Canada’s 600 MHz band auction that started on March 12, concluded last week on April 4 with a total amount of 3.47 billion CAD (2.30 billion EUR) spent by Canadian wireless operators to build-up their 5G networks.
Canada’s 600 MHz band auction that started on March 12, concluded last week on April 4 with a total amount of 3.47 billion CAD (2.30 billion EUR) spent by Canadian wireless operators to build-up their 5G networks.
The three national carriers were only allowed to bid on 64 of the available licenses in this year’s auction because of restrictions imposed by the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED).
Some of the licenses were set aside for smaller carriers in order to stimulate competition and bring down consumer prices.
Rogers Communications paid 1.72 billion CAN (1.14 billion EUR) for 52 licenses, followed by TELUS which paid 931 million CAD (616 million EUR) for 12 licenses. Shaw’s wireless subsidiary, Freedom Mobile invested 492 CAD million (325 million EUR) for 11 licenses, and Videotron, owned by Quebecor, won 10 licenses at a cost of 256 million CAD (169 million EUR). Absent from the list of winners was Bell, who ended up empty-handed. The company said it has sufficient low band spectrum in both urban and rural locations.
Next year’s auction will be for 3.5 GHz licenses, which are more valuable because they are more widely used in 5G networks around the world.
