The Canadian government has completed its auction of spectrum in the 2 GHz band, raising in total almost CAD 4.3 billion. Some 282 licences were issued to 15 companies, after almost eight weeks of bidding. Of the 105 MHz of spectrum made available, 40 MHz was set aside exclusively for new entrants to bid on. The other 65 MHz was available to all bidders. Among the newcomers expected on the mobile market are Globalive, which offers the Yak long-distance service already and spent CAD 442.1 million for licences in all provinces except Quebec, and Data & Audio-Visual Enterprises Wireless, run by XM Canada backer John Bitove, which spent CAD 243.2 million on licences in 10 of the 13 largest cities. Rogers Wireless was the top bidder in the auction, spending CAD 999.4 million on additional spectrum, while Bell Mobility spent CAD 740.9 million and Telus handed over CAD 879.9 million. Quebec's Videotron spent CAD 554.5 million for spectrum to launch mobile services in its region, while Shaw Communications and Bragg Communications also acquired frequencies in their existing operating footprint.
