Wind Mobile and Public Mobile, two of Canada's smallest mobile oeprators, are threatening to sit out the next federal auction of radio waves if spectrum isn't set aside for new players like themselves. "We're not suicidal," Wind Mobile's Anthony Lacavera told the Ottawa Business Journal. "We're not going to go out and try to bid on something we have zero chance of winning." Lacavera said that smaller companies like his own simply will be outbid by established players like Rogers, Bell and Telus. Federal Industry Minister Christian Paradis is expected in the coming weeks to announce rules for the auction of the 700MHz band. The auction isn't expected until late this year or 2013. Bruce Kirby, vice-president of strategy and business for Public Mobile, said if the newer operators can't successfully win new radio spectrum against their larger competitors, they won't be able to expand into rural Canada. "If the rules are structured in a way that you can't reasonably compete and have a fair chance of winning spectrum, it's not worth spending the money to go into it," Kirby said. Rogers has said it's opposed to any spectrum being set aside for the new players, while Telus has proposed spectrum caps for the next auction. Bell Canada issued a statement saying the government should not give any "special favours" to some operators in the auction. It also wants the 700MHz band to expand its rural LTE coverage.
