Verizon may be pushing ahead with its plans to expand to the north in the near future. It is said that the Big Red carrier is looking at several options, including acquiring WIND Mobile or Mobilicity, and/or participating in the forthcoming 700Mhz spectrum auction that will start on January 14th, 2014.
According “to two people familiar with the situation,” the Globe and Mail is reporting that Verizon has made an initial offer to purchase WIND Mobile for some $700 million. WIND currently has around 600,000 subscribers and operates in Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver. The Globe adds that it’s “unclear if a deal will be concluded” and that Verizon might face the usual regulatory issues.
Another possible candidate for Verizon could be Mobilicity, which was recently a subject of TELUS’ expansion plans. The two parties ended up the talks and Mobilicity is now left “all alone.” The American network has the capacity (read: money) to help Mobilicity grow beyond its 250,000 subscribers and reach new heights.
Finally, Verizon may decide to start from the scratch by acquiring spectrum at an auction early next year and use its marketing expertise to get users on board. We’ll see where this goes…
[Via: Globe and Mail]