Freedom Mobile (formerly Wind Mobile) is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider owned by Québecor. As of November 30, 2022 it is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the country with 2,290,497 subscribers and a 6% market share, primarily concentrated in urban areas of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba. In addition to mobile phone plans, Freedom also offers home internet and TV services.
Founded in 2008 by the telecommunications provider Globalive, Wind Mobile was one of several new carriers launched that year under a Canadian government initiative to foster competition in the wireless sector. Alongside Mobilicity (later acquired by Rogers Communications) and Public Mobile (later acquired by Telus Communications), Wind Mobile initially introduced mobile data and voice services in Toronto, Ontario, on December 16, 2009, and Calgary, Alberta, on December 18, 2009.
In 2016, Shaw Communications acquired Wind Mobile, and subsequently rebranded it as Freedom Mobile. On June 17, 2022, Shaw Communications, Rogers Communications, and Québecor announced an agreement for the sale of Freedom Mobile to Vidéotron, a subsidiary of Québecor, pending approval from the Competition Bureau and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. The sale received approval on March 31, 2023, and was finalized on April 3, 2023.
History 2008: Wind Mobile founded
In 2008, Globalive bid CAD $442 million to secure 3G spectrum at 1,700 MHz needed to launch Wind Mobile's network. Globalive, a Canadian telecommunications company, was primarily financed by the Egyptian corporation Orascom Telecom Holding and managed by Wind Telecom, which owns several other Wind-branded telecommunications companies. Ken Campbell, a former executive at Vodafone and Orascom, was appointed the first CEO of Globalive Wireless in 2008. However, the company's launch was delayed due to a public ownership review by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which found that Globalive did not meet Canadian ownership requirements, citing its reliance on Orascom for CAD $508 million in debt.Robertson, Grant. Globalive fails ownership test: CRTC. The Globe and Mail. October 29, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.Sturgeon, Jamie. Wind Mobile takes off. National Post. December 11, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
2009: Network launch On December 11, the Governor-in-Council, acting on the advice of then Minister of Industry Tony Clement, issued a final decision deeming that Globalive met the ownership requirements, allowing it to enter the Canadian market immediately.
On December 14, Wind Mobile announced a partnership with Blockbuster in Canada, establishing Wind kiosks and offering prepaid products at 16 Blockbuster locations—13 in Ontario and 3 in Calgary.
On December 16, Wind Mobile officially launched its mobile service in Toronto, hosting a launch event at its Queens Quay store in downtown Toronto. Two days later, on December 18, Wind Mobile expanded its service to Calgary, Alberta.
2010: Expansion and 100,000 subscribers On March 4, 2010, Chris Robbins, Chief Customer Officer, resigned from Wind Mobile. While both Robbins and the company stated that the departure was due to strategic changes and his desire to pursue other business opportunities, analysts speculated that an executive departure so early suggested disappointing market penetration.Marlow, Iain. Wind Mobile's Chris Robbins leaves telecom start-up . The Globe and Mail. March 4, 2010.
Wind Mobile continued its expansion, launching in Edmonton on February 25, Ottawa on March 26, and Vancouver on June 3.
By early July 2010, Wind Mobile had reached 100,000 subscribers.
2011: Orascom sells to VimpelCom On February 4, 2011, the Federal Court ruled in favour of competitors Public Mobile and Telus, declaring the Governor-in-Council's decision regarding Wind's Canadian ownership requirements improper. On May 18, the Federal Court of Appeal heard arguments from Wind and the federal government to overturn the Federal Court decision. The appeal was successful, and the Federal Court of Appeal restored the Governor-in-Council's order, affirming Wind met Canadian ownership requirements.
On March 17, shareholders of the Russian mobile operator VimpelCom supported a $6 billion deal to acquire Wind Telecom, which included Orascom Telecom, a significant shareholder in Wind Mobile. This transaction would create the world's fifth-largest mobile operator with over 173 million subscribers. In June 2011, Ken Campbell, Wind Mobile's founding CEO, resigned.
On November 7, Wind Mobile launched a new advertising campaign with the slogan "That's the power of Wind."
2012: Revised plan offerings On March 1, 2012, Wind Mobile refreshed its plan lineup. The Clever and Brilliant plans were eliminated, while Pay Your Way permanently included unlimited incoming calls on Wind's network. The mid-range Smart and high-end Genius plans lost their names and had some features altered. Only SMS messages sent to Canadian numbers were included, and all MMS or non-Canadian SMS became pay-per-use. The Wind 25 plan included 100 MB of mobile Internet access, while the Wind 40 plan featured 5 GB of full-speed mobile Internet instead of voicemail.
2013: Leadership change On January 18, 2013, Anthony Lacavera announced his transition from CEO to chairman of the company. At the same time, Wind Mobile disclosed reaching approximately 600,000 subscribers. VimpelCom initiated efforts to find potential buyers for Wind in March 2013.
On April 10, Wind Mobile announced that it would withdraw from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. Mobilicity and Public Mobile also withdrew, alleging bias favouring competitors Bell, Rogers, and Telus.
On June 19, 2013, Orascom Telecom, a VimpelCom subsidiary, retracted its application to assume full control of Wind Mobile, reversing an earlier decision. Later that month, reports emerged that Verizon Wireless had made a $700 million offer to acquire Wind Mobile, although Verizon later announced no interest in the Canadian wireless market.
