OTTAWA – Innovation Canada announced yesterday that it has awarded 27 licences in a set of residual spectrum in various bands to nine applicants, netting $30 million.
Residual spectrum are frequencies that have either gone unsold in previous auctions or were returned to the government. In this case, the government was making available 42 licences in the 600 MHz, 2500 MHz and 3500 MHz bands.
Bell spent $10.6 million for the greatest number of licences at eight to cover a population of 1.6 million; Videotron spent $9.9 million for seven licences to cover a population of 1.3 million; Rogers spent $2.6 million for six licences covering a population of 487,000; TBayTel spent $6.3 million for two to cover 778,449 people; Sogetel Inc. spent $412,000 for two covering a population of 16,219; and ECOTEL spent $66,000 for two covering a population of 35,928.
This is the first residual auction the department has held in four years, the last one being in 2018 for slices of the 700 MHz, 2500 MHz, 2300 MHz, and PCS-G bands.
