The Canadian government raised CAD 2.11 billion in the AWS-3 auction. Over half the frequencies in the auction were reserved for newcomers to the market, such as Wind Mobile. Wind acquired 30-MHz licences in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario for a total CAD 56.4 million, resulting in a 180 percent increase in its spectrum rights. Other winning bidders were Bell Wireless, Telus, Eastlink and Quebecor. Another auction will follow soon in April, for the 2.5GHz band.
Bell is acquiring a total thirteen licences for a total CAD 499.9 million. Bell acquired all AWS-3 licenses available to incumbents in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Northern Quebec, Northern Ontario, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon. Bell also acquired half of the licenses available for the densely populated Southern Ontario region including the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Niagara, Kitchener-Waterloo, an area representing almost a third of Canada's population.
Telus secured spectrum licenses equating to a national average of 15 MHz in the auction for CAD 1.5 billion. The frequencies are complementary to the 16.1 MHz of national AWS spectrum Telus purchased in 2008, which is now the foundation of the company's mobile network. Telus said that AWS-3 spectrum is well-suited for delivering both coverage and added capacity in urban and rural environments. The new licences cover British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Quebecor Media was the successful bidder on four 30 MHz licences. Quebecor obtained the licences for Eastern Quebec, Southern Quebec, Northern Quebec and Eastern Ontario/Outaouais, covering 100 percent of Quebec's population and the Ottawa region, for a total price of CAD 31.8 million.
Eastlink bought licences in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Northern Ontario. It will pay in total CAD 10 million and increase its spectrum holdings by 77 percent.
