600 MHz auction: Carriers paid $1B more than expected

Expect a pressure-packed, high-demand, 3500 MHz auction in 2020BAY STREET’S TELECOM industry analysts were a little surprised at the $3.47 billion collectively shelled out by Canada’s wireless carriers for 600 MHz spectrum (except for Bell, which shelled out nothing for no 600 spectrum) in the federal government’s just-completed auction.“(I)t appears the competition amongst (the big three) was far fiercer than expected, driving the price up to $1.89/MHz-pop and leading to a total spend of $2.65B,” wrote Canaccord Genuity’s Aravinda Galappatthige in a note to investors, which said he had expected the trio of Rogers, Bell and Telus to spend about...