Wireless spectrum to be auctioned in March of next year will be set aside for regional carriers and potential new rivals to Canada’s three national carriers, the Ottawa Citizen reported. The reason behind the action, is to improve the mobile phone landscape and support competition, according to government officials.
“Canadians pay some the highest prices for cell phone services among G7 countries. This has to change,” the minister responsible for economic development and telecommunications, Navdeep Bains, said. “Our government is taking concrete action to increase competition, which will result in more affordable prices for Canadians.”
Although Canada boasts of some of the fastest and most advanced networks in the world, it also pays some of the highest prices for wireless support. Bains said competition will bring both innovation and affordability to the market. The decision has created something rarely found in North America: bipartisan support. Both Liberal and Conservative industry ministers are encouraging more competition for the country’s three biggest national carriers, Rogers Communications Inc., BCE’s Bell Canada and Telus Corp.
The 600 MHz spectrum had been used by television broadcasters prior to spectrum being freed up by the shift from analog to digital. A similar shift in 2014, netted $5.27 billion for government coffers when the 700 MHz band was auctioned off.
April 2, 2018
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