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Canada's AWS Spectrum Auction Reveals Surprising Interest and Bid Prices from Auction Participants
With bids already exceeding $2.5 billion in the first of three scheduled rounds Canada’s AWS spectrum auction has already exceeded expectations.
From Report on Business comes news that the $2.5 billion bid so far is far in excess of the $1.5 billion expected from the entire auction. Since the auction is only in the first round expect prices to go even higher. Why the attention?
The biggest reason is probably the rules the Canadian government set for this spectrum at 1.7/2.1 GHz, which, as reported by Daily Wireless, is quite different from the US model sold last year. The Canadians chose to set aside three of the six blocks of spectrum solely for new entrants into the market. Since Canada has exactly three large wireless incumbents, this means that 40 MHz of the 105 MHz of available spectrum will go to someone new.
Who? Well, if early bidding is any indication then a lot of it could be controlled by foreign interests as companies bidding include investors from countries like Egypt, Iceland and the US. Canadian regulations prohibit foreign investors from holding controlling interests in domestic telecom companies.
Bid prices are running from between 2 to 6 times as high as the US AWS auction garnered. Bidders are apparently attracted to Canada's untapped wireless potential and straightforward regulatory climate.
Tim Sanders
The Final Mile
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