WIND Mobile becomes Freedom Mobile and announces new LTE network

New brand confirms focus on value, transparency and fairness

LTE network rollout beginning in Toronto and Vancouver

TORONTO, Nov. 21, 2016 /CNW/ - A new day for more affordable wireless services dawned across Canada today, as WIND Mobile becomes Freedom Mobile.

Building on its successful foundation of more than one million customers, WIND Mobile rebrands as Freedom Mobile with a renewed promise to deliver affordable wireless to value-conscious Canadians.

"As WIND Mobile, we built a strong foundation of more than a million customers," said CEO Alek Krstajic. "And as Freedom Mobile, we are reaffirming our commitment to them and to the core principles of our business – value, transparency and fairness."

Just in time for the holiday season, Freedom Mobile is launching Canada's latest and most advanced LTE network in Toronto and Vancouver, expanding to other markets during 2017.

"Thanks to our customers, the real founders of our company, we are now able to begin activation of our new LTE network, and are very proud to do so under our new name, which reflects what we stand for: Freedom to connect and communicate, freedom from excessive and unfair prices."    

Featuring a new look, a new tone of voice, and a friendly for-the-people approach, the Freedom Mobile brand will come alive in retail stores and in all advertising. Existing WIND Mobile customers, accounts and rate plans will be seamlessly transitioned to Freedom Mobile, including pre-authorized payments and all other regular transactions. No customer action is required. 

The inaugural Freedom Mobile LTE rate plan is available as of today for $45 per month. It features unlimited calling to Canada and the U.S., and unlimited global messaging from within Freedom's 3G and LTE coverage areas. The plan includes 3GB of monthly data plus an additional 3GB of bonus data through the end of January 2018 for a total of 6GB, which makes it the most affordable rate plan in the country (usable on both our LTE and 3G network). Full details of this plan, and other updates to Freedom Mobile's rate plan lineup, are available on the new Freedom Mobile website: www.freedommobile.ca.

The new LTE network launches on November 27 in Toronto and Vancouver, with LTE coverage expanding to include all of the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver by Spring 2017. Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton will join by summer, and with remaining 3G coverage areas (including southwestern Ontario, the Hamilton-Niagara corridor, Barrie, Kingston and Peterborough) joining by the Fall.  Coverage maps showing this rollout schedule are available on the Freedom Mobile website. LTE roaming will be available in the U.S. and Canada in early 2017.

For the holiday season, Freedom Mobile will be selling two handsets compatible with its LTE network: the LG V20 (in stores now) and the ZTE Grand X 4 (to be available in early December). The lineup of devices compatible with Freedom Mobile's LTE network will expand substantially and quickly in 2017. 

Freedom Mobile will launch LTE on its new AWS-3 spectrum band. This will enable a dramatic increase in data speeds and a greatly improved smartphone experience, with more responsive internet browsing, smoother streaming and much faster downloading.

Advertising to convey this change begins this week. As well, Freedom Mobile will be featured prominently at next weekend's celebrations for the 104^th Grey Cup presented by Shaw in Toronto, including the Freedom Mobile Halftime Show starring One Republic.

"We are extremely proud and excited to be launching LTE and giving our customers a service everyone can be proud of," said Krstajic. "We owe a debt of gratitude to our one million customers who have stood by us. We will continue on our journey to keep improving our offering and remain the most competitively priced wireless service."

About Freedom Mobile
Freedom Mobile is dedicated to bringing affordable wireless service to Canadians by offering value, fairness and transparency. Learn more about Freedom Mobile at www.freedommobile.ca  

SOURCE Freedom Mobile

Image with caption: "A new day for more affordable wireless services dawned across Canada as CEO Alek Krstajic today unveiled that WIND Mobile becomes Freedom Mobile with Canada's newest LTE network. (CNW Group/Freedom Mobile)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161121_C4760_PHOTO_EN_823405.jpg

For further information: Robert Sauer, 416-554-0795, [e-mail]