Agreed. I'd love to switch gears and talk about the future of Wind Mobile....
6 months ago people were saying Wind was dead because Orascom pulled funding from the 700mhz auction and wrote the assets down to zero. Time has shown that to be due mainly to external circumstances and had less to do with Wind's business than first assumed.
CEO Lacavera said last month that the company is looking to build out a full LTE over the next couple of years, and that access to quality spectrum is a big issue. Apparently the cost is ~$500MM to get it all done. Probably doesn't hurt that the Gov't is setting aside big portions of spectrum exclusively for "New" players. Should be interesting to see how Videotron plays into that....
Business wise, the company seems to have turned a corner. 735k subs and their APRU continues to grow well....5% here, 6% there, and is around $32. Pretty darn solid (imo) for a low cost, full feature service provider - albeit half of Rogers' $65. Most importantly, the company appears to be set for its first profitable quarter, a fantastic sign.
Five years into existence, Wind hasn't come as far as I thought they would but they continue to grow and I'm a very, very satisfied customer.
I can't help but wonder what happens in the next 2-5 years. I see two very likely scenarios, neither of which involve closing shop. They can go it alone, build out the LTE network, and push into new markets, or I could see Videotron merging/buying them as they make their case to be the next big carrier. Should be interesting....
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