Mobilicity (formally Dave Wireless) invested $243.1-million for 10 licenses during the Canadian Wireless Spectrum Auction and will be launching their new wireless service first in Toronto this Spring, then followed by Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.
Leading Mobilicity is famed entrepreneur John Bitove and they are financed by ING with $125 million and $75 million from Canadian investors GMP Securities L.P. and National Bank Financial Inc.In addition to the financing they have brought on a heavyweight Board of Directors with Paul Godfrey (National Post publisher), Michael Neuman (ex-Bell CEO), John R. Barnett (President of Rothmans Benson & Hedges) and Michael Moskowitz (President and CEO of XM Canada).
The CRTC has announced they have started their plans to review the ownership and control of the company. No worries as the CRTC in its letter to the company state that Mobilicity “appears to comply with the legal control requirements of the Act”… so this will not be as lengthy the Globalive review.
In the letter from Secretary General, Robert A. Morin, said “With regard to control in fact, the Commission notes inter alia that on a fully diluted basis, 67% of the voting interest will be held by the largest Canadian investors and that the largest non-Canadian investor has provided less than 55% of the total capital of the company… At this time, and based on the information available, the Commission considers that the ownership structure of DAVE Wireless is of a sufficiently complex nature and that it holds precedential value for the industry and the general public… Accordingly, based on the framework set out in the Policy, the Commission hereby provides public notice that it will be proceeding with a Type 2 review of the ownership and control of DAVE Wireless in order to determine its eligibility to operate as a Canadian telecommunications common carrier.”
When Mobilicity launches they will offer “No Contract. No Credit Check. Unlimited Wireless” and have brand name handsets like BlackBerry, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and possibly the Google Nexus One.
Check out the full letter here at the CRTC
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