Fongo, a mobile telecommunications company based in South-Western Ontario announced recently that it is looking to make a play for wireless carrier WIND Mobile. WIND Mobile through a lot of controversy and court battles was the first new wireless entrant that launched in late 2009 by Founder Anthony Lacavera through financial backing from Egyptian-based Orascom Telecom. Back in January 2013, Anthony stepped down from WIND Mobile (owned by Globalive), as all of the company assets were then sold Orascom. Orascom is now controlled by Dutch-based VimpelCom, who announced its interest in selling WIND Mobile earlier this year. However it was announced that WIND Mobile would not abandon Canada and still continue to serve its existing clients.
While WIND’s network coverage is limited mainly to Ontario, with pockets of coverage in Calgary,Edmonton, and Vancouver, Fongo does plan to extend the WIND Mobile service coast-to-coast across Canada.
According to their press release, Fongo plans to retain the majority of WIND Mobile’s employees, but has pledged to re-think many aspects of the business. “The modern consumer wants to purchase online, receive streamlined service, and pay only for services they use,” added Dave Bullock, President of Fongo. “The concept of paying $8 a month for voicemail, or being forced to buy airtime minutes when you really only want a data plan—these are outdated ideas that simply exist because ‘that’s the way it’s always been done’.”