Rogers, Bell and Telus have together nabbed over $400 million worth of residual spectrum covering a population of over 10 million Canadians, Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) said Friday.
ISED launched the process to sell the spectrum that went unsold in previous auctions.
Telus secured 103 licences worth approximately $317.6 million to cover a population of 5,854,027 people. The licences are all in the 3.8 GHz band and cover areas including Vancouver, Edmonton, Kamloops, Kelowna, Victoria, and Prince George.
“Importantly, this spectrum will complement TELUS’ existing holdings to support emerging 5G applications that our team is progressing and that enable mission critical applications with dedicated and secure resources, such as public safety advanced communications, industry automation and private wireless networks, as well as real-time, high availability services for AI applications,” Telus President and CEO Darren Entwistle said in a press release.
“Indeed, as the demand for wireless data continues to grow, the acquisition of additional 3800 MHz spectrum will maximize our network capacity and enable TELUS to deliver enhanced urban and rural connectivity to our customers,” he continued.
Bell secured 63 licences worth approximately $13.5 million to cover a population of 2,561,178. The bands are a mix of 3.8 GHz, 2.3 GHz, and 2 GHz. The licences will cover areas including Nunavut, Winnipeg, Northern Saskatchewan, Windsor, Parry Sound, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Thunder Bay, Timmins, Fort Erie, and Rouyn-Noranda.
Finally, Rogers secured 30 licences worth approximately $84.3 million to cover an area of 1,732,721. The licences are in the 3.8 GHz band to cover Calgary, Charlottetown, Elliot Lake, Thompson, Dawson Creek, Summerside, Lac du Bonnet, and Morden/Winkler.
ISED said 11 licences – five in the 3.8 GHz band, three in the 3.5 GHz band, and one in the 2 GHz band – went unallocated. The service areas of those blocks were the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, Smithers, Williams Lake, Kamloops, Squamish, Whistler, and Fort Frances.
Photo via Bell