On September 4, reports surfaced that Wind Mobile was negotiating to acquire customers from struggling competitor Mobilicity as it prepared to cease consumer operations. Mobilicity denied these reports shortly after.
2014: Financial restructuring On January 13, 2014, VimpelCom, Wind Mobile's majority shareholder through its subsidiaries Wind Telecom and Global Telecom Holding, withdrew its financial support for Wind Mobile's bid in the Industry Canada 700 MHz spectrum auction due to a dispute with the Canadian federal government.
By September 2014, VimpelCom sold its majority stake in Wind Mobile to AAL Acquisitions Corporation (a holding company controlled by Wind Mobile founder Anthony Lacavera) for $135 million, with the consortium also assuming $150 million of Wind's debt. Industry Canada approved the transaction in November 2014, transferring Wind's spectrum licences to AAL Acquisitions Corp. These assets were subsequently transferred to Mid-Bowline Holdings Corporation, controlled by a consortium of investors including Globalive and several Canadian and American private equity firms. Wind Mobile retained licensing rights to the Wind name and logo until 2016.
In December 2014, newly appointed CEO Pietro Cordova outlined Wind Mobile's plans for expanding LTE services and participating in the Canadian Government's 2015 spectrum auctions, opportunities previously restricted under VimpelCom's ownership. Cordova also proposed acquiring underutilized spectrum from other companies such as Vidéotron Mobile and unused AWS spectrum purchased by Shaw Communications, as well as developing partnerships with providers like Mobilicity and Vidéotron to expand Wind's coverage. Cordova suggested the possibility of Wind Mobile pursuing an initial public offering in 2016 or 2017, pending approval from Mid-Bowline Holdings investors.
2015: Attempted merger with Mobilicity In February 2015, Wind Mobile entered negotiations to acquire Mobilicity ahead of the AWS-3 spectrum auction registration deadline, but talks stalled when Mobilicity's creditors demanded a high price for its assets. By January 30, 2015, discussions ended, and both companies registered independently for the auction.
When Industry Canada announced the results of the AWS-3 auction on March 6, 2015, Mobilicity had withdrawn due to funding constraints, allowing Wind Mobile to secure the entire spectrum block allocated for new entrants in Alberta, British Columbia, and southern Ontario for $56.4 million. This increased Wind's spectrum holdings in these regions by 180 percent.
On March 23, 2015, Alek Krstajic, former CEO of Public Mobile, became the CEO of Wind Mobile, with Robert MacLellan, a former Toronto-Dominion Bank executive, appointed as chairman. At that time, Wind's shareholders included Toronto hedge fund West Face Capital (35%), California-based Tennenbaum Capital Partners (31%), and Globalive Capital Voting Group (25%), which included Tony Lacavera's investment fund, along with other investors such as Alex Shnaider, Terrence Hui, and Michael Serruya.
Wind made headlines on June 17, 2015, as the first cellular provider to offer service in TTC subway stations, securing exclusive rights to the underground mobile system for one year through an agreement with BAI Canada.
In June 2015, under Rogers Communication's acquisition of Mobilicity, Wind Mobile acquired AWS spectrum licenses from both Rogers and Mobilicity for provinces including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and northern and eastern Ontario for a nominal fee of $1 per license. Additionally, Wind gained an option to purchase half of Mobilicity's infrastructure for $25 million and executed a spectrum swap with Rogers, ensuring that both companies' AWS spectrum blocks were contiguous in southern Ontario.
Subsequently, on July 31, 2015, Wind sold newly acquired AWS-1 spectrum licenses to regional telecoms MTS and SaskTel for a total of $45 million, aiming to enhance regional competition and fund LTE network upgrades in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario.
2016: Shaw Communications acquires Wind Mobile On December 16, 2015, Shaw Communications announced plans to acquire Wind Mobile's parent company, Mid-Bowline Group, for approximately $1.6 billion. The acquisition required approval from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the Competition Bureau. As part of the announcement, Shaw outlined several terms of the acquisition: Alek Krstajic, then-CEO, would continue to lead Wind as a division within Shaw, headquartered in Toronto as a distinct unit. Wind would remain as a budget-priced mobile carrier in the short term, and the ongoing upgrade from HSPA 3G to LTE would proceed as planned. Shaw Communications' CEO, Brad Shaw, stated that the acquisition would enable Shaw to compete on the same level as rival Telus in western Canada and gain a foothold in the Ontario telecom market.
The Competition Bureau approved the purchase on February 4, 2016, and Shaw completed the acquisition on March 1, 2016. Shaw funded part of the deal by selling Shaw Media to Corus Entertainment, also controlled by the Shaw family.
On November 21, 2016, Shaw announced that Wind Mobile would be renamed Freedom Mobile. The decision to rebrand was influenced by rising royalty fees for licensing the Wind name from VimpelCom. CEO Alek Krstajic explained that the company wanted to shed the "baggage" associated with the Wind name and use the rebranding to signify new ownership. On the same day, Freedom Mobile announced the launch of LTE service on the AWS-3 band in Toronto and Vancouver.
2017: Leadership change In April 2017, Alek Krstajic stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Paul McAleese, whose title was later changed to Chief Operating Officer.