OTTAWA – Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, said today in a letter the 3500 MHz spectrum auction scheduled for June 15th will not be delayed.
Several companies and organizations had asked for a delay in the auction so that they could reconsider applying, since the CRTC changed its wireless policies just days after the auction application deadline and if they knew then what they know now, they might have applied.
The mid-band spectrum is considered crucial to the roll out of next generation 5G networks.
The minister’s short letter addressed to Distributel CEO Matt Stein, reads as follows:
“Thank you for your correspondence of April 27, 2021, regarding your request to delay the 3500 megahertz (MHz) spectrum auction in light of the Canadian Radio television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) recent mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) decision.
“As you know, the deadline to submit an application to participate in the 3500 MHz auction was April 6, 2021. The auction’s timelines were made public in June 2020, and many applicants have now invested significant effort to apply despite the potential uncertainty surrounding the CRTC’s MVNO decision. The auction has also already been delayed by six months to allow providers to respond to COVID 19. Accordingly, we will not be reopening the auction application process at this time.
“However, allow me to assure you that the 3500 MHz auction is not the only opportunity for interested parties to access spectrum. We encourage any of your members who are seeking to offer mobile services to explore licence transfer or subordination agreements with existing licensees, and to participate in Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s upcoming 5G spectrum auctions.”
In response, the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (which was the first to ask for a delay) said: “We respect the Minister’s decision but are disappointed that the government insists upon going along with the CRTC’s misguided approach to wireless competition. The government’s 2019 policy direction to the CRTC includes a number of consumer-oriented policy objectives, and could not be more clear that CRTC decisions should reduce barriers to entry, including for new service providers,” reads its statement.
“Instead of lowering barriers to competition, the CRTC erected one by requiring spectrum ownership, and the Minister just reinforced that barrier by denying new competitors their only shot at spectrum in the foreseeable future.”
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre also voiced its displeasure. “Although we had hoped that the MVNO decision would be usable to help create more competition, ISED, in not allowing the re-opening of the 3500 auction, means only wireless incumbents can really play, which is unfair to potential new competitors and will reduce consumer choice and the potential for lower prices,” it said in a statement.
