COMMONS: Against the WIND

Published: Dec. 29, 2022, 8:05 a.m.

This episode was originally aired on December 7, 2022


WIND Mobile, now known as Freedom, was a small company that tried to break through Canada\u2019s telecom oligopoly. It did not have an easy ride. 

WIND faced numerous hurdles from regulators, it was subjected to dirty tricks from the telecom oligopoly, and was eventually sold to Shaw. But it also helped lower cell phone rates and brought in unlimited data and U.S. roaming, changing the wireless market permanently.

This is the inside story of WIND Mobile, from the people who were there.

 

Featured in this episode: Simon Lockie, Brice Scheschuk, Tony Clement

 

To learn more

\u201cWhy can\u2019t TTC riders use their cellphones on the subway? Ask Bell, Rogers or Telus\u201d in The Toronto Star by Lex Harvey

\u201cWind Mobile backer regrets Canadian launch\u201d in CBC News 

\u201cGlobalive offers $3.75-billion to buy Freedom Mobile\u201d in The Globe and Mail by Alexandra Posadzki

 

Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Associate Producer), Andr\xe9 Proulx (Production Coordinator)

 

Additional music from Audio Network

 

Sponsors: Oxio, Squarespace

 

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