Verizon is apparently mulling a bid to buy Canada’s Wind Mobile in a move that would give it access to the Canadian mobile market.
According to the Big Red carrier’s spokesman Bob Varettoni, Wind Mobile is “one of many” options under consideration, as they “constantly evaluate a wide variety of business opportunities.”
This whole story was started by Verizon’s CFO Fran Shammo who suggested an acquisition might be possible. And now that VimpelCom pulled out its offer to acquire Wind Mobile, the chances for the Big Red carrier expanding to the North are slightly better.
The Canadian government is looking for ways to boost competition in the mobile market, which is dominated by three operators – Rogers, TELUS and Bell. Supporting a bid for one of the smaller networks by Verizon to fund expansion would fit in with that agenda.
Presuming this happens and Verizon does enter the Canadian market, it will have to invest a ton of money in marketing and to get radio spectrum for nationwide coverage.
Wind Mobile ended 2012 with some 600,000 customers, although it hasn’t updated its subscriber figures since then…
[Via: Bloomberg, CellularNews]