Globalive hits YouTube with funny ads

By Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca.

It's now two weeks until D-Day for Canada's prospective fourth (almost) national cellphone carrier — the CRTC has said it will rule by Oct. 23 whether Globalive meets Canadian control rules — but the company is already rolling out ads. And they're funny.

A quick recap: Globalive, which are the folks behind Yak long-distance and internet service, paid a big whack of money last year to purchase airwaves across the country, except in Quebec, in a government auction. The company is backed largely by Egypt-based Orascom, which operates cellphone service in Greece and Italy, among other places.

Industry Canada, the government ministry that oversees cellphone airwaves, rubber-stamped Globalive's ownership structure as compliant with Canadian ownership laws. Existing carriers, led by Telus, complained and forced a public ownership review by the CRTC. Those hearings were held last month, Globalive has offered up some changes to its structure, and now everyone is waiting with bated breath for the outcome.

Globalive, which plans to operate under Orascom's Wind brand in Canada, is pretty confident it will pass muster. The company intends to launch service in Toronto and Calgary by the end of this year and is so confident, it has put out some video ads on YouTube. Notably, there are no animals anywhere to be found. Here's one, while others can be found here and here:

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