows up to $425 million of total financing towards its network enhancement and deployment of LTE. The facility, led by Toronto-Dominion, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce with additional support from the export credit agency of Finland, enabled the re-financing of existing debt facilities and consists of multiple delayed-draw tranches to fund both operational growth and network expansion.
“The combination of our new financing, new spectrum acquired earlier this year and approved by the Federal Government, and with Nokia as a world-class technology partner, Wind fulfills the requirements to move to the next stage in its growth and network functionality,” said Wind CEO Alek Krstajic, in the announcement. “It is also important to note the support we have received from our syndicate of Canadian banks and that they have recognized both the evolution of Wind and its importance in delivering a competitive choice to Canadian consumers.”
