Wind won’t go ‘national,’ says new CEO

Wind Mobile's new chief executive says the carrier will become a "stronger fourth carrier" in the provinces where it already operates, but is unlikely to become a "national" wireless competitor to BCE Inc., Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. "I don't think we'll be a national carrier," Wind CEO Pietro Cordova said in a phone interview with The Wire Report on Tuesday, which also marked the carrier's fifth anniversary. "I think we need to be a better carrier where we are today, so in Ontario, B.C. and Alberta. ... I would say that we will become a stronger fourth carrier in the three provinces, but we will not be a national competitor alongside the three large groups that already have a national footprint in Canada." Wind says it now has more than 800,000 subscribers, up from the 650,000 reported late last year. Cordova said he hopes to surpass one million subscribers in 2015. He said a priority for the company is improving its network, which means buying more spectrum. There are several options for achieving this goal, he said, such as participating in the AWS-3 and 2500 MHz auctions next year or purchasing spectrum from companies including Mobilicity, Quebecor Inc. or Shaw Communications Inc. "Any of those options would be sufficient for Wind to pursue a very successful LTE strategy,” Cordova said. “In the wireless market, spectrum is a very scarce resource and, therefore, if you have medium- to long-term plans for your company, you buy the spectrum not when you need it but when it becomes available to you." He suggested the company only needs to pursue one of the above options to be successful, but “wouldn’t discount” the idea of combining spectrum from several sources. "We have to be very mindful of how we apply our capital, which is not an endless amount,” he added. “We have to be very disciplined from a financial point of view." Wind has not confirmed its participation in either the AWS-3 or 2500 MHz spectrum auctions, which both have a registration deadline of Jan. 30. On speculation that Wind might join Quebecor or Mobilicity in some of kind of partnership to create a fourth national carrier, Cordova said: "On paper, those are good deals and they make a lot of sense from a strategic point of view. Are they likely to happen? That is a completely different conversation because, quite frankly, sometimes it's hard for minds to meet at the same point." Cordova was appointed CEO of Wind Mobile in October. Before joining the carrier as chief operating officer in 2012, Cordova spent several years as deputy chief financial offer of telecommunications provider Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. in his native Italy. That company was majority owned by VimpelCom Ltd., as was Canada's Wind Mobile before being bought out in September by a group led by former Wind Mobile CEO and current chairman Anthony Lacavera. Lacavera said he did not know Cordova well when he first came to work for Wind Mobile in Canada, as Cordova was an appointee of VimpelCom. He said it's unclear whether Amsterdam-based VimpelCom was eying Cordova for the top job at Wind Mobile. "You'll recall VimpelCom was trying to buy me out," Lacavera noted in a phone interview, referring to an initiative that stopped after delays in the government approval process and speculation of national-security concerns. "I don't know if they would've brought in a CEO from another operation or they would've promoted Pietro; I don't know what their plans were for him." Cordova said he "hoped" but did not know the CEO's position at Wind Mobile was in his future when he arrived. He said before coming to work for Wind Mobile in Canada, then majority-owner VimpelCom was "not necessarily super happy with how was doing.” Cordova already had a history in Canada. He worked for the Canadian branch of Italian bank BCI in Toronto from 1990 and 1997. He met his wife during this time and attained Canadian citizenship. " knew I that had a Canadian background, a passport, a wife and everything," he said. "I had worked in Canada for a long time in another sector, but still a heavily regulated sector like banking. ... I would say I was almost coming back home. It was the right thing at the right time for me, and I love the challenge." Lacavera said he was impressed with Cordova's work, which ultimately led to his promotion to CEO as Wind was cutting its ties with the company that brought him here in the first place. "VimpelCom was bought out, and subsequent to them being bought out, I promoted him, so I think that tells a lot of the story because, obviously, he has no ties to them at this point," Lacavera said. Lacavera said Cordova took on a bigger role in the day-to-day operations of Wind Mobile in recent months as Lacavera became more involved in strategic initiatives, including the buyout, potential partnerships and strategies related to upcoming spectrum auctions. He said there hasn't been much material change in division of responsibilities between himself and Cordova since the CEO changeover became official in October. "These things don't just happen in one day," Lacavera said. "For the last six months, as we've been working on recapitalizing the company, I had him in my mind as the guy who would split what I was doing. ... He was already effectively doing the job. It's not like it was a major transition by any means." — With reporting by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca and editing by Peter Henderson at phenderson@thewirereport.ca

Wind won’t go ‘national,’ says new CEO

News | 12/16/2014 8:30 pm EST

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