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COMMONS
Monopoly 5 - Against the WIND
WIND Mobile, now known as Freedom, was a small company that tried to break through Canada’s telecom oligopoly. It did not have an easy ride.
WIND faced numerous hurdles from regulators, it was subjected to dirty tricks from the telecom oligopoly, and was eventually sold to Shaw. But it also helped lower cell phone rates and brought in unlimited data and U.S. roaming, changing the wireless market permanently.
This is the inside story of WIND Mobile, from the people who were there.
Featured in this episode: Simon Lockie, Brice Scheschuk, Tony Clement
To learn more
“Why can’t TTC riders use their cellphones on the subway? Ask Bell, Rogers or Telus” in The Toronto Star by Lex Harvey
“Wind Mobile backer regrets Canadian launch” in CBC News
“Globalive offers $3.75-billion to buy Freedom Mobile” in The Globe and Mail by Alexandra Posadzki
Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Associate Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator)
Additional music from Audio Network
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Preview #1. Series launch on May 5th
01:01|Desmond Cole & Andray Domise talk about their ambitions for their new weekly political podcast Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ep.1 - Who's in charge?
24:30|Is it the Prime Minister? The Governor General? The Queen? Canada's Head of State may be symbolic, but symbolic of what? Desmond Cole and Andray Domise start with the basics. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ep.2 - What happened in Alberta?
29:01|Desmond and Andray try to understand the NDP's shocking victory. Guests: professor Melanee Thomas and writer Drew Brown. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ep.3 - Elizabeth May
28:02|Desmond Cole taks to Green Party leader Elizabeth May about her plans to get arrested, and more. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ep.4 - The PMO, what it is?
27:38|What is the Prime Minister's Office? How many people work there, who are they, and what do they all do? Just how powerful is the PMO, and is the Prime Minister responsible for what it does?Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ep.5 - Sex work in Canada
25:30|Kerry Porth, Akio Maroon, Elene Lam join for a panel discussion on Bill C-36 and more.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ep.6 - Residential Schools
30:34|We haven't even begun to talk about what happened. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ep.7 - Crossing the floor
29:07|Andray and Desmond speak with former Wildrose leader Danielle Smith about crossing the floor from the official opposition to the governing party. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ep.8 - Barbaric cultural practices
29:12|Andray Domise, guest-host Supriya Dwivedi and Ishmael Daro talk about the Zero Tolerance For Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, the new Quebec secular legislation, and the massacre in Charleston.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.