Before the dust settled on the results of the $4.25B AWS auction, Industry Minister Prentice said that we’ll be gearing up for the next auction – the release of the 700 MHz band for mobile services.
How will the spectrum be divided?
Despite the designation of this summer’s auction feature as “AWS” (for ‘advanced wireless services’), it was interesting that the spectrum was auctioned in 10 Mhz and 20 MHz blocks, block sizes that might be better suited for voice.
Do we need more spectrum for voice in the future 700 MHz auction? Will Industry Canada structure the auction design to better target mobile broadband with wider channels?
Other issues will also arise, such as:
- what is the size and shape of the geographic tiers. that is, will Industry Canada separate the urban core from the suburban donut to promote niche rural competitors?
- is a new entrant set-aside appropriate?
- if there is a set-aside, can the auction be run in a manner that avoids gaming by parking points?
We’ll be watching for Industry Canada’s call for comments.
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Industry Canada, 700 MHz