Canada has completed its auction of the 3.5 GHz band, opening up new spectrum for 5G services. The bidding raised in total CAD 8.91 billion, with Bell, Rogers and Telus spending the most.
Bell Mobility acquired a total of 271 licences for CAD 2.07 billion, Rogers Communications spent CAD 3.33 billion in total for 325 licences, and Telus bought 142 licences for CAD 1.95 billion. The three market leaders can achieve near nationwide coverage with their new licences. Other winners included Videotron with 294 licences for CAD 830 million, including expansion to four provinces outside its traditional territory of Quebec; Sasktel for 68 licences at a total CAD 145 million; Cogeco with 38 licences for CAD 295 million; and Xplornet with 263 licences for CAD 244 million.
The auction started on 15 June, with 23 Canadian companies participating and 15 companies winning spectrum. The 20-year licences were made available based on 172 localized service areas covering the entire country, allowing bidders to target geographic markets, including rural areas.
Several other smaller providers also acquired local rights. The rules for the auction included a set-aside of up to 50 MHz for small and regional providers to enhance competition in the mobile market, a method that has been proven to help lower prices, the government said.
In total, 1,495 out of 1,504 available licences were awarded to 15 Canadian companies, including 757 licences to small and regional providers across the country. In all 172 service areas, there is now at least one small or regional provider holding spectrum for the purpose of deploying new services to Canadians.
Telus noted that the spectrum comes at a high costs, which may impact investment. The Canadian operators paid an average CAD 3.82 per MHZ-pop, compared to an average CAD 1.19 in the recent US auction of 5G spectrum.
