Canadian mobile operator Mobilicity has called on the government to implement a "spectrum screen" to cap spectrum holdings at the country's major mobile operators. The letter from Mobilicity Executive Chairman John Bitove to the prime minister and industry minister comes ahead of the planned 700MHz band auction in Canada. The smaller oeprators have been lobbying for limits on the incumbents in the auction, saying they will otherwise be unable to bid and acquire spectrum. The 'specterum screen' is used in the US by the FCC to limit spectrum hoarding and support competition. In general operators are restricted to one-third of the spectrum available in a given market. Bitove said Canada's 'big 3' carriers (Rogers, Bell, Telus) hold more than twice that of the US operators with the biggest spectrum rights. This is due to "decades of lack of competition and the free spectrum that were gifted to the incumbent carriers back in the 1980s", he said. Mobilicity also urged the government "to proactively regulate all used and unused spectrum holdings".
