WIND Mobile Workers Kill Time By Doing Good

What do you do if you're an aspiring new Canadian wireless carrier but, at the 11th hour, after building up an entire network and hiring 400 employees, the CRTC throws a wrench into the plans? You're in a state of limbo, awaiting a "yay" or "nay" decision on moving forward, so you aren't exactly going to throw in the towel and hand out the pink slips. But you also aren't going to pay hundreds of employees to sit around twiddling their thumbs. Well, you find something for them to do; and that's exactly what WIND Mobile has done with its already-established workforce.

The company, which is under scrutiny due to its alleged violations of Canadian foreign ownership legislation, has taken its employees to the streets to "give back." Through partnerships with organizations like Ronald McDonald House of Hamilton, Boys and Girls Club, and Habitat for Humanity, the Ontario and Calgary-based workers are getting out and making good use of their paycheques while waiting to find out whether their jobs will remain in tact or not.

"The employees have just finished their training," explains a WIND spokesperson, who confirms that, contrary to what some have inferred, no one has actually been laid off. The company claims that staff is working on "random acts of kindness" which include everything from aiding the aforementioned charities to simply offering to pump people's gas, handing out hand sanitizer, or offering candy canes at local shopping malls to get shoppers into the holiday spirit.

Granted, the spokesperson acknowledges that while the initiatives are taking place this week, they obviously can't continue for any prolonged period of time. After all, how long can one keep a hefty staff of 400 on payroll for simply doing good deeds? But I'll give credit where credit is due, and from a public relations standpoint, WIND Mobile is making a smart move toward gaining the sympathy vote of consumers.

Still, this doesn't mean that the Federal Government or CRTC will waver any on their decision. Industry Minister Tony Clement is still in the process of reviewing the situation, and WIND Mobile parent company Globalive Wireless is continuing to assess its options. Clement said he was open to comments on the situation and Telus Mobility, one of the driving forces in getting Globalive's ownership structure put under public review, was quick to respond.

"Globalive's ownership structure is simply not compliant with our country's laws, and the CRTC made the only decision it could under Canadian law," said Michael Hennessy, Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Government Affairs at Telus. "If the Government overturns the CRTC decision, it would render meaningless Canada's laws on foreign ownership not just for wireless firms, but also for broadcasters, media, cable companies and wireline telecommunications firms that are governed by the same regulations.

"If our government decides to begin altering foreign ownership restrictions in the communications industry," he adds, "it should do so in a thoughtful and considered manner that is fair to all companies operating under the current rules. It would be wrong to allow the one foreign controlled firm that did not play by the rules to drive the terms and timelines for such massive changes to our laws."

Globalive is 65% owned by Orascom Telecom, a wireless company that operates in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. However, Globalive Chairman and CEO Anthony Lacavera, a resident Canadian, says he owns the majority of the voting shares of the company. Still, the company's ownership structure is admittedly convoluted.

Industry Canada approved Globalive's bid in the wireless spectrum auction last summer, which auctioned off airwaves required for wireless services to operate. For the first time, Industry Canada set aside a certain amount of spectrum for new carriers to bid on. Globalive was one of a handful of companies to acquire significant spectrum, including DAVE Wireless and Public Mobile; but is the only one to have an almost national footprint, and potential to compete directly with the "Big Three": Bell, Rogers, and Telus.

For now, WIND awaits its fate. As for the company's employees, who are anxiously awaiting to put their training to good use? Look for them out and about this week. You might just get your car washed, gas pumped, or groceries carried out to the car. If that level of service is indicative of what the company plans to offer on the wireless front, it's no surprise that the existing carriers are trying to keep them out.