Industry Minister James Moore announced today that the Canadian government is planning to hold a spectrum auction in 2015 for licenses in the 2500MHz range. The broad rules of the auction, aimed at putting “Canadian consumers first,” are very similar to those of the upcoming 700MHz auction and were outlined today. They include: spectrum caps to ensure that four or more […]
Spectrum auction
Catalyst Capital Group withdraws from Canada’s upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction
Canada’s upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction has lost another bidder. Industry Canada today updated the bidder list to reflect that the private equity firm had withdrawn. Catalyst Capital Group is Mobilicity’s biggest creditor and had revealed plans this summer to set up a fourth national carrier. It is the fourth company to drop out since the list of bidders was finalized […]
Canadian government to introduce new license renewal rules
The Canadian government looks set to introduce new spectrum license renewal rules in 2014. It announced today that , starting next March, the 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz spectrum licences will be subject to renewal: These spectrum licences contained conditions requiring that the spectrum be used for fixed wireless access, which represents the most affordable high-speed Internet access for many […]
700MHz spectrum auction loses three smaller participants
And then there were twelve. When Industry Canada published the list of companies that had expressed an interest in the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction, a total of 15 companies were on the list. Three smaller players have now withdrawn. The three are 1770129 Alberta Inc., BH Wave Acquisition Corporation and Vecima Networks Inc. No reasons were given for the three withdrawals. The […]
Industry Canada announces 700MHz spectrum auction participants
Companies interested in bidding in next year’s 700MHz spectrum auction had until September 17th to submit their paperwork and put down their refundable deposits. Industry Canada today released the list of participants There are no major surprises but still a few interesting entries: 1770129 Alberta Inc. Bell Mobility Inc. BH Wave Acquisition Corporation Bragg Communications Incorporated Feenix Wireless Inc. Globalive […]
WIND Mobile confirms participation in 700MHz spectrum auction
Another of Canada’s newer and smaller carriers has confirmed its entry for the 2014 700MHz spectrum auction. Following Public Mobile’s confirmation back in June, WIND Mobile today announced that it will also take part in the upcoming auction. In an email statement, the carrier said: “WIND Mobile would like to announce its intention to enter the 700 Mhz auction. We […]
Three foreign carriers interested in Canada’s 700MHz spectrum auction
Verizon recently ruled out expanding to Canada but not before it stirred up the rumour mill over the summer. The move was taken seriously and Canada’s incumbent carriers (Bell, Rogers, and TELUS) launched a massive PR campaign to block the entry of foreign carriers with the rules that the Canadian government has laid down for its upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction. […]
Verizon delays Canadian carrier acquisition
It appears that one potential suitor for the beleaguered Canadian carriers Mobilicity and WIND Mobile has decided to hold off an acquisition for now. According to The Globe and Mail, Verizon Wireless has decided to delay its plans to enter the Canadian market by acquiring one or both smaller Canadian carriers. According to “two people familiar with the situation,” the […]