Providence Said to Consider Investment in Wind Mobile

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Wind Mobile could soon get a much-needed capital injection, as Providence Equity Partners Inc. is said to be considering acquiring a stake in the carrier, people with knowledge of the matter whispered to Bloomberg.

You may recall that while speaking at the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto, Wind Mobile CEO Anthony Lacavera said: what the company needs to compete with the incumbents is spectrum to build its LTE network. He also said that the wireless startup needs some $500 million investment to build that 4G network.

Now, Providence has a track record of investing in wireless communications, so the potential investment is timely since the government announced the AWS-3 spectrum auction scheduled for next spring, ahead of the 2500 MHz auction.

The investment could boost Wind’s plans to compete with the incumbent, but let’s not forget about Quebecor’s plans, either: The carrier has acquired 700MHz spectrum licenses in key areas in the country and recently announced expansion plans. However, as Quebecor emphasized, certain things have to be in place for the government’s dream of a fourth national carrier to materialize.

Since both Providence and Wind declined to comment on the possible offer, this report must be taken with a pinch of salt.

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