The Federal Court of Canada has said 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”.
Announcing the ruling, a judge gave Wind Mobile’s owner, Globalive, 45…
The Federal Court of Canada has said 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”.
Announcing the ruling, a judge gave Wind Mobile’s owner, Globalive, 45 days to comply with the law.
Globalive is 65% owned by Orascom Telecom, the holding company 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.
It is this governmental decision that the Federal Court has now overturned.
In a statement, Wind Mobile’s founder Anthony Lacavera admitted his disappointment at the decision.
He said: “I am a proud Canadian and WIND Mobile, like the entire Globalive group of companies, is proudly Canadian.”
He claimed that the court decision did not suggest that the cabinet had got the decision wrong, rather that the Cabinet had made two errors in explaining their rationale and characterising their decision.
He added that the company “won’t let this be a setback for wireless competition in Canada” and that it was consulting its advisers on how to act.
Wind Mobile has increased its number of subscribers to 250,000 since it was launched in 2009.
Last September, Naguib Sawiris was quoted in the Canadian press describing the big three Canadian telcos (BCE, Telus and Rogers Communications) as “a joke”.
He was also cited saying that the country’s desire to protect its domestic industry from foreign players was matched only by China.
