700 MHz Auction: Industry Canada proposing new format; opening bid? $897 million

By Perry Hoffman

OTTAWA - Industry Canada is proposing to switch from a single licence auction format to one where bidders would place a single bid on a package of licences. The department released its proposed 700 MHz licensing framework on Wednesday afternoon. This new format, called a combinatorial clock auction (CCA), would enable a bidder to bid on a specific set of licences, or a package. This is different from the previously used simultaneous multiple round ascending (SMRA) auction where each bidder had to place bids on all the individual licences it wanted. There are a number of benefits to the CCA...