Jockeying for 700 MHz

The 700 MHz spectrum is still filled with TV signals, but that isn’t keeping Canada’s wireless industry from starting to test the waters for what should be the auction policy.

At the BMO Capital Markets Media & Telecom Conference yesterday, Public Mobile CFO Jim Hardy said that he thinks the entire block should be set aside for new entrants. It is the first volley in what will be sure to be a hotly debated consultation over the spectrum auction policy.

A report in Cartt.ca says that Industry Minister Clement wants to “get the wheels rolling on the auction of the 700 MHz wireless spectrum.”

As the Minister told Cartt.ca editor Greg O’Brien: “You don’t have to finish all of the work to clear the bandwidth – and then start on working out the details of the auction.”

The 700 MHz band is considered to be particularly attractive for mobile use. The frequency is better at penetrating buildings and travelling farther than higher bands.

When the US auctioned off the 700 MHz band in 2008, the sale generated an average price per MHz pop of US$1.11, versus US$0.54 for the AWS band (auctioned in the US in 2006). The Canadian AWS auction in 2008 generated an eye-popping C$1.41, thanks in part to what has been considered to be a flawed auction design that enabled gaming by new entrants to drive up incumbent costs.