Canadian start-up operator Globalive – backed by Egypt’s Orascom – has been given the go-ahead to launch in the country, paving the way for the newcomer to challenge Canada’s incumbent mobile operators. On Friday, Tony Clement, industry minister, said the Government of Canada has concluded that Globalive is a Canadian company that meets the Canadian ownership and control requirements under the country’s Telecommunications Act. The move reverses an earlier regulatory decision that the newcomer did not meet domestic ownership rules. Orascom Telecom Holding has a 65 percent indirect equity ownership in Wind Mobile (the brand name of Globalive’s operations in Canada) and is also believed to own virtually all of the start-up’s debt. Globalive paid CAD442 million (US$415 million) last year to acquire airwave licenses. Globalive now intends to launch services in Canada, under the Wind Mobile brand, before Christmas. Its entry will see it challenge established operators Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility and Telus. The three incumbents currently control around 95 percent of Canada’s mobile market.

In separate Orascom news, the operator said yesterday it will seek shareholder approval to raise US$800 million in a rights issue to strengthen its balance sheet. Orascom said the funds would be used if it was not able to quickly resolve a dispute with Algerian tax authorities involving its Algerian unit, which operates a mobile network under the brand name Djezzy. Last month Orascom announced that the Algerian tax authority had charged it US$596.6 million in taxes on allegations that it had not kept proper accounts in 2005-2008. Meanwhile the operator is still reeling from an Egyptian regulator decision Friday to allow a France Telecom bid for MobiNil. However Orascom has not yet outlined its next step in this matter.