I’m talking about Wind Mobile, Canada’s newest cellphone competitor, which persuaded the government it was really Canadian-owned, even though a foreign company owned the bulk of its equity and debt. Still, Canadian owner Globalive held the majority of voting shares.
I find Wind’s pro-consumer rhetoric refreshing. “Join the conversation. We’re in this together.” Of course, it’s easy for a company to be populist when it’s just getting started and hasn’t made any enemies yet. A year from now, let’s see if the promise of simplicity, affordable plans and no contracts is really borne out.
Also want to mention that Globalive owns Canopco, a company that charges extraordinarily high prices for calls made from hotel rooms outside Canada. I get many complaints from people who weren’t warned by the hotel, Canopco or Bell/Telus (whoever issued their calling card) that the hotel would use an intermediary. If they had known, they would have spent less time on the phone or not made any calls from the room.
So, let me know what you think of this wireless carrier and whether you’re inclined to switch — assuming you’re not tied into a long-term contract elsewhere.
Hope you all have a healthy and safe 2010. To close off the year, I’m posting a few emails from my For Follow-up file. They’re from people who ask me questions I can’t answer or who want to share information with others. Let’s keep the conversation going.
