The Canadian government announced yesterday that it will appeal against a federal court’s ruling that the ownership of Wind Mobile, the mobile operator controlled by Globalive, contravened Canadian law on foreign ownership.
The Canadian industry minister…
The Canadian government announced yesterday that it will appeal against a federal court’s ruling that the ownership of Wind Mobile, the mobile operator controlled by Globalive, contravened Canadian law on foreign ownership.
The Canadian industry minister and another Canadian MP issued a statement stating that they believed their decision to allow Wind Mobile to operate in Canada had been the right one for Canadian consumers and they would “vigorously” defend it.
Minister Tony Clement and the MP for Levis-Bellechasse, Steven Blaney, also said that Globalive was a Canadian company, and that it meets the ownership and control requirements under the Canadian Telecommunications Act.
They said: “The policy of our government is to encourage choice and competition in wireless and Internet markets…New entrants mean more competition, lower prices and better quality services for Canadians.”
The Canadian federal court ruled on 4 February that a government decision that Wind Mobile’s ownership was in line with foreign ownership rules was based on legal errors and “must be quashed”.
The judge gave Wind Mobile’s owner, Globalive, 45 days to comply with the law.
Globalive is 65% owned by Orascom Telecom, which is controlled by the Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris. The remaining stake in Globalive is held by its founder, Canadian Anthony Lacavera.
The case was brought by the Canadian mobile operator Public Mobile following a decision by the government in late 2009 to allow Wind Mobile to operate.
The Canadian telecoms regulator had originally ruled earlier in 2009 that Wind Mobile should not be allowed to operate in Canada because it breached the country’s rules on foreign ownership.
The Canadian Telecommunications Act states that in order to operate as a telecommunications carrier in Canada, the carrier must be Canadian-owned/controlled.
The only exception to this is for carriers that own or operate international submarine cables, satellites or earth stations that provide telecoms services through satellites.
The Canadian government overturned the CRTC’s decision on 10 December. It claimed that Globalive was not controlled by a non-Canadian, and therefore could operate as a carrier in Canada.
Wind Mobile released a statement yesterday applauding the government’s decision. Anthony Lacavera, the chairman of the company, said: “Today the government put another stake in the ground for wireless competition in this country to promote more choice and value for Canadians. We are still considering our options but at this point, we hope our competitors will finally stop trying to game the regulatory system and allow everyone to focus on competing for customers!”
